March 17, 2020

Dear Governor Lamont:

The League of Women Voters of Connecticut is writing to you to urge support for special policies to help families and communities during this difficult time. We applaud your efforts so far to address the Corona virus in Connecticut.

We are concerned about the citizens of Connecticut who do not have paid sick leave or emergency paid leave benefits. We would also like to protect people with emergency unemployment compensation where necessary. As COVID-19 progresses, there will be an increased need for these types of coverage.

We recognize that there are programs beginning to be put into place to address feeding children and families but we hope that the state of Connecticut will expand the aid in this area. With the uncertainty at this time, in particular in regard to school closings, meals that were being provided by schools need to be covered.

As the League of Women Voters of Connecticut, one of our priorities is elections. We want participation in the Connecticut Presidential Primary to be available via absentee ballots. We agree with the Secretary of the State that we would like to see an executive order that would eliminate restrictive language in the statutes, pertaining to absentee ballots, during this emergency. All citizens deserve easy and safe access to the elections that will not jeopardize their health.

We thank you for your leadership during these difficult times. We hope you will take actions to help working families and to insure safe voting options for the Presidential Primary.

Sincerely,

Carol Reimers

President