Election Day 2024: Here is What’s on the Ballot

By Hugh McQuaid

November 5 @ 5:00 am

Tuesday marks Election Day and the last opportunity for Connecticut voters to cast ballots in a handful of state and federal races following the state’s first 14-day early voting period in a general election.

Residents seeking to cast their vote Tuesday should report to their traditional polling locations — as opposed to their town halls, where many municipalities based their polling places during this year’s early voting period. Voters can find their polling location by visiting the Office of the Secretary of the State’s website at this link.

Polls will be open from 6 a.m. to 8 p.m., when voters will have the opportunity to weigh in on a number of high-profile state and federal races, including the presidential contest, one of Connecticut’s U.S. senators, all five congressional seats, and every seat in the state legislature.

Meanwhile, voters will also be asked to weigh in on whether Connecticut should amend its state constitution to allow the legislature to pass laws permitting no-excuse absentee voting.

Although Connecticut already has an absentee ballot option, the constitution currently restricts use of the ballots to those who qualify for a handful of “excuses” like illnesses or out-of-town travel during voting hours.

If voters approve the ballot question, the state legislature would have the option of adopting policies to permit voters to access absentee ballots without needing an excuse.

Currently, 36 states offer either no-excuse absentee voting or conduct their elections entirely by mail, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures.

Connecticut residents approved a similar question in 2022, when voters overwhelmingly endorsed changing the constitution to permit early voting. That decision enabled Democrats in the state legislature to lead passage of a 2023 law that allowed this year’s early voting period.

That new voting option has been widely used over the last 14 days, as many Connecticut voters cast their ballots early for the first time. Over the first week of voting, more than 310,000 residents voted, according to Secretary of the State Stephanie Thomas.

“I am proud to share that voters around Connecticut report a smooth roll-out for the first-ever early voting period for a general election,” Thomas said last week. “Sixty percent of voters wanted early voting. They got it. And it’s been inspiring to see how well received and utilized it’s been.”