All Connecticut residents will soon be able to vote by mail-in ballot. A bill to amend the state’s current voting laws passed the Senate on the final day of the legislative session.
“An Act Concerning Absentee Voting for All and Various Other Reforms Related to the Administration of Elections” advanced along party lines. The bill repeals a law that denies absentee ballots to voters who can’t prove that they won’t be able to make it to the polls on election day.
Senator Mae Flexer (D-Brooklyn), who co-chairs the Government Administration and Elections Committee, was in favor.
“This is something that we have been talking about here in Connecticut for quite some time, but it's in the last decade that we have finally been able to make progress in catching up with so many other states in our country and making voting easier and more accessible for more voters here in the state of Connecticut,” Flexer said.
The question of whether or not to amend the state Constitution to allow no-excuse absentee voting was put to voters in 2024. Fifty-eight percent of voters approved.
Senator Rob Sampson (R-Wolcott), the top Republican on GAE, proposed eight amendments to the bill that passed on Wednesday. They all failed, including one that would have required a photo ID to vote.
“You need a photo ID to cash a check, to get on a plane, to get prescription drugs, to buy liquor. I could write a book about all the things you need a photo ID to have access to in our society,” Sampson said. “The one thing that's not required in Connecticut is voting.”
Sampson said he may have supported the bill if it had only dealt with absentee voting. He also wanted more time to debate the bill — debate was limited to three hours because the session ended at midnight.
“This particular bill that is in front of us is 73 sections long,” Sampson said. “It's 116 pages. The only thing that has anything to do with the ballot question is section one.”
Other sections of the bill prevent federal agents from coming within 250 feet of a polling location during an election, allow high-speed tabulators to be used during recanvases, and change the reasons for which a municipal clerk can be removed from office.
The bill now heads to Governor Ned Lamont’s (D) desk for signature. Assuming he signs it, Connecticut voters will be able to cast their ballots by mail this year.
