City Democrats to Consider Mail-In and Early Voting Resolution

The New Britain Democratic Party is set to consider a resolution proposed by John McNamara to urge mail-in and early voting in the 2020 election and beyond.

“It’s unfortunate that it’s taken a public health emergency to demonstrate the need for absentee voting by mail and early voting,” McNamara said. “Connecticut needs to open absentee ballots to all voters this year.”

“The Governor and legislature should make the statutory and constitutional changes to make these voter choices permanent in every election,” McNamara added.

McNamara is currently a member of the Democratic State Central Committee and was formerly the Chair of the New Britain Democratic Party. He was the Democrats’ 2015 Mayoral candidate.

The proposed resolution says that, “the current coronavirus crisis and/or other emergencies and natural disasters threaten ballot access and the full participation of citizens in elections at local, state and federal levels.”

So, the resolution proposes, “that the New Britain Democratic Town Committee urges the Governor, Secretary of the State and the General Assembly to extend absentee voting privileges to all registered voters in the 2020 election cycle.”

But the proposed resolution also calls on the state to make the change permanent, citing that, “early in person voting and voting by mail have significantly increased voter participation in states which have adopted those choices for voters,” also noting that, “Connecticut election law has no provision for early in person voting for an extended period of time prior to Election Day.”

The resolution proposes, “that the New Britain Democratic Town Committee urges the Governor and General Assembly to adopt statutory and constitutional changes to make no excuse absentee voting and early in person voting permanent for all future municipal and state primaries and elections.”

McNamara noted that, “Oregon, Colorado and Utah, among others now use a voting by mail system that has significantly increased voter participation.”

Connecticut law currently provides that,

Any elector eligible to vote at a primary or an election and any person eligible to vote at a referendum may vote by absentee ballot if he or she is unable to appear at his or her polling place during the hours of voting for any of the following reasons: (1) His or her active service with the armed forces of the United States; (2) his or her absence from the town of his or her voting residence during all of the hours of voting; (3) his or her illness; (4) his or her physical disability; (5) the tenets of his or her religion forbid secular activity on the day of the primary, election or referendum; or (6) the required performance of his or her duties as a primary, election or referendum official, including as a town clerk or registrar of voters or as staff of the clerk or registrar, at a polling place other than his or her own during all of the hours of voting at such primary, election or referendum.

Many people vote by absentee ballot sent in the mail, for example because they have physical difficulty getting to the polls or they are out of the city.

This same law also currently allows people to vote before an election, by going to the City Clerk’s office at City Hall and completing an absentee ballot. But their reason for voting early has be one of the specific reasons allowed under the law for why they are unable to appear at their polling place between 6:00am and 8:00pm on the specific date of the election.

Current state law even contains an arcane provision that says that, “Any elector who has returned an absentee ballot to the municipal clerk and who finds he is able to vote in person shall proceed before ten o’clock a.m. on election, primary or referendum day to the municipal clerk’s office and request that his ballot be withdrawn.” The law specifies an elaborate process for withdrawing the absentee ballot, and then for the voter to go their polling place, with a letter from the City Clerk saying that they can vote in person at their polling place.

The new law advocated by the proposed Democratic Party resolution would remove these arcane provisions and simply allow voters to vote by absentee ballot, before the election, in person or by mail, if the voters choose to, for any reason.

Advocates for the changed law often refer to it as, “no excuse absentee voting,” meaning that the voters would not have to have an excuse for why they want to vote by absentee ballot.

It has often been interpreted that a provision of the state Constitution saying that the state legislature, “may provide by law for voting,” by absentee ballot means that the state Constitution would have to be amended to allow early voting or voting by mail. A proposed amendment to make a change to that provision of the state Constitution was approved by the state legislature but voted down by voters in 2014.

But the state Constitution does not appear to specifically prohibit the state law from allowing for voting by mail and early voting, and does provide the state legislature with broad powers for, “prescribing the manner of regulating and conducting,” elections.

The proposed Democratic resolution would also provide, “that the New Britain Democratic Town Committee supports enactment of the Natural Disaster and Emergency Ballot Act of 2020, co-sponsored by Senators Chris Murphy, Amy Klobuchar, Ron Wyden and others to expand early in person voting and no excuse absentee vote by mail to all states.”

The proposal is to be offered at a meeting of the Democratic Town Committee tonight, April 16, 2020.