Early Voting

Munis celebrate civic legislation, concerned about funds and staffing

With reports that Connecticut had some of the most restrictive voting laws in the nation and the relaxing of absentee ballot rules during the pandemic, it was only a matter of time before the General Assembly made good on the promise to make voting easier in our state. In June, Governor Lamont signed Public Act 23-5 which created a system of early voting for general elections, special elections, and primaries.

As the Governor declared in his press release on the day he put his signature on the bill, the new law requires 14 days of early voting for general elections, 7 days of early voting for most primaries, and 4 days of early voting for special elections and presidential preference primaries. It will apply to elections and primaries that occur on or after January 1, 2024. Every municipality in the state will be required to establish at least one early voting location and has the option of establishing more.

This timeline was expanded from the suggestion made by Secretary of the State Stephanie Thomas, who had initially proposed a 10-day period. Legislators and the General Assembly added the four extra days, following many other states who have similar time frames. Only Alabama, Mississippi, and New Hampshire do not have early voting.

The hope of course is to get more people to vote. Governor Lamont said, “In today’s economy, it is not realistic to expect every eligible voter to travel in person to one specific location during a limited set of hours on a Tuesday to cast their ballot.”

During the drafting of this bill, municipalities and CCM raised the issue of funding to implement early voting, which the Office of Fiscal Analysis estimated to cost approximately $4.4 million. The adopted budget PA 23-204 only provided $1.8 million which will be used to provide grants up to $10,500 to towns and cities. While this funding level is clearly short of what is required it will offset some of the costs associated with the 2024 Presidential primary which will be the firsttime early voting is implemented. CCM will work with the Secretary of the State’s Office and legislative leadership to secure additional funding during the 2024 Legislative Session which will convene in February. Additional concerns raised by local leaders are related to securing the needed staffing to cover the required days of early voting, as towns and cities have faced increasing difficulties in filing job openings in almost all areas of local government.