CT Expands Absentee Voting With Lamont Bill-Signing Tuesday

Hartford, CT — Connecticut residents have the option to vote via absentee ballot with no questions asked after Gov. Ned Lamont signed a universal absentee voting bill into law Tuesday..

“Today is all about making it easier for you to be able to vote and exercise your right,” Lamont said before signing the bil. “We want to make sure you vote and that you vote with integrity.”

Lamont signed the Public Act 26-42 at the Old State House in Hartford alongside a coalition of individuals including the former and current state secretaries of the state, Denise Merill and Stephanie Thomas, who participated in the decade-long fight to ensure that absentee ballots were accessible for all residents.

Merill said it surprised her when she first entered office that Connecticut had some of the most restrictive voting laws in the country.

“We were one of the four states that still required an excuse to get an absentee ballot,” she said.

The bill, which eliminates any previous restrictions on absentee ballot voting, passed unanimously in the House and by a 25-11 vote in the Senate on the last day of the legislative session.

This came in the wake of the 2024 election when 58% of Connecticut voters voted in favor of adding an amendment to the Connecticut constitution that would allow all eligible voters to have access to the absentee ballot. 

“This has been a long time coming,” said Lamont. 

When kicking off the celebration of the country’s 250th anniversary last week, Lamont said he was reminded of how far the country has come in terms of voting rights. When the right to vote was first enacted, it applied only “to white male, property-owners” yet now it continues to become increasingly accessible in the country and in the state of Connecticut, said Lamont.

“Voting is the foundation of democracy, the right through which all other rights are protected,” said Jess Zacagnino, policy council for American Civil Liberties Union of Connecticut. “This bill comes at a critical moment nationally. We are seeing coordination across the country to restrict access to voting, undermine confidence in elections and make it harder for black and brown communities to fully participate in democracy.”

Zacagnino also cited the Connecticut Voting Rights Act (CTVRA) as being the most comprehensive voting act in the country. Passed in 2023, it sets aside funding and resources aimed at reducing voting barriers for Black and Latino voters.

“Today Connecticut makes good on a promise and a process more than a decade in the making,” said state Rep. Matt Blumenthal, D-Stamford. “Absentee voting for all is now the law of this state including ballot-tracking, automatic absentee ballot applications and ballot curing to ensure that everyone’s voice can be heard and no one’s vote is wasted.”

State Sen. Mae Flexer, D-Killingly, said Connecticut voters had faith in the electoral system because of the workers in each municipality.

“Now voters can have even more confidence that their vote is going to count and that they can cast their ballot easily,” she said.

Not all legislators were happy with the bill’s passage, however. 

Republican state senators Stephen Harding of Brookfield and Rob Sampson of Wolcott  issued a statement arguing that the new legislation does not address the recent Bridgeport controversy around ballot box fraud.

“Rather than restoring confidence, this expands mail-in voting and makes sweeping changes to election law without putting meaningful safeguards in place to protect election integrity,” said the statement. “This massive, controversial bill was pushed through on the last day of session following an all-night debate.”

Blumenthal, though, said the bill increased deterrence because those who intend to engage in misconduct wouldn’t know if the person whose vote they are tampering with actually voted themselves, thus ensuring they will get caught.

“This is the best measure we could take to improve and secure our elections,” he said.