Connecticut - Our Democracy 2020
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If elected, I will endorse, prioritize, and support the enactment of…

No-Excuse Absentee Voting

After the 2020 General Election, Connecticut will return to a restrictive absentee voting process only allowing individuals who have an illness to vote by mail.

The COVID-19 pandemic has taught us that we must ensure that all eligible voters
have the option to vote safely and securely by mail whether or not they are
sick without relying on future special legislative actions for temporary
measures.

No one knows for sure how long this or other future health and safety crises will last.  We must be proactive right now and permanently protect the right to vote safely by mail.


Automatic Voter Registration

Automatic Voter Registration (AVR) simplifies and streamlines the way we register to vote. It modernizes the voter registration process and keeps voter rolls secure and up-to-date.

Eligible citizens are already electronically registered at the DMV unless they opt out but we must strengthen and codify AVR in Connecticut.

Automated/Electronic Voter Registration needs to be mandated at federally designated “voter registration agencies” such as the Connecticut State Department of Social Services, Access Health CT & Medicaid (HUSKY), at state colleges and universities, and more.

The Center for American Progress estimated 245,396 new Connecticut voters would be registered in the first year alone. Across the country, localities have saved an average of about $3.54 in labor costs per registration by moving from paper to electronic.


Early Voting

Early Voting makes voting more accessible and strengthens democracy.

Connecticut is one of only twelve states without Early Voting and one of only three states whose state constitutions bar it.

Long-distance commuters, workers who may lose wages if they take time off from work, elderly or sick voters and countless others vote early in the thirty-eight states that allow it.

Candidates conduct voter mobilization efforts throughout the Early Voting period, leading to increased voter contact and turnout.


Parolee Voting Rights

Voting rights should be automatically restored in Connecticut for persons convicted of felonies who complete their prison sentences or are released on parole.

Connecticut is the only New England state not to restore voting rights to parolees, who generally number between 2,000 and 3,000 people around the state in most years.