Connecticut Senate Democratic Leaders Voice Hopes For Early Voting

By Lawrence Cook

October 29 @ 9:30 am

Buoyed by the popularity of Connecticut’s first-ever early voting law, which has resulted in more than 300,000 early ballots cast in the opening week of its existence, Senate Democratic leadership has asked the Secretary of the State’s Office to help towns in the opening and counting of those early ballots on Election Day, Tuesday, Nov. 5.

Senate President Martin Looney and Majority Leader Bob Duff have written Secretary of the State Stephanie Thomas to “be prepared to offer any and all assistance and guidance to local registrars in the quick and accurate tallying of early votes … to ensure that our newly expanded early voting right remains as popular and as effective as we envisioned.”

Connecticut – which lags behind nearly every other American state in expanding voting options – only allowed for early voting beginning this year. Early voting began on Monday, Oct. 21 and will end on Sunday, Nov. 2.

As of 10 a.m. Monday, 315,550 Connecticut residents had voted early, while another 79,000 had voted via absentee ballot. That represents nearly 22% of the approximately 1.8 million Connecticut residents who cast ballots in the 2020 presidential election, with another week of early voting yet to come.

“It is conceivable that thousands of early ballots, if not tens of thousands of early ballots, will have to be opened and counted in each and every Connecticut city and town on Election Day in addition to the myriad critical functions with which our dedicated registrars and public-spirited volunteers are already tasked.,” Looney and Duff said.

Thomas’s office told Hearst CT that was ready to help.

“Every election is an important election and gets the same level of commitment to security, access and preparation effort by our office,” Thomas’s office told Hearst. “Our team will continue this diligent support to help local registrars achieve quick and accurate tallying of early votes, upholding the integrity of the process for all voters,” Thomas’s office said.

The General Assembly approved early voting in 2023 by a vote of 27-7 in the Senate and 107-35 in the House, with Democrats voting unanimously in favor and about half of the Republicans in each chamber voting No.