Help us reach every state legislator! The House and Senate need to hear from you about HJ 58 – the No-Excuse Absentee Voting Resolution. Both houses need to pass it by 75% in order for us (CT voters) to have the opportunity to vote on it in 2022.
HJ 59 for Early Voting passed easily in the House on May 6th and is headed to the Senate - but the need is acute right now for HJ 58. Last year, 650,000 Connecticut voters cast an absentee ballot in the 2020 election - but this expanded access is not permanent without your help.
Help us reach ALL Connecticut legislators and tell them what a YES vote means to Connecticut voters! HJ58 is expected to be discussed and voted on in the State House of Representatives on Tuesday, May 11 before heading to the State Senate.
The Goal:
Get the Connecticut House and Senate to pass HJ 58 for No-Excuse Absentee Voting by a supermajority of 75% in each house.
Action:
Step 1 - Call or email both of your legislators (start with your State Rep) and tell them what a "YES" on HJ58 means to you. If you know your legislators are already in favor and will vote "YES", make sure to thank them!
Not sure who your legislators are or how to contact them? Use the CGA Lookup Tool:
Sample Message to Your State Representative and
Senator:
- if enough of our 187 legislators vote YES, Connecticut's 2,309, 576 active voters will have a chance to vote on amending our Constitution to provide for No-Excuse Absentee Voting.
- the overwhelming success of the November 2020 election in which over 650,000 voters safely cast absentee ballots, and
- the Registrars of Voters, Town Clerks, pollworkers, and state elections officials who made this possible.
- because of vote counting protocols mandated by Secretary of State's office, the results of the election in the 90th district were overturned by 17 votes in favor of the incumbent. Read more: https://ctnewsjunkie.com/2020/11/13/20201113recount_gives_fishbein_victory_in_90th/
- our paper ballots and tabulator system are not connected to the internet, so they cannot be hacked.
Background and Ballot Question Language:
In order to update our election laws to provide each Connecticut voter the option of No-Excuse Absentee Voting (NEAV), we first need an amendment to change the restrictive language in our State Constitution that currently denies voters this option 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 option of NEAV on a permanent basis.
- both houses of the CGA pass HJ58 by a supermajority (75% - 113 in House and 27 in Senate) during the 2021 legislative session, AND
- the majority of Connecticut voters vote "YES" in a 2022 referendum on the proposed amendment.
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. supermajority:
A resolution can't 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 a simple majority, it is then presented to the voters as a ballot question. This is what happened with the Early Voting Resolution in 2019 - it failed to pass by a supermajority in both houses - so it is back for round 2 in 2021.
-------------------------------------------
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.
