Connecticut voters have approved a proposed amendment to the state constitution that removes restrictions around absentee voting, allowing for universal access.
The amendment passed with around 58% of voters in favor and 42% against, a 16% margin of difference, according to the Associated Press.
But its passage doesn’t mean so-called “no-excuse absentee voting” will automatically take effect; rather, it means lawmakers are now free to pass a law allowing for it.
Here’s what to know about the next steps lawmakers could take and how no-excuse absentee voting could change voting in Connecticut.
What is current CT law around absentee voting?
Currently, the Connecticut state constitution allows for absentee voting if an individual meets one of six requirements: they are out of town on Election Day, working at another polling place, sick or caring for another who is sick, actively serving in the military, or unable to vote in-person due to religious reasons or a physical disability.
If a voter’s situation falls under one of those criteria, they may request an absentee ballot online or fill out a paper application and return it to their town clerk.
Rules around absentee voting in Connecticut have expanded twice in recent history. First, when COVID-19 surged in 2020 lawmakers expanded the definition of “sickness” as a reason for absentee voting to include fear of contracting the virus. As a result, 35% of voters utilized absentee ballots in the 2020 presidential election, according to Rep. Matthew Blumenthal, D-Stamford.
Then, in 2022 CT expanded its law regarding absentee voting again to allow out-of-town commuters and caretakers of the disabled or chronically ill to vote by absentee ballot.
What is no-excuse absentee voting?
No-excuse absentee voting describes absentee voting that is accessible universally. In other words, one does not need to provide a reason in order to vote by absentee.
Many in favor of no-excuse absentee voting point to its ability to increase voter turnout. By increasing accessibility, they argue, no-excuse absentee voting promises to increase voter participation.
Those opposed, largely members of the Republican party, cite fears of voter fraud.
Some point to Bridgeport, where four political operatives were accused of unlawfully possessing another individual’s absentee ballot, among other related charges, during the Bridgeport mayoral election.
But no evidence exists for claims of “widespread voter fraud” in Connecticut or elsewhere.
What happens now that voters have approved the constitutional amendment?
No-excuse absentee voting does not take effect immediately. For it to become law, state legislators must take it up during the 2025 legislative session.
Because Connecticut voter law is written into the state constitution, it is difficult to amend. Any changes to it must first pass through the House and Senate with three-fourths majority support, or a simple majority in both chambers in two successive legislative terms, and then majority support among voters.
Now that those steps have been completed, lawmakers are free to pass a law to enact no-excuse absentee voting statewide.
Though lawmakers could technically opt not to pursue passing a law to permit no-excuse absentee voting further, that is not the plan for Blumenthal.
“It’s going to be a high priority for me and the Government Administration and Elections Committee if I continue to be chair,” he said.
If lawmakers approve it, Connecticut will join the more than half of the U.S. states that utilize no-excuse absentee voting.
When could no-excuse absentee voting become available to Connecticut voters?
Blumenthal is hopeful that no-excuse absentee voting will be implemented “as soon as possible.”
“We obviously need to speak with the secretary’s office and the Town Clerk’s Association and the registrar to figure out what’s feasible. But I would hope to implement it as soon as possible,” Blumenthal said, referring to the secretary of the state and the registrars of voters. “I would be very hopeful that we’d be able to implement it in time for the first possible election…while also giving enough time for our elections officials to adjust.”
In 2022, Connecticut voters approved early voting, opening the door for lawmakers to amend the state constitution. Then, during the 2023 legislative session, the Connecticut House of Representatives and Senate voted to officially bring early in-person voting to Connecticut, and the bill was signed into law by Gov. Ned Lamont, mandating that each town have an early voting polling place that is available for 14 days before the election.
The 2024 presidential primary election was the first time that early voting was available to Connecticut voters. Before then, Connecticut was one of four states that did not provide early voting as an option.
In the same 2023 legislative session that state government wrote early voting into Connecticut law, they also agreed to ask voters by referendum during this year’s general election to authorize no-excuse absentee voting, which Blumenthal called “the last, kind of, handcuffs on our election system preventing us from entering the 21st century of voting.”
“In the short term, I’m hopeful that we’ll be able to allow everyone who wants to, to vote absentee as soon as possible,” Blumenthal said. “But I’m also hopeful that we’re gonna have a broader conversation about how passing this constitutional amendment can help us better structure our elections.”