It’s no secret that quite a few states are actively taking steps to impede voting entry for tens of millions of People, which is able to discourage voting, create extra bureaucratic limitations, and depress voter turnout. Lately Connecticut has taken a special and higher path — rightly addressing restrictive legal guidelines and making voting simpler for all eligible Connecticut residents. As Connecticut’s former secretary of the state, it was my sworn responsibility to safeguard and increase the appropriate to vote, which is why I’m each very happy with the progress our state has made, but in addition keenly conscious that we’ve extra work to do.
Connecticut is one among solely 4 states — together with Alabama, Mississippi, and New Hampshire — that require all voters to vote in particular person in a polling place on Election Day except they current a selected motive why they can’t seem. There isn’t a motive Connecticut residents shouldn’t have the identical alternatives to vote that residents in neighboring states and the overwhelming majority of People have.
It’s far previous time for Connecticut to enact early voting, making it simpler and extra handy for employees, mother and father, commuters, the disabled, seniors, and each eligible voter to have interaction in democracy. Fortunately, voters will now have the possibility to make this modification — on the poll field this November.
On every poll this fall, a query will seem as follows: “Shall the Structure of the State be amended to allow the Normal Meeting to offer for early voting?”
There’ll solely be two choices: sure or no. I’m urging each Connecticut voter to take this unbelievable alternative to help democracy, help their fellow voters of all events, and vote “YES.”
This isn’t the primary time Connecticut voters might be requested to amend the state structure to permit for early voting; In 2014, an early voting poll measure was narrowly defeated partially due to complicated language and inadequate schooling on what the measure would imply. We now have a second likelihood to increase voting entry so each eligible voter who desires to vote can achieve this safely, securely, and conveniently.
In 2016 a 3rd of voters, nearly 50 million folks nationwide, voted early; in 2020, these numbers had grown to greater than 100 million folks voting early representing greater than two thirds of the whole votes forged.
When the COVID-19 pandemic hit, it uncovered the basic inflexibility of our election system. My workplace labored with all 169 cities in Connecticut to make sure that each voter who wished to vote may achieve this securely and safely in the way in which that finest suited their life-style, work schedule, and well being situations. The end result was a convincing success. Greater than 1.8 million folks — a document variety of Connecticut voters – forged ballots in November and greater than 650,000 of them selected to vote by absentee poll — 35 p.c of complete votes forged.
This document variety of voters underscores the truth that when folks can vote conveniently and don’t have to change their lives to bodily be someplace between 6 a.m. and eight p.m. on one weekday in November, extra folks will be capable of — will select to — interact in democracy and take the patriotic motion to vote.
Let me be clear: this isn’t a partisan difficulty. Early voting is standard throughout the political spectrum. Regardless of a extremely polarized citizens, 79 p.c of Connecticut voters help early voting and 73 p.c of Connecticut voters help increasing entry to absentee ballots to all voters with out requiring an excuse.
When this modification passes, we will start the dialog of methods to finest implement these election reforms in order that our democracy is actually participatory. However to get there, we’ve to amend our state structure in help of those rights and these beliefs. When it when involves early voting, we have to vote “sure” this November!
Denise Merrill is Connecticut’s former secretary of the state.
