Recent efforts by the federal government to gain more oversight over the electoral process at the state level have led to widespread confusion among voters, particularly women, according to Connecticut Secretary of the State Stephanie Thomas.
“The number one question we have been getting is from women asking if they should legally change their name or get a new passport or get some form of ID,” Thomas said.
Thomas spoke after a town hall addressing voter concerns in Stamford about federal efforts to change the voting process.
The most well-known federal legislation is known as the SAVE Act, which is actually three separate acts, and would require more documentation in order to vote with an absentee ballot. One of the most controversial aspects is the requirement that voters prove their citizenship in order to register.
Thomas and her office have responded by speaking to voters at events throughout the state in recent weeks, where she said local registrars throughout Connecticut are seeing an uptick in calls asking them for clarification on if they would need to update their identification documents to prevent themselves from being deemed ineligible to vote.
While Thomas said federal legislation like the SAVE Act is unlikely to become law, she said local registrars of voters tell her planning ahead for any contingencies is challenging due to what they characterized as unclear directives at the federal level.
Some Connecticut registrars say they’re closely watching any potential changes to voting registration laws.
Connecticut Public spoke to two GOP registrars, and they expressed support for more stringent voting requirements, citing the 2023 Bridgeport mayoral primary.
Louis DeCillio, the Republican Registrar of Voters in Stratford, said while he is unsure on how municipalities are going to implement any changes due to federal legislation, he said he is in favor of added requirements.
DeCillio said it shouldn’t be that difficult for women voters to keep their registration up to date.
“If they have a birth certificate with a different name and then they show their marriage certificate with their new name, that should be the fix,” DeCillio said. “What's so hard about that?”
Women voters may be among the most impacted, due to being likely to change their last names due to marriage. Thomas, who is married, said during the town hall she did not change her last name. But she decided to test how easy it would be to address any name discrepancies that would need to be fixed under the SAVE Act.
So Thomas looked for a copy of her birth certificate.
“I went to the box where I thought it was, but it wasn't there, and I'm like, ‘oh, no, it's somewhere in my attic, my basement or my safe deposit box, and I don't know which, and I still haven't found it because I'm busy and I haven't had time to keep looking for it,” Thomas said.
Any one who was born in the State of Connecticut and wants to get a copy of their birth certificate would need to head to the vital records office, in person, at the municipal or state level, and pay a $20.00 fee with a copy of a court order documenting their name change.
Voter fraud charges happen at small scale, but draw attention
DeCillio said he is in favor of added federal requirements.
“The whole intent of the act is to basically make sure only U.S. citizens are voting,” DeCillio said “We see it throughout the state, in terms of, especially living next door to Bridgeport, that people that aren't eligible to vote, do vote.”
DeCillio referred to ongoing legal challenges and accusations stemming from the 2023 Bridgeport mayoral primary. They include a 2024 complaint made to the State Elections Enforcement Commission, first reported by CT Mirror, accusing a current Bridgeport city councilman of knowingly registering a noncitizen to vote via absentee ballot.
Voting by noncitizens is extremely rare, according to NPR, and the vast majority of complaints made against legal defendants in the Bridgeport mayoral primary were concerned with mishandling absentee ballots.
The Heritage Foundation, a conservative think tank, also compiled over 20 cases of electoral misconduct in Connecticut since the late 1980s. The Brennan Center, a liberal nonprofit, criticized the Heritage Foundation for inflating the severity of voter fraud, noting over the several decades the report found about a thousand instances of voter fraud nationally, more than 3 billion votes were cast in federal elections during that time.
Annalisa Stravato, the Republican Registrar of Voters in Wilton, cited the Bridgeport mayoral primary as part of her reasoning to support the SAVE Act.
“I do not believe that putting additional safeguards in place to protect the integrity of our elections in Connecticut creates an unreasonable burden,” Stravato said. “I believe it is the least we can do.”
Logistical challenges for registrars
Christina Kazanas, the Democratic Registrar of Voters in Stratford, said the Trump Administration’s proposed legislation is flawed.
She criticized the SAVE Act due to questions about how its proposals would be carried out, and lack of federal funding to enact them. She said any changes would lead to higher workloads, due to needing to verify information in person.
“There's a lot of ‘I don't know’ in this bill in terms of how things get operationalized,” Kazanas said.
“How are we supposed to document that we've received the appropriate proof of citizenship?” she asked. “Are we supposed to make copies? Are we supposed to keep copies on file? How long are we supposed to keep copies on file? How do we prove we did our job?”
Kazanas said the added requirements could be burdensome for voters, too. But preparing for any federal changes to state election requirements, no matter how unlikely, could be useful, according to her.
“Even though it's not the law right now, make sure you're registered to vote,” Kazanas said. “Make sure you have what they consider to be an acceptable form of ID, just in case.”
