Shall the Constitution of the State be amended to permit the General Assembly to allow each voter to vote by absentee ballot?
Connecticut voters will see the above question on their November 5 ballot.
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A "yes" vote supports authorizing our State Legislators to make absentee voting available to ALL eligible Connecticut voters for any reason.
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A "no" vote opposes any changes, keeping current language in the State Constitution that requires a voter to have a specific reason (from a list of 6) to request an absentee ballot.
What would the amendment do?
Currently, Connecticut voters can request an absentee ballot only if they cannot make it to the polls on election day for one of the following reasons:
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Active military service;
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Absence from town of residence during voting hours;
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Sickness;
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Physical disability;
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Religious beliefs precluding secular activity on election day; or
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Performance of duties as an election official at a different polling place during voting hours.
The amendment would authorize the Connecticut State Legislature to provide for absentee voting for all eligible voters with no specific reason required.
Under the amendment, an absentee ballot would still be returned either in person or by mail to the voter’s city or town clerk’s office by the close of business the day before the election, or dropped in an official ballot drop-box before the polls close at 8 pm on election day.
Why do we need the Absentee Voting Amendment?
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As a Connecticut voter, the choice of whether you vote in person or absentee should be YOURS and YOURS ALONE, without having to justify it to anyone else.
–Do you want to show up to the polls and vote early or on election day? Great!
–Or, do you want to take your ballot home and take your time filling it out before mailing it in or dropping it off? Up to you!
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You shouldn’t have to choose between your job, loved ones, or your health, and exercising your right to vote. There are a lot of folks who do not qualify for an absentee ballot under the current restrictions but whose jobs, care-taking responsibilities, or health concerns prevent them from going in person to a polling location.
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Connecticut is behind the majority of other states when it comes to access to absentee voting. It’s time to catch up! Connecticut’s restrictions on voting access are outdated - 28 states do not require a specific reason to vote absentee, including New York, Massachusetts, and Rhode Island. Eight states and the District of Columbia conduct their elections entirely by mail.
State Constitutional changes
The ballot measure would amend section 7 of Article VI of the state constitution. The following bold text would be added, and struck-through text would be deleted:
Text of Section 7: The general assembly may provide by law for voting in the choice of any officer to be elected or upon any question to be voted on at an election by qualified voters of the state who are unable to will not appear at the polling place on the day of election.because of absence from the city or town of which they are inhabitants or because of sickness, or physical disability or because the tenets of their religion forbid secular activity.
How did this measure get on our November ballot?
Connecticut has enshrined its voting rules in the State Constitution, so, to change anything–the hours the polling place is open, the way ballots are returned–the Constitution has to be amended. This process has checks and balances built in, so it takes time. If a resolution to amend passes the state legislature by 75% majority the first time around, it then goes to the ballot for the voters to decide. But if it passes by anything less, it has to go through the same process with the next legislature two years later.
The legislative process for this year’s absentee voting ballot referendum began in 2021 and the resolution passed by less than 75% majority that year. It was picked up and passed by the next legislature in 2023, which means it is finally on our November 2024 ballot as a Referendum Question. If the Referendum fails to gain a majority of “Yes” votes in November, the whole process has to start again. A failed referendum would mean that Connecticut voters wouldn’t have access to universal absentee voting until at least 2030.
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