Early voting — approved by voters —won’t be simple to put into practice

With a state constitutional amendment last November, Connecticut voters approved early voting in principle, but practice will be complicated and the details have been left to the General Assembly. Fortunately the new secretary of the state, Stephanie Thomas, has proposed sensible answers to the major questions.

How long should the period of early voting be?

The secretary proposes 10 days of early voting, covering the two weekends before the election, the intervening five days, and the Monday before Election Day. Hours would be from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. except for the Wednesday and Thursday before the election, when they would be 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Election Day hours would remain 6 a.m. to 8 p.m. All voters should find convenience in that.

What polling places will be used for early voting?

Municipalities would propose the locations with the secretary empowered to approve or disapprove them. Site criteria would include accessibility for the handicapped, parking, and public transportation. Most municipalities might have only one location but cities might need several.

What provisions would be made for the security of the ballots cast ahead of Election Day?

The secretary wants the early ballots stored just as absentee ballots are stored: in their original sealed envelopes in vaults at the municipal clerk’s office. Getting the early votes safely to the vault every night implies a security challenge for municipalities whose early-voting sites are not adjacent to the clerk’s office — the transportation of the ballots when witnesses aren’t around. This should be addressed.

Which elections would be covered by early voting?

The secretary proposes to cover general and primary elections but not municipal referendums and special elections, which aren’t as important and draw much less participation even as covering them with early voting would incur equal expense.

Will the voter check-off sheets maintained by poll workers be available to the public, candidates, and campaign workers at the end of every day of early voting, to facilitate efforts to get out the vote?

This shouldn’t be too difficult to arrange, and, after all, early voting’s objective is to maximize participation. But the issue hasn’t been addressed.

Who will pay for the extra expense: state taxpayers, municipal taxpayers, or a combination of the two?

The secretary wants state government to reimburse municipal costs, which will be substantial. Of course municipalities also want state reimbursement, which is not always provided with state mandates. While state government, overlooking its huge bonded debt and unfunded pension obligations, claims to be carrying a financial surplus in the billions of dollars, innumerable interest groups are already competing for a share of it.

What would be the first elections with early voting?

The secretary hopes that the enabling legislation will be passed in time to begin with this November’s municipal elections. Indeed, it would be far better to start with municipal elections than a state or federal election, when participation is much greater.

With so many votes cast in advance of Election Day, will vote tabulation be faster on Election Night?

Not necessarily. Early-voting ballots won’t be counted until the polls are closed for good, and presumably early voting will produce more votes than single-day elections. The greater participation and the need to open so many more ballot envelopes may delay tabulation rather than hasten it. Already some municipalities, especially Hartford and Bridgeport, seem unable to report complete vote totals for a day or two after the election. But then of course there are many other things wrong with the cities, and the competence of their governments is stretched.

While simple in principle, in practice early voting will be a huge challenge for voter registrars, town clerks, election workers, and the people in the secretary of the state’s office — the unsung heroes of democracy.

Chris Powell is a columnist for the Journal Inquirer in Manchester, Connecticut.  He can be reached at CPowell@JournalInquirer.com.