Next Tuesday, November 4, Connecticut is among several states that will ask voters about changing elections laws. The ballot question on amending the Connecticut constitution is the "first" step towards making voting more flexible here.
For supporters of early voting, it took a long time to get this question on the ballot: Shall the constitution of the state be amended to remove restrictions concerning absentee ballots and to permit a person to vote without appearing at a polling place on the day of an election?
According to Secretary of the State Denise Merrill, 33 other states allow early voting. Connecticut has yet to take this up because of a rare provision in our state constitution that governs how elections are carried out. Before voters were allowed their say, a majority of the General Assembly had to approve the ballot question in consecutive years. That happened in 2012 and 2013 along party lines.
Merrill said if the referendum is approved, voters are effectively giving the legislature the authority to make changes to election laws.
Denise Merrill says Connecticut voters want flexibility in how they vote.
"What this would do." Merrill said, "[is] allow the General Assembly to be able to debate the question of whether or not we would like to have voting on more days than just Tuesday. For example, in Texas, they have 60 days of voting, what we call early voting. In other words, you can vote anytime during that 60-day period. They still count the ballots on election day."
The referendum also asks voters to weigh in on "no excuse" absentee ballots, meaning residents could vote absentee without having a specific reason. Currently, the constitution only allows voting by absentee ballot if a person will be out of town, is sick, has a physical disability, or practices a religion that prohibits secular activity on election day.
Republican lawmakers have opposed the referendum from the start, saying the wording is too vague, and could invite more voter fraud.
At a committee meeting this summer to approve explanatory language for the ballot question, Danbury State Senator Michael McLachlan questioned whether voters even understand what they're voting on.
"The question is going to pass on the ballot in November," McLachlan told the committee. "Why? Because voters are going to read the two sentences and say, yeah, that sounds like a good idea, if they even look at the question."
Merrill disputed that reasoning, saying Connecticut voters want flexibility in how they vote. She dismissed the idea that early voting can encourage more fraud. Instead, she brought up other concerns.
"Absentee ballot fraud," Merrill said, "which has been an issue here in terms of having people over-zealously help people fill out ballots, particularly the frail and elderly: That's something we'd have to look at, and come up with processes to try and protect that."
If the referendum passes, The League of Women Voters of Connecticut is one of the groups that will be watching how the legislature proceeds. The non-partisan group has been doing outreach to educate the community about the ballot question.
Co-president Judy Dolphin said the league doesn't tell people how to vote, but the group does support the referendum, because it will mean Connecticut lawmakers can start debating whether it's time to change how residents vote.
Dolphin said it's time to begin that conversation. "Every state has its own rules," she said, "and we are well behind in that process. Maybe that's because we're the state -- what do we call it -- the state of steady habits! Well, this is an old, old habit, and I think we should change it."
