Opinion: Why a Yes Vote on Connecticut’s No-Excuse Absentee Voting Amendment is Long Overdue

Op-ed by Fairfield County’s Community Foundation president and CEO Mendi Blue Paca originally published in CT Insider.com on October 25, 2024.

Connecticut voters have the opportunity this election to ease our state’s restrictive voting regulations by voting in favor of the Connecticut No-Excuse Absentee Voting Amendment.

You will have to carefully inspect your ballot when voting to make that happen. The question can appear at the top, bottom, side or on the back of ballots.

But by voting yes, you will join others in giving the go-ahead to the General Assembly to pass legislation that will allow all Connecticut voters to cast their ballots by mail in future elections.

Fairfield County’s Community Foundation strongly recommends voting “yes” on this ballot question. Doing so will put our state on a clear path to permitting any registered voter the opportunity to obtain an absentee ballot and vote by mail.

We’re confident that if voters deliver a clear and resounding message that they favor vote-by-mail, state lawmakers will quickly take action to make the option available in all future elections.

And frankly, that action would be long overdue. While other states often make headlines for efforts to restrict voting access, Connecticut is one of the most difficult states in which to vote.

Currently, 35 states allow voting by mail. Meanwhile, seven states conduct their elections entirely with mail-in ballots. New Hampshire is the only other New England state that does not allow vote-by-mail.

So here in Connecticut, we’d be catching up to what has been the norm in other states for years, sometimes decades.

This change would allow more of our residents to participate in our democracy by eliminating the current arduous process of acquiring an absentee ballot in Connecticut.

Currently, you can only receive an absentee ballot if in your judgment, an absence from your town on Election Day prevents you from appearing at your polling place, or you are prevented from appearing at your assigned polling place on Election Day because of sickness or physical disability (not necessarily your sickness or disability), active service in the Military, religious tenets forbid secular activity on the day of the election, or [you have] duties as an election official at a polling place other than your own during all of the hours of voting.

Such limitations don’t account for the challenges of hectic everyday life that surely cause potential voters to not make their voices heard on Election Day.

Too often, work schedules combined with long lines at the polls deter people from voting on Election Day. And, in some instances, employers make it difficult to get time off to go vote.

And simply getting to a polling location can present barriers for those who rely on public transportation, those with disabilities, and older residents and others who may be hesitant to drive because of weather conditions or other factors.

These challenges can prove particularly acute in under-resourced communities throughout the state, where a combination of these factors have traditionally led to low turnout.

Such limitations are outdated and unnecessary. The reality is that our democracy has the best chance to thrive when as many people as possible have ready access to the ballot box.

Connecticut’s lawmakers demonstrated leadership recently by approving early voting, significantly increasing the time available to vote from what was once just the 14-hour span between 6 am and 8 pm on Election Day.

For this year’s Election, you can vote in person before Election Day between Oct. 21 and Nov. 3.

Lawmakers can build on this progress by instituting no-excuse absentee ballots in our future elections. Yet they can only do so if voters during this Election vote “yes” on the ballot question.

So, remember: When you’re casting your vote, be sure to seek out the amendment question on your ballot.

By doing so you are acting toward making it easier for you, your family, friends, neighbors, and fellow Connecticut residents to vote in the future.

That will make for an Election in which everyone can participate.