State voters to decide whether ‘no excuse’ absentee ballot is a go

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On the 2024 ballot, Connecticut voters will be asked to decide on a constitutional question regarding no excuse absentee ballots. 

The question reads: “Shall the Constitution of the State be amended to permit the General Assembly to allow each voter to vote by absentee ballot?”

A “no excuse” absentee ballot allows voters to vote by absentee ballot without providing an excuse, or reason, as to why they could not vote in person.

Currently, the state allows voters to vote by absentee ballot if they are an active member of the military, will be out of town on Election Day, have a physical illness or disability that prevents them from voting in person, have religious beliefs that prohibit secular activities on Election Day, or if they will be an election official on Election Day at a polling place other than their own.

Voters that are eligible to vote by absentee ballot must fill out an application before receiving their ballot. Voters may apply, obtain, fill in and return their absentee ballot in person, or complete the whole process by mail.

“Connecticut has some of the most restrictive language in the country with respect to voting other than on Election Day,” said Maria Horn, state representative for the 64th district, which includes the town of Kent. 

In recent years, Connecticut lawmakers have been working to change that.

For the first time ever, statewide early voting will be implemented for this election cycle, having been passed by voters as a constitutional question on the ballot in 2022.

Ahead of the upcoming General Election, there will be 14 days of in-person early voting.

Allowing no excuse absentee ballots will continue the movement to expand voting access beyond Election Day.

“I am in favor of this,” said Horn. “We need to expand access to the polls. No excuse absentee ballots have worked in other states, and we can make them work in Connecticut, too.” 

The idea of voting by absentee ballot is not new. According to the MIT Election Data and Science Lab, absentee ballots were first used by soldiers fighting on the front lines during the Civil War.

While states began passing laws allowing civilians to vote by absentee ballots as early as the late 1800s, it was California in the 1980s that became the first state to permit voting by no excuse absentee ballots.

Currently, 36 states plus Washington D.C. either permit voting by no excuse absentee ballot or take it one step further by distributing 100 percent of election ballots by mail by default. 

Connecticut’s three neighboring states of New York, Massachusetts and Rhode Island all permit voting by no excuse absentee ballots.

“There are two ways to amend the state constitution,” Horn explained. The first way is for legislation to pass by a three-quarters supermajority in both chambers of the legislature, House and Senate, before going to voters as a referendum.

The second way is for legislation to pass by a simple majority in both chambers during two consecutive two-year legislative terms before going to voters as a referendum. 

“The second scenario is what happened for both early voting and no excuse absentee ballots,” continued Horn.

If a majority of Connecticut voters decide “yes” to the constitutional question, it will allow the state legislature to begin the legislative process to amend the state constitution to establish procedures that would allow voting by no excuse absentee ballot. 

“We don’t yet know the ‘how’ of what this will look like if passed,” Kent Town Clerk Darlene Brady said. At the local level, town clerks administrate absentee ballots and would be directly impacted by this potential change. 

“We also do not know what the state’s ultimate intent is,” Brady continued. “How will no excuse absentee ballots affect early voting?” 

Essentially, these two avenues for voting could become very similar and may overlap in many ways if the constitutional question passes. No excuse absentee ballots would not necessarily remove the option of voting in person if voters would still be able to obtain, fill in and return their absentee ballot in person. Would that then make early voting obsolete? 

After the first-ever early voting in the state, “the history books will show us when people want to vote,” said Kent Democratic Registrar of Voters Therese Duncan, noting that registrars are required to record the date and time of each voter that participates in early voting. 

That data will provide insights into the most high-volume voting times and allow the legislature to make informed decisions about if and how to adjust the law accordingly, especially when considered in conjunction with how to administer no excuse absentee ballots if the constitutional question passes.

No excuse absentee ballots could also potentially reduce the burdens that in-person early voting places on small towns. Procuring additional early voting staff and the funds to pay those people are real issues with which towns are currently grappling.

“The town clerks and registrars have done a great job to make early voting workable and reliable,” Horn said. “If we have the possibility to use no excuse absentee ballots, it could create a much smaller footprint.”

In Kent, early voting will take place in person Oct. 21 through Nov. 3 at the Registrar of Voters Office on the second floor of town hall at 41 Kent Green Blvd. from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., with the exception of Oct. 29 and 31 when the hours are expanded from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m.

Connecticut voters can fill out an application for an absentee ballot in three ways:

• On the Secretary of State’s online application portal
• Apply in person at the town clerk’s office at town hall located at 41 Kent Green Blvd.
• Download the application online, print it, fill it out and mail it to Kent Town Clerk, P.O. Box 843, Kent, CT 06757 or drop it off in the white absentee ballot box located in the side parking lot of town hall

For more information on absentee ballots in Connecticut, visit portal.ct.gov/sots/election-services/voter-information/absentee-voting.