Mae Flexer

Statement Of State Senator Mae Flexer In Response to CT GOP Chairman J.R. Romano’s Allegations Of Voter Fraud

“Despite the Republican Party chairman’s claims to the contrary, the last 30 years of voting statistics in Connecticut prove that voting by absentee ballot is not a problem, and has never been a problem, in Connecticut. The Connecticut Republican Party has got to stop parroting President Trump’s lies about voter fraud, and it has to stand up for democracy and individual rights. That’s what Americans have fought and died for for nearly 250 years in this country. Democrats understand and appreciate and support that. The minority party in Connecticut needs to evolve on this issue and tell voters the truth, not lies.

“There have been 22 million ballots cast in Connecticut in the past 30 years, 1.5 million by absentee. In that time, it’s estimated that there have been less than 20 convictions for absentee ballot fraud – 0.0000875%, or less than nine hundred thousandths of 1 percent, of all votes cast – and even those violations were mostly elderly citizens who were encouraged to vote by mail when they could have physically voted in-person at a polling place, which is against the law right now in Connecticut.

“We need more participation in our democracy in America and in Connecticut, not less. We need Connecticut citizens to have the same absentee ballot privileges that have been taken advantage of by President Trump, Melania Trump, Ivanka Trump, Jared Kushner, Vice-President Pence, Kellyanne Conway, William Barr, Betsy DeVos, Wilbur Ross, RNC Chair Ronna McDaniel, Trump campaign manager Brad Parscale, and many, many others.

“We need Connecticut to rise above its 30-year historic average of just seven percent of its citizens voting by mail. In 2018, the national average was 23 percent. In 2018, only 60 percent of Americans physically voted in person at polling locations – in Connecticut, it was 94 percent.

“The time is now. We are at a historic intersection in American history of simultaneous economic, social and medical upheaval. The decisions made by elected officials on these matters will affect millions of lives right here in Connecticut. The voice of every resident in our state must be heard, and must be counted. Lying about absentee ballots to defend a president who said, “for whatever reason, (absentee voting) doesn’t work out well for Republicans” is not an excuse for disenfranchising Connecticut residents in 2020. We must ensure that no voter in Connecticut will have to choose between their health and safety and exercising their right to vote.”

“We can pass an expanded absentee voter law in Connecticut, and we will – despite the Republican lies.”