May 15, 2023

The letter below was sent by the CT Voting Rights Act Coalition to the Connecticut General Assembly's Appropriations Committee.  This landmark legislation would address discrimination against voters of color in Connecticut and immediately position this state as a national leader on protecting the right to vote. The CT Voting Rights Act(S.B. 1226) was approved and sent out of committee the same day. The coalition will keep up the pressure until the bill is raised in the Senate. 

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Senator Cathy Osten
Co-Chair, Appropriations Committee
Connecticut General Assembly
Legislative Office Building, Room 2700
Hartford, CT 06106

Representative Toni E. Walker
Co-Chair, Appropriations Committee
Connecticut General Assembly
Legislative Office Building, Room 2702
Hartford, CT 06106

RE: SUPPORT FOR THE CONNECTICUT VOTING RIGHTS ACT (S.B. 1226)

Dear Senator Osten, Representative Walker, and Appropriations Committee Members:
We write to express our strong support for S.B. 1226, the John R. Lewis Voting Rights Act of
Connecticut (“CTVRA”). This landmark legislation would address discrimination against voters
of color in Connecticut and immediately position this state as a national leader on protecting the
right to vote. For these reasons, the CTVRA is a top priority for the undersigned civil and voting
rights organizations.
In this historic session, we need Connecticut to stand up for equal, inclusive democracy.

Despite Connecticut’s progressive reputation, many discriminatory barriers to equal participation
still exist in the state for voters of color and voters whose first language is not English,
particularly at the local level. Until recently, Connecticut had some of the most restrictive voting
laws in the nation. Connecticut voters still face limited access to absentee voting, no early voting
(yet), and long lines at the polls—especially in Black and Latino neighborhoods.1 And
Connecticut lacks robust state-law protections against many forms of voting discrimination that
remain a threat today.
The CTVRA will set a new standard for protecting the right to vote by:

• Launching a “preclearance” program that requires places with records of discrimination to prove that proposed voting changes will not harm voters of color before they can go into effect.
• Providing new legal tools to fight discriminatory voting rules in court.
• Expanding language assistance for voters with limited English proficiency.
• Creating strong protections against voter intimidation, deception, or obstruction.
• Establishing a central hub for election data and demographic information that will empower officials and community members to ensure accessible elections.

The CTVRA builds upon successful laws already passed in California, Washington, Oregon,
Virginia, and New York—which enacted the John R. Lewis Voting Rights Act of New York in
2022. Similar bills are also under consideration in New Jersey and Maryland. The CTVRA will
carry forward this momentum and become one of the most comprehensive state-level voting
rights acts in the country.
Now is Connecticut’s time to lead. We encourage you to favorably report the CTVRA in today’s
Appropriations Committee vote, and we stand ready to work with you to secure this victory for
all Connecticut voters.

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1 See, e.g., NBC Connecticut, Polling Location in Hartford Had Long Lines on Election Day (Nov. 4,
2020),
https://www.nbcconnecticut.com/news/local/polling-location-in-hartford-had-long-lines-on-election-day/2
355523/; Aakshi Chaba, Long lines turn away voters, Yale Daily News (Nov. 7, 2018),
https://yaledailynews.com/blog/2018/11/07/long-lines-turn-away-voters/; Jaden Edison, Early voting is on
the ballot in CT, a key issue for Black and Latino residents, CT Mirror (Oct. 30, 2022),
https://ctmirror.org/2022/10/30/ct-early-voting-constitutional-amendment-black-latino-voters/; Matt
DeRienzo, In Connecticut, Voters Face some of the Biggest Obstacles Outside the South, Center for
Public Integrity (Oct. 7, 2020),
https://publicintegrity.org/politics/elections/us-polling-places/connecticut-voters-face-some-of-the-biggest
-obstacles-outside-the-south/.