Our legislators need to hear from us about HJ 58 – the No-Excuse Absentee Voting amendment. They (our legislators) need to pass it by 75% in order for us (CT voters) to have the opportunity to vote on it in 2022.
We are still working to pass HJ 59 for Early Voting but the need is especially acute right now re: HJ 58. We need to not only contact our legislators, but educate the public as to why this legislation is necessary. See the Sample Letter to the Editor below for you to adapt and use to do just that.
The Goal:
Get the House and Senate to pass HJ 58 for No-Excuse Absentee Voting by a supermajority of 75%.
Action:
Feel free to adapt the Sample Letter to the Editor below for this action.
Step 1 - Call or email your legislators and impress upon them the importance of this legislation to YOU as one of their constituents and ask them vote "yes" on HJ58. If you know your legislators are in favor and will vote "YES", make sure to thank them!
Not sure who your legislators are or how to contact them? Use the Connecticut Business & Industry Association lookup tool:
Step 2 - Submit your own Letter to the Editor, adapting the Sample below.
Sample Letter to Editor re HJ 58 No-Excuse Absentee Voting
Background and Ballot Question Language:
In order to update our election laws to provide each Connecticut voter the options of Early Voting (EV) and No-Excuse Absentee Voting (NEAV), we first need an amendment to change the restrictive language in our State Constitution that currently denies voters these options on a permanent basis.
In Connecticut, voters cannot directly propose a constitutional amendment - a resolution must pass the Connecticut General Assembly (CGA) before the rest of us have a chance to vote "yes" or "no". Only after this long constitutional amendment process can legislation be crafted to give voters the options of EV and NEAV on a permanent basis.
- the CGA passes HJ58 by a supermajority, so that voters have the chance vote on the proposed amendments in 2022, AND
- the majority of Connecticut voters vote "YES" for these two ballot questions in 2022.
HJ58 - No-Excuse Absentee Voting Language:
HJ58: Shall the Constitution of the State be amended to permit the General Assembly to allow each voter to vote by absentee ballot?
Simple majority vs. super majority:
A resolution can't just pass on a simple majority (over 50%) the first time around, it must pass with a supermajority (75%) in both houses or else it has to wait till the next general legislative session and be voted on again. If it again passes both houses by at least 51%, it goes to the voters as a ballot question. This is what happened with Early Voting in 2019 and why it is back for round 2.
-------------------------------------------
Want to stay in the loop on all LWVCT Action Alerts? Join the LWVCT OutreachCircle - it allows us to keep you updated in real time and share all the ways you can get involved in your spare time.
