Conversation Starter 🗣🗯
Should Connecticut allow 'no excuse' absentee voting in future elections?
More than 25% of Connecticut voters chose to submit absentee ballots in this year’s presidential election. Under a temporary policy that came in response to the coronavirus pandemic, all Connecticut voters were given the option to mail in their ballot or vote in-person on Election Day.
The state House of Representatives voted in July to loosen the tight limitations on absentee voting, redefining the “sickness” excuse to cover the COVID-19 pandemic. Secretary of the State Denise Merrill announced Wednesday that she will propose an amendment to the Connecticut Constitution to allow ‘no excuse’ absentee voting in future elections.
Connecticut is one of six states to require in-person voting unless a voter has an acceptable excuse. In order to change the state constitution, both chambers of the legislature must approve the resolution with a 75% majority in 2021 and then it would be decided by Connecticut voters in 2022.
Some questions:
How much trust do you have in the vote-by-mail process?
Do you think vote by mail increases the risk of electoral fraud?
As we watch the controversy over mail-in voting play out in the 2020 election, do you think there are any changes that need to be made to the mail-in system?
Do you think it’s time for Connecticut to allow for ‘no excuse’ absentee voting?