2021 is an election cycle for City Council and Board of Education. If passed into law, as it was in 2020, this measure allows all electors the option to vote by absentee ballot in lieu of walk-in polling places, citing public health issues.
In the news release below State Senator Marilyn Moore signals her support for early voting in Connecticut and expanded use of absentee ballots.
Despite unanimous Republican opposition, Connecticut Senate Democrats today approved a bill that will extend the option to vote by absentee ballot to all Connecticut voters through November 3, thereby allowing residents to participate in local budget or referendum votes, mayoral and town council elections, school board elections and other electoral processes without the fear of any potential public health concerns.
Senate Democrats approved an amended version of Senate Bill 901 today on a 24-12 vote; the bill now heads to the House of Representatives for consideration. The bill received zero Republican votes when it was passed out of the Government Administration and Elections Committee on March 5, and received zero Republican votes when it was approved by the Appropriations Committee on Monday.
“The right to vote is one of the most fundamental rights in our country,” said Sen. Moore. “Absentee ballots proved to be an alternative solution during the 2020 election that allowed everyone to use their right to vote while remaining safe during a pandemic. This is the future of voting by expanding access to voting.”
S.B. 901 extends through November 3 certain temporary changes that were made to state law for the 2020 elections due to the deadly COVID-19 viral pandemic. Among other provisions, the bill:
— Expands the reasons people can vote by absentee ballot to include the COVID-19 sickness
— Authorizes town clerks to mail absentee voting sets using a third-party vendor that the secretary of the state approves and selec
— Requires town clerks to designate secure drop boxes and allows voters to deposit absentee ballots in them
— Authorizes municipalities to conduct certain absentee ballot pre-counting proceduresDespite today’s action, public voting rights in Connecticut remain severely outdated and restrictive. For instance, Connecticut remains one of just 16 states in America that does not offer “no-excuses” absentee voting, and is one of just six states in America that doesn’t offer early voting, joining Kentucky, Mississippi, Missouri, New Hampshire and South Carolina in restricting the rights of its citizens.
Today’s successful vote by Senate Democrats comes amid a national debate about expanding democracy to more Americans in the face of fierce and determined Republican legislative efforts to disenfranchise voters at the state level.
For example, the chief executives of Michigan’s 30 largest corporations–including Ford, General Motors and Quicken Loans–publicly came out in opposition to proposed changes by Michigan Republicans to make voting more difficult in that state. Nevada Republicans have censured their own secretary of state for refusing to investigate bogus Republican claims of supposed election fraud there. Arizona and Texas Republicans are pushing new state laws to limit mail-in voting and instituting other anti-democracy restrictions, and Major League Baseball pulled the planned 2021 All-Star Game of Atlanta, Georgia in protest of Republican efforts there to institute more restrictive voting regulations.
Connecticut is not a progressive or liberal state, just read this from above, “Despite today’s action, public voting rights in Connecticut remain severely outdated and restrictive. For instance, Connecticut remains one of just 16 states in America that does not offer “no-excuses” absentee voting, and is one of just six states in America that doesn’t offer early voting, joining Kentucky, Mississippi, Missouri, New Hampshire and South Carolina in restricting the rights of its citizens.” That’s great company Kentucky, Mississippi, Missouri and South Carolina, that’s why I say that Bridgeport is a city UP SOUTH, blacks and Hispanics can not even elect one of their own to be mayor.
It wasn’t restrictive voting laws that prevented Marilyn Moore from becoming mayor of Bridgeport..
If you disagree, make statement of your own or prove me wrong.
LE, I don’t know who you are directing your point to because I never mentioned Marilyn Moore, my issue is how far behind the times Connecticut is with not expanding voting rights.
You don’t have to mention her name when you talk about blacks’ inability to elect one of their own.
Connecticut voters rejected a Constitutional amendment about 7 years ago (passed by the State Legislature) that would have allowed universal abentee ballots for convenience.
Question it authorizes town clerks to use mail services for A/B mailing but does it require that all voters receive an application as in the past election, or must it be requested?
I’m a self-styled expert on branding in Bridgeport. Here’s my conclusion: Bridgeport needs an aura to replace its stigma.
It’s not about voting laws, it’s about daily rituals.
I checked the Office of Legislative Research Bill Analysis.
SB 901 extends through June 30, 2021 the temporary changes to accommodate concerns with Covid 19, allowing absentee voters to use Covid 19 as an excuse to request an absentee ballot.
There were some changes that were endorsed by registrars of voters relating to pre-counting of absentee ballots.
Connecticut Democrats would prefer to have unsolicited ballots sent to all registered voters (dead or alive) as was done in some states to harvest votes for democrat party candidates.
This line sums up Marily Moore’s view:
“Today’s successful vote by Senate Democrats comes amid a national debate about expanding democracy to more Americans in the face of fierce and determined Republican legislative efforts to disenfranchise voters at the state level.”
Democrats want to ‘expand democracy’? Is that dogwhistle for ballot harvesting?
I may contact my State Senator (a Republican) to get their account of why this bill had no Republican support.
Tom White, that’s some interesting points about the state law but why do Republicans want less people voting nationwide? William F Buckley, Mr. Conservative of Stamford CT, the person President Reagan followed had a strange believed about voting rights.
There is nothing inherently wrong with “absentee” voting on any scale.
In our democracy, the right to vote is secured with initial registration by the voter such that the voter/registrant identity is initially confirmed through a variety of proof, which can later be used as confirmation of voter identity during/following in-person or “absentee” voting activity…
In this latter context, absentee voting/remote (e-voting)/early-in-person voting, are things that can only help democracy and social/economic justice through the collective empowerment of democratic action (voting).
Using scare-tactics and promoting undue skepticism concerning the validity of voting/vote-count methods is a Third-World approach to “democracy” that can only take our society/country in a negative direction.
This 2020 election saw the type of facilitation of democratic action that might have saved our country from the experience of most of the periods of war-grief, civil unrest, and economic-chaos that have stifled the full realization of the American potential during the past 200+ years. When all of the people have a chance to register their sentiment, the chances of the “right” things happening are increased accordingly.
The many bi-partisan examinations of absentee ballots cast in the 2020 election have provided abundant proof of the validity of the election results at all levels, across all parts of the country, and have left the greater portion of the American public feeling comfortable with the results. That’s really all that needs to be said in regard to creating permanent statute that legitimizes and facilitates confirmable balloting, of all sorts, as desirable tools for the American democratic toolbox…