Connecticut Governor Ned Lamont and Secretary of the State Denise Merrill spoke on Tuesday morning in Hartford and promoted the use of absentee ballots for the municipal elections on Nov. 2.
“I’m happy to say, due to the work of the legislator and the governor, we are able, again in 2021, to use an absentee ballot,” Merrill said.
Absentee ballots were made available to all voters in the 2020 election because of the COVID-19 pandemic. In May, the state General Assembly passed a law that allows all eligible voters to access absentee ballots for another year.
Lamont and Merrill partnered together to ensure that every eligible voter would have access to vote by absentee ballot. They said that they wanted to give voters access to their preferred voting method because the pandemic is still ongoing.
“There was a vote of the legislature, and they confirmed this just for the situation we’re still in,” Merrill said. “We are still in a situation of an emergency and COVID and people feeling that they’re not able to go in-person to the polls without jeopardizing their health and that’s the reason we did everything.”
To fill out an absentee ballot, Merrill said voters must go to the town clerk’s office to get an absentee ballot application. They can fill it out right there, as the town clerk is responsible for the supervision, distribution and final counting of absentee ballots.
Once the application is completed, it needs to be dropped off at the town clerk’s or the ballot drop boxes. The ballot drop boxes allow voters to deliver their ballots when they receive them in the mail until the polls close on Election Day. Absentee ballots are only available within 31 days before an election, and Merrill suggests voters get an absentee ballot now if they still wish to vote.
In Hamden, the absentee ballot drop boxes are located in front of the Hamden government Center at 2750 Dixwell Ave and at the Keefe Community Center at 11 Pine Street. The boxes are outdoors and ballots can be deposited at any time.
When the town clerk receives an absentee ballot, they will review the serial number and make sure the barcode matches the voter who handed in the ballot. Once this process is completed, the absentee ballot will be sealed and secured until election day.
Absentee ballots will be held until after the polls close because that is when it is compared to the Election Day Official Checklist. If evidence is found that an individual voted with an absentee ballot and in-person, then the absentee ballot will be rejected. If anyone has questions on the laws of absentee ballots, they can contact LEAD@CT.gov or at (860)-509-6100.
Merrill said that if a resident is changing addresses, they file that in person at the town hall or register office. The deadline for eligible Connecticut residents to vote is at midnight on Oct. 26.
On Nov. 2, polling locations are open from 6 a.m. to 8 p.m. There are nine voting districts in Hamden and the only one outside the district boundary is Miller Library. To find out the other eight voting locations of the polling places, click here.
Before the pandemic, absentee voting was not popular. Merrill said only about 5% of people voted by absentee ballot. COVID-19 can be used as a valid reason to obtain an absentee ballot along with physical or illness disability. To find out the other reasons, click here.
Connecticut voters’ voices are still being heard even when the priority shifted to ensuring elections are convenient and safe during an unprecedented time.
“It’s really extraordinary when you think about the fact that in 2020, about 650,000 people in Connecticut voted by absentee ballot,” Hartford Mayor Luke Bronin said. “When they cast their vote, they cast their vote for whichever candidates they preferred, but I think they also cast their vote for no excuse, absentee balloting.”
There were more than 400,000 cast ballots in 2020, and 149,000 used the absentee ballot option. Registered voters can go to myvote.ct.gov to fill out an application for an absentee ballot. If there are any problems, contact Election Day Hotline at 1-866-733-2463 or send an email to elections@ct.gov.
One thing that Lamont wants to see improved is voter turnout because that is what makes Connecticut a better state.
“We’re at the top of the list in Connecticut with vaccinations and education,” Lamont said. “We’re not at the top of the list when it comes to people voting. That’s another list I’d like to get to the top of. I’d like people to know that their vote makes a difference.”
Out of the 50 states, Connecticut ranks 25 in voter turnout, according to World Population Review. The voter turnout in Connecticut is at 73.30 %. On Tuesday, it was reported there were 2,256,052 registered voters in Connecticut, down from 2,309,576 a year ago, according to CT Insider. This is a common trend in odd numbered years because the interest level is down since only municipal officials are on the ballot.
The election in 2020 was the most successful election Connecticut had according to Merrill. The voter turnout for last year’s presidential election was almost 80 % with 1.8 million people participating. With the interest level being so high, Connecticut saw an increase of about 200,000 from the 2016 election.
Merrill is not concerned about security issues for this upcoming election because they’re more prepared this time around. She’s confident because every register in every town has had training on how to keep their system safe.
“I would say our elections are much more secure than they were when we first heard about hacking in 2016, which is the year that we heard the Russians had tried to break into our voter registration system,” Merrill said. “It came as a bit of a shock at the time. Since that time, we’ve put in place many security measures, both at the local and state level.”