Connecticut voters appeared to have approved a constitutional amendment that would allow universal absentee voting.
The approval of the ballot measure, which the ACLU called a “resounding victory,” will allow lawmakers to introduce legislation to bring “no-excuse” mail-in voting to the state, joining the majority of U.S. states, which allow residents to vote by mail regardless of whether they claim an approved excuse such being out of town or having an illness.
“The current system doesn’t work for everyone from an access point of view,” said Rep. Matt Blumenthal, D-Stamford. “If you work long hours, multiple jobs, or if you care for someone with a disability, that may prevent you from getting to the polls and deprive you from your right to vote.”
Twenty-eight other states, plus the District of Columbia, already allow no-excuse mail-in voting, and eight more states have all-mail elections, in which every eligible voter is automatically mailed a ballot.
As results on Tuesday night began to show that the measure was likely to pass — with the Associated Press reporting about 56% in favor at 11:45 p.m. with 28% of the vote counted — Blumenthal said the referendum would “allow us to not only increase voting access across our state but also design a system that’s more efficient and secure and serves the people of Connecticut better than the current one does.”
“Connecticut has been sorely behind our fellow Americans in its availability of safe, convenient and accessible options for voters to participate in their democracy,” said ACLU of Connecticut Rise PAC chairman David McGuire. “Our people are our power, and when people vote, the people win.”
[CT election results: No-excuse absentee voting constitutional amendment]
But making the change hasn’t been easy. The right to vote absentee is only allowed under certain circumstances, according to the Connecticut Constitution, meaning that voters had to approve the measure so that lawmakers can make the change official.
On Tuesday, the Connecticut Republican Party made a last minute push to defeat the measure, posting on X, “let’s send a message to the politicians in Hartford. Leave our Constitution alone.”
After early results suggested the measure would pass, Connecticut Republican Committee Chair Ben Proto said the move was unfortunate and unnecessary.
“I’m leery about continuing to amend our constitution to do things that are the flavor-of-the-month kind of thing,” Proto said. “The constitution should really be a sacred document that sets forth our principals of why our government exists, and to continue to run these amendments time and time again to continue to gain political and electoral advantages seems to me to be contrary to what the constitution is all about.”
Members of the Republican party have expressed growing distrust in the electoral process. In a recent Connecticut Mirror poll, about 79% of Democrats who responded said they supported the measure, and 81% of Republicans opposed the expansion of absentee voting.
That distrust was fomented by the ongoing absentee ballot abuse scandal in Bridgeport, in which Wanda Geter-Pataky, the vice chairwoman of the city’s Democratic Party, was charged, along with three others, with allegedly helping voters to fill out absentee ballots during the city’s 2019 mayoral race and illegally taking possession of those ballots before the election.
The referendum comes after a similar ballot measure in 2014, which failed. Blumenthal said that, in that case, “overly complicated and confusing” phrasing was to blame.
Former Secretary of the State Denise Merrill, who was behind that 2014 attempt, said the issue looked different 10 years ago. For one, it was coupled with a referendum to allow early voting, an issue that was subsequently considered by voters on its own terms, and took place for the first time this year.
“Its time hadn’t come. It wasn’t a huge issue as it is now,” Merrill said.
The change in the mentality around absentee voting is partially a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, Merrill said, when the state allowed all eligible voters to mail in their ballots, due to concerns about contagion. “About a third of the electorate used absentee voting, and they loved it.”
Nearly 80% of Connecticut’s eligible voters participated in the election, the most in the state’s history.
“People overwhelmingly reported it to be a positive experience,” Blumenthal said. “We waited a little longer for the results than we normally do. But things went smoothly.”
Secretary of State Stephanie Thomas said on Tuesday that she hoped that voters would weigh in on the ballot measure.
“Part of the issue with ballot questions, sometimes, they’re not well advertised. Voters aren’t quite sure what the issue is,” Thomas said. “I know, in 2014, a lot of people left that question blank. So for me, a successful result is that everyone actually answers.”