James Maroney

State Senator James Maroney Supports Bill Approving Early Voting Constitutional Change in Connecticut

H ARTFORD – Democrats in the state Senate today led the way in approving a much-needed and long-awaited resolution which – if approved by a majority of residents in November 2022 – would end Connecticut’s outdated and burdensome voting laws by allowing for in-person early voting in both general elections and local referendums. State Senator James Maroney (D-Milford) joined the Senate in approving the legislation.

Currently, the state constitution sets the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November as the only day to vote for legislative and statewide offices; election officials have to receive and declare votes on this one day. Connecticut is one of just seven states in America that does not allow for early, in-person voting.

“Allowing our residents access to early voting affords people an easier option to place their vote and increases voter turnout,” said Sen. Maroney. “Exercising the right to vote should be made easier, not more difficult. We have the means to allow citizens in Connecticut to cast their ballot before the day of the election. Statistics show us that the larger a sample size is, the smaller the margin of error is. If we allow early voting, more voices will be heard and we as a community will arrive at better decisions.”

Connecticut is in a small and shrinking group of states – along with Alabama, Kentucky, Missouri, Mississippi, New Hampshire, and South Carolina – that require all voters to
vote in person at a polling place on Election Day unless they present a specific reason why they can’t appear. In 2016, a third of all American voters – nearly 50 million people – voted early; in 2020, that number doubled to more than 100 million, and early voting represented more than than two-thirds of all votes cast.

Recent public polling in Connecticut shows that about 80% of Connecticut voters support in-person early voting, including 70% of Republicans, 80% of unaffiliated voters, and 85% of Democrats.

Because of a lack of Republican legislative support for in-person early voting, while this proposal did pass the legislature in 2019, it did so without a ‘supermajority’ of votes in both chambers, and so it needs to pass the Connecticut House and Senate with simple majorities this year before voters can have their say.

The resolution passed the Senate today on a 26-9 vote.