CT Sec Of State Rolls Out Online Absentee Ballot System; GOP Skeptical

CONNECTICUT — Connecticut voters can now request an absentee ballot online, but House Republicans are throwing shade on the new website's rollout and implementation.

The webpage allows voters with a Connecticut driver’s license to request an absentee ballot online, rather than having to mail in an application or visit their town clerk in person.

Secretary of the State Mark Kohler said the "new, online absentee ballot application removes one more barrier to voters’ participation" and "enables registered voters with a Connecticut driver’s license to conveniently request an absentee ballot on their phone, tablet, or computer."

In a joint statement released Wednesday, House Republican Leader Vincent Candelora and Rep. Gale Mastrofrancesco, ranking member of the Governmental Administration and Elections Committee, expressed skepticism:

"To call the Secretary of the State’s last-minute installation of an online application process for absentee ballots ill-timed would be a gross understatement. It’s preposterous to think that this won’t inject chaos into our election system at the moment we can least afford it."

The legislators pointed to the "maelstrom of fraudulent unemployment claims" received by the state's Department of Labor after launching efforts to modernize its technology.

Eligibility to vote by absentee ballot has been expanded this election cycle to include voters who are unable to go to their polling place because of their absence from their town for a period of time on Election Day, because of a sickness, or because of a disability. This includes voters who are unable to go to their polling place because of a sickness or physical disability of another person, or because of the continued presence of a sickness, such as COVID-19.

After filling out their absentee ballot, voters can return it via mail, in person at the Town Clerk’s office, or by using the absentee ballot drop box in each town. Absentee ballots must be received by town clerks no later than 8 p.m. on Election Day, November 8, 2022, to be counted, according to guidelines posted on the secretary of the state's website. It is not sufficient for an absentee ballot to be postmarked by Election Day.

"The secretary's office will make it seem as though this will make it easier for residents to vote, but the reality is that this rushed roll out will only undermine citizens’ confidence in the integrity of our elections," Candelora and Mastrofrancesco said in their statement. "Rushing this system into place puts at risk one of our most cherished values – the right to vote. It also puts a burden on town and city clerks to manage this rushed change to election procedures."