Connecticut Republicans in the state House were successful Tuesday in blocking a 2022 referendum on a constitutional amendment that would permit no-excuse absentee voting in the state.
While the measure passed 104-44, state House Democrats failed to secure enough Republican votes to obtain the 75 percent supermajority needed to put a constitutional amendment to a referendum in the next statewide election in 2022.
Republicans had offered some amendments to the measure, including one that would have required voter identification at the polls and signature verification on the outer envelopes of absentee ballots. Democrats rejected all of these amendments, CT Mirror reported.
“Make no mistake, this will be decided by the voters at the ballot box in 2024,” said Secretary of State Denise Merrill (D), a champion of no-excuse absentee voting and early voting. “It is a shame that most Republicans have chosen to delay the voters’ ability to make their voices heard by two years.”
Make no mistake, this will be decided by the voters at the ballot box in 2024 – it is a shame that most Republicans have chosen to delay the voters’ ability to make their voices heard by two years. (4/4)
— Denise Merrill (@SOTSMerrill) May 12, 2021
In November, Merrill (pictured) joined with Connecticut U.S. Senators Chris Murphy (D) and Richard Blumenthal (D) to urge the Democrat-controlled state legislature to pass a measure that would put a referendum on the ballot for no-excuse absentee voting and early voting:
I am so glad to have the support of Senator Murphy & Senator Blumenthal in pressing for changes to the way Connecticut voters cast their ballots in the future. We've got some work to do to lobby state legislators on the need for early voting & greater access to mail-in ballots. https://t.co/1qbidt4pVB
— Denise Merrill (@SOTSMerrill) November 6, 2020
Last week, the state House passed a measure to allow an amendment to the Connecticut Constitution to permit early voting, 115-26.
With the coronavirus pandemic as background, Merrill sent every voter in the state, unsolicited, an application for a 2020 absentee ballot. She said more than 650,000 voters “safely and conveniently” cast their ballots this year by mail, giving the election one of the highest turnouts in the history of the state.
Gov. Ned Lamont (D) said in April 2020 that, due to his “stay-at-home rule,” he was “going to have to find a way people can vote – and especially seniors – so they don’t have to leave their houses and go vote.”
“So, obviously the voting by mail makes a lot of sense to me,” Lamont said. “Now, I need the lawyers to figure out how to draft that.”
Nine Republicans joined 95 Democrats in support of the no-excuse absentee ballot measure, which Democrats framed as necessary for greater voting “access.”
The majority of Connecticut House Republicans, however, said allowing general absentee ballot voting opened up the electoral system to fraud.
“We don’t need to open the floodgates to ballot fraud,” said state Rep. David Labriola (R), according to the Mirror.
State Rep. Jason Perillo (R) added that voter “faith is lacking” in the integrity of the electoral system already.
“There’s always evidence of fraud in the absentee ballot world,” said Connecticut House Minority Leader Vincent J. Candelora (R). “We’ve seen it. It has not been widespread, but certainly if you don’t have the proper safeguards, it’s going to invite fraud.”
State Rep. Christine Palm (D), however, told the Hartford Courant charges of widespread voter fraud have been “debunked over and over and over again.’’
State Rep. Hilda Santiago (D) also said she did not understand why the issue was controversial.
“Whether you’re Republican or Democrat, why can’t we make it easier for people to vote?’’ she asked.
But, state Rep. Gale Mastrofrancesco (R) said the state’s decision in 2020 to send absentee ballot applications to all voters during the pandemic “violated the constitution.’’
She offered an amendment that would require photo identification, reasoning that such identification is also required with the purchase of a car, a firearm, or obtaining a hunting or fishing license.
“Contrary to claims by those on the left, voter fraud is a real problem,’’ Mastrofrancesco said, according to the Courant. “If anything, voter fraud suppresses turnout … They may just throw their hands up and say, ‘The heck with it. I’m not going to vote.’ … This theory that there is no ballot fraud is false.’’
Mastrofrancesco asserted Connecticut has multiple issues that affect the integrity of the voting process, including deceased voters on official rolls.
She observed approximately 100,000 absentee ballot applications had been returned to the state in 2020 because the voter had either relocated or died.
“We don’t verify signatures,’’ Mastrofrancesco said. “Our voter rolls are not up to date, which is a big problem. … There is no way to verify who signed that application, who signed that ballot.’’
Currently, the Connecticut Constitution allows for the General Assembly to permit absentee ballot voting for reasons of actual “absence” from the voting district or due to “sickness, or physical disability or because the tenets of their religion forbid secular activity.”
The issue now heads to the Connecticut Senate.
Merrill celebrated the passage of the measure, and then argued in a Twitter thread that no-excuse absentee voting was a “common-sense” reform that an “overwhelming majority of voters” wants enacted:
This is a common-sense, voter-centric reform that the overwhelming majority of voters, Democrats, Republicans, and unaffiliated, are in favor of, and it is disappointing that there wasn’t more Republican support to let the voters decide this issue next year. (2/4)
— Denise Merrill (@SOTSMerrill) May 12, 2021
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