Fate of no-excuse absentee voting to be decided on November ballot

LITCHFIELD — Voters in November’s election will decide if the state constitution should be amended to allow no-excuse absentee voting, thereby removing restrictions and allowing any voter to request a mail-in ballot.

A program on the topic was presented by Denise Butwill, president of the League of Women Voters of Litchfield County and Jesse Hubbard, legislative director with the Office of the Secretary of the State, at the Litchfield Community Center on Wednesday, Oct. 16.

During the hour-long forum, Hubbard gave a run-down on the history of ballot measures and how constitutional amendments make it to the ballot and fielded questions and concerns from attendees.

“There are a lot of people who say we’re making a change to the state constitution, and it takes people aback a bit,” noted Hubbard.

On the top of the ballot, voters are being asked to indicate yes or no to the question: “Shall the Constitution of the State be amended to permit the General Assembly to allow each voter to vote by absentee ballot?”

Voting “yes” authorizes the Connecticut General Assembly to write the law. Voting “no,” he said, keeps current law in place, requiring one of the following six excuses: Active military service, absence from town of residence during voting hours, illness or physical disability, religious beliefs precluding secular activity on election day, or performance of duties as an election official at a different polling place during voting hours.

Hubbard explained that 29 states have adopted no-excuse absentee ballot voting and 14 states, including Connecticut, have excuse-required absentee ballot voting.

Several attendees questioned how town officials will be able to monitor the ballot boxes to ensure integrity of the votes, especially in light of a recent election fraud case in Bridgeport.

Hubbard noted that Public Act 24-148 signed by Gov. Ned Lamont on June 6, 2024, made several updates to current safeguards and enhances absentee ballot voting processes.

“We are now requiring security cameras on drop boxes,” Hubbard said of the new surveillance measure. All towns must comply by July 1, 2025.

In addition, towns must retain the footage of the surveillance recordings for 12 months and make them available to the public.

Either the voter or his or her designee, or an immediate family member (spouse, child, parent, sibling or dependent relative who resides in voter’s household), can return the ballot by mail or at a drop box, noted Hubbard.

Additional safeguards require that town clerks must record on the outer envelope of returned absentee ballot how it was returned. In addition, said Hubbard, each application is to be marked with the year for which it is valid, prohibiting town clerks from providing or accepting absentee ballot applications without the applicable year noted.

What supporters, opponents have to say

In favor of the amendment, State Senator Tony Hwang (R-28) said, “As we move forward, I wish we had ore collaboration of ideas, ideas that make our voting process better, more inclusive, more transparent, more engaged.

State Senator Robert C. Sampson (R-16), who voted against the amendment, said, “We have to be able to trust those votes without question. I have some concerns about trying to move our voting process away from the way it’s been traditionally done where people vote on one specific day in person.

“In the last election we saw all campaigns across this state mailing ballot applications like crazy to people, and also sending out companion mail to say, ‘Yes, you can check the box for sickness. You can vote by absentee.’ It was a mess.”

How widely are absentee ballots used?

During the 2024 Presidential Preference Primary, of the 111,791 votes cast, 6,740 voted by absentee ballot (6%), and 18,132 voted early (16%). During the 2023 Municipal Election, of the 741,831 votes cast, 48,366 voted by absentee ballot (7%).

For the 2022 State Election, of the 1,297,811 votes cast, 150,284 voted by absentee ballot (12%), and during the 2020 Presidential Election, which was a COVID year, out of 1,297,811 total votes, 659,370 people (35%) voted by absentee ballot.

“We saw a big boost” during COVID, said Hubbard. “People were told to stay in their homes and not to got to the polls that year.”

However, with no-excuse absentee voting, “the ballot will not be mailed without you requesting it. It will be mailed when you make that request,” the state official explained.

Advocating for passage

Hubbard recommended that town officials educate voters about where the question is located on the ballot.

“If you are working at the polls, do remind them it’s on the top,” said Hubbard. “There were times where people hadn’t known there was a question on the back, or didn’t bother to read the text on top.”

Early voting and confusing language leads to defeat, the state official noted.

“Without understanding in full the question will often be ignored,” particularly if it has to do with taking an item out of the state constitution,” Hubbard explained.

One attendee asked why not just extend early voting to an entire month.

“The main reason is cost. It requires the town clerks to be there” during extended hours, said Hubbard. “It’s the legislature that chooses. We asked for less days, and we didn’t win that. We have election handlers in small towns who hadn’t heard from anyone for a couple of days,” during previous early voting sessions.

At the conclusion of the forum, Meredith Penfield, a member of the League of Women Voters of Litchfield County and long-time poll worker, expressed skepticism about no-excuse absentee ballot voting.

“Basically, I think you should show up in person to vote, and our economy should always allow workers the time off to vote,” said Penfield.