Connecticut will receive $5.4 million in federal coronavirus relief money to help provide safe polling places and expand mail-in voting. The state’s presidential primary is set for June 2.
Secretary of the State Denise Merrill says Connecticut is behind most of the country when it comes to mail-in voting. She says that’s because its standards for absentee ballots are mandated by the state constitution.
“They cannot be overridden even by the governor. So we are struggling to find a way to get more people to be able to vote by mail, as opposed to coming to polling places. And that’s a big change from the way we’ve been doing things.”
Merrill has urged Governor Ned Lamont to use his coronavirus emergency powers to remove some of the restrictions. She says cities and towns would use the federal money to handle what is expected to be an increase in mail-in voting in the 2020 elections because of COVID-19.
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