News Clips

“This is another example of why we need no-excuse absentee voting,” said Cheri Quickmire, executive director of Common Cause in Connecticut, the voter-advocacy and elections watchdog organization. Quickmire said Wednesday that last year, the state had a chance to put a constitutional amendment supporting universal mail-in balloting on the 2022 ballot, but it did not get enough Republican support to reach the 75-percent super majority.

With an open seat for the first time in 12 years, at least nine candidates are running to become Connecticut’s next Secretary of the State. When three-term incumbent Denise Merrill announced that she was not seeking reelection, the scramble began on both sides of the political aisle because openings for statewide constitutional offices are relatively rare. A total of seven Democrats and two Republicans are interested in running for the job.

Rep. Stephanie Thomas, D-Norwalk, filed papers Tuesday that make her the first Democrat to declare a candidacy for Secretary of the State, a statewide office that will be open in 2022. Thomas, a first-term lawmaker who advocated for early voting and no-excuse absentee ballots as vice chair of the Government Administration and Elections Committee, scheduled a formal announcement Wednesday morning in Norwalk.

Secretary of the State Denise Merrill announced in June she would not seek a fourth term, making her the only constitutional officer not expected to run for reelection. The first stirrings of a primary race have begun to take shape in the weeks since.

Newhallville voters deserve to have at least one of New Haven's four safe, secure absentee ballot drop boxes immediately moved to their neighborhood. Newhallville is the only New Haven ward with a Sept. 14, 2021 local primary election and especially with the Delta variant of the Covid-19 virus on the rise, residents should be able to participate in the election safely.

The promise of a special session offers a potential lifeline for any number of bills that do not pass before the deadline of midnight tonight. For instance, [Speaker of the House] Ritter said SB 5 would be included in the eventual implementer bill. That proposal, a host of updates to Connecticut voting laws, passed the Senate but was never raised by the House. Ritter said that might not be the only thing that comes back. “We’ll be going over the list of things that both chambers want,” [Senate President] Looney said of the coming special session. “But certainly Senate Bill 5 is a high priority for us.”