Absentee voting will be expanded for CT voters!

Great news! Governor Lamont has signed into law a bill that expands absentee voting for CT voters! This bill, HB 5262, gives us greater flexibility to work around our busy schedules and complicated lives when we vote in this year’s important election!
​
Key facts about the bill’s (HB 5262) common-sense updates to CT voting law:

• It passed with a bipartisan majority (126-16 in the House).
• Allows voters to cite “sickness” as a reason to secure an absentee ballot; it also applies to a voter taking care of someone else's health, such as an ill relative.
• Enables commuters, caregivers, first responders, and others who work long hours to apply for an absentee ballot, even if they will not be out of town all of election day.

𝘼𝙗𝙨𝙚𝙣𝙩𝙚𝙚 𝙫𝙤𝙩𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙞𝙨 𝙖 𝙨𝙚𝙘𝙪𝙧𝙚 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙘𝙤𝙣𝙫𝙚𝙣𝙞𝙚𝙣𝙩 𝙬𝙖𝙮 𝙩𝙤 𝙫𝙤𝙩𝙚. 𝙑𝙤𝙩𝙚𝙧 𝙛𝙧𝙖𝙪𝙙 𝙞𝙨 𝙍𝘼𝙍𝙀, 𝙞𝙣𝙚𝙛𝙛𝙚𝙘𝙩𝙞𝙫𝙚, 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙢𝙚𝙩 𝙬𝙞𝙩𝙝 𝙝𝙖𝙧𝙨𝙝 𝙘𝙤𝙣𝙨𝙚𝙦𝙪𝙚𝙣𝙘𝙚𝙨.

Even after this bill’s passage, Connecticut remains one of only 6 states with restrictions on absentee voting in their state’s constitution. It is long overdue for those outmoded and unfair restrictions to be removed so that anyone in CT may vote using this secure and convenient method of voting!

More information: 
CT NEWS JUNKIE: “Commuters may qualify if they spend most of Election Day out of town at work, rather than out of town for all hours polls are open. A caretaker may decide to vote by absentee ballot rather than risk exposing their vulnerable client to an infectious disease.”

FOX 61 (VIDEO): “This slight change better aligns our state laws with that allowed under the constitution,” Lamont said in a statement. “We should be doing everything we can to encourage qualified voters to cast a ballot, and this is a responsible step forward in that direction.”
…
“No voter should ever have to choose between protecting their health and exercising their right to vote,” Merrill said in a statement Friday. “The COVID-19 crisis is still with us, and this legislation will ensure that voters will be able to cast their ballots and make their voices heard.”

THE DAY: “By a 126-16 vote that included significant bipartisan support from Republicans, the House passed the bill, which Democrats say is meant to allow the state to extend its statutes to match the constitution until the constitution can be amended for no-excuse absentee voting. All 16 "no" votes belonged to Republicans, and included state Reps. Mike France, R-Ledyard, and Doug Dubitsky, R-Chaplin.”