We view protecting the right to vote and the opportunity to exercise that right as paramount for our representative democracy to survive and thrive. 

Both the HJ58 No-Excuse Absentee Voting and HJ59 Early Voting resolutions made it out of committee on March 5th! That means they are now ready to be raised for a vote in the Connecticut General Assembly.

The Goal:

Get the House and Senate to pass HJ 58 for No-Excuse Absentee Voting by a supermajority of 75% and the HJ 59 for Early Voting  by at least a simple majority (because it didn’t reach 75% majority in both houses, in 2019 - see below for more on that).

Action:

If you believe that CT voters should make the ultimate decision to amend the State Constitution and remove the restrictive language that currently prevents Early Voting and No-Excuse Absentee Voting - let your legislator know! Ask your legislators to co-sponsor and vote "yes" on both HJ58 and HJ 59 when they are raised for a vote.

Step 1: Check to see if your legislators are already co-sponsors.

Visit the bill status page for both to view the list of co-sponsors:

• HJ 58 - RESOLUTION PROPOSING AN AMENDMENT TO THE STATE CONSTITUTION TO PERMIT NO-EXCUSE ABSENTEE VOTING
• HJ 59 - ESOLUTION PROPOSING AN AMENDMENT TO THE STATE CONSTITUTION TO PERMIT EARLY VOTING

Not sure who your legislators are or how to contact them? Use the Connecticut Business & Industry Association lookup tool:

Find Your Legislators

Step 2: Ask your legislators to co-sponsor both HJ 58 and HJ 59.

Sample language to adapt for an email or letter:

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 and HJ59 by a simple majority, 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?

HJ 59 -Early Voting Language:

HJ 59: Shall the Constitution of the State be amended to permit the General Assembly to provide for early voting?

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.