HARTFORD, CT – Today, state Senator Mary Daugherty Abrams (D-Meriden, Middlefield, Rockfall, Middletown, Cheshire) voted for the passage of 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and long-awaited resolution which – if approved by a majority of residents in November 2022 – would end Connecticut’s outdated and burdensome voting laws by allowing for in-person early voting in both general elections and local referendums.
Connecticut is one of seven states – along with Alabama, Kentucky, Missouri, Mississippi, New Hampshire, and South Carolina – that require all voters to vote 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 two-thirds of all votes cast.
“Today is a great day for democracy in the state of Connecticut,” said Sen. Daugherty Abrams. “We know how important it is to our state and country to provide everyone with the opportunity and access to vote. Last year’s election showed how well our state can handle common sense changes to allow for more people to vote and I m confident the voters will choose to add early voting to our state’s constitution.”
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.