With voting rights legislation stalled in Congress, Connecticut lawmakers are being urged to pass the state’s John R. Lewis Voting Rights Act this year.
Civil rights groups including the NAACP and the ACLU of Connecticut say the legislation would get rid of Connecticut’s restrictive voting laws that limit access to absentee voting and do not permit early voting.
Last November, voters approved a referendum to change the state’s Constitution to allow for early voting.
That has cleared the way for the majority Democrats to take action on the bill this year, said Senate President Martin Looney.
“Certainly protecting access to voting is going to be part of our agenda,” he said.
The legislation would also expand language assistance to voters with limited English proficiency and create strong protections against voter suppression.
