Connecticut Gov. Ned Lamont signed legislation Friday that will give local election officials more time to begin processing the deluge of absentee ballots expected in this year’s presidential election, in light of concerns about the pandemic.
The bill, which received final, bipartisan legislative approval on Thursday night when it cleared the Senate 35-1, provides cities and towns the option of opening the outer envelope of the absentee ballots and verifying the voter signed the inner envelope, beginning at 5 p.m. on Oct. 30. The inner envelope that contains the ballot may not be opened, however, until 6 a.m. on Election Day.
“It allows Connecticut residents to vote safely,” Lamont, a Democrat, said during a bill-signing ceremony at Hartford City Hall. “No long, curling lines like in Wisconsin and Georgia. If you’re of a certain age, it’s probably better to use an absentee ballot.”
As of Sept. 30, local city and town clerks across the state have processed 426,528 requests for absentee ballots. That’s hundreds of thousands more than the total number of 129,480 absentee ballots received statewide in the 2016 presidential election.
Prior to the coronavirus pandemic, Connecticut limited allowances for absentee voting to specific things like being out-of-state on Election Day or serving as an active duty military service member.
But the General Assembly passed legislation that temporarily allowed the coronavirus pandemic as a reason, essentially extending Democratic Gov. Ned Lamont’s earlier executive order that made the same allowance for the Aug. 11 primary.
Additionally, Democratic Secretary of the State Denise Merrill used commercial mail houses to send every eligible voter in Connecticut an application for an absentee ballot with a postage-paid envelope. The clerks can begin mailing out the ballots on Friday, under state law. Afterward, they’re given 48 hours to process each new application they receive.
Anna M. Posniak, president of the Connecticut Town Clerks Association and Windsor’s town clerk, urged registered voters to request a ballot just in case they can’t go to the polls in person because they’ve become ill and have to quarantine.
“Any voter that wants to go the polls, the polls are open and safe. But we do encourage every voter to have a back-up plan this year,” Posniak said.
She said the town clerks will be vigilant in making sure people aren’t mistakenly allowed to cast two votes. Posniak said every person who submits an absentee ballot in advance of Election Day will have an “A” next to their name, preventing them from voting in person if they show up at the polls.
Meanwhile, Lamont said he believes news of President Donald Trump testing positive for COVID-19 will be a “wake-up call for a lot of people who were beginning to get casual about COVID and wearing the mask.” The governor said he has been regularly tested every two-to-three weeks “for some months” and plans to step up regularly testing of his staff. Also, Lamont said he and Lt. Gov. Susan Bysiewicz will try to attend fewer events together.
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