Op-ed: Preserving Democratic Process During COVID-19

Press release from Marcus Brown:

April 29 2020

Our country, and the entire world, is grappling with a new reality that is rife with anxiety, struggle, and uncertainty. Tens of millions of Americans have lost their jobs in the past six weeks and millions more are working from home. COVID-19 has changed so much about the way that we live our lives and conduct business. One of the challenges that we must grapple with during this health pandemic is how to conduct free and fair elections without putting lives at risk.

Over the last few weeks, since the horrifyingly irresponsible and unsafe election in Wisconsin — where voters in Milwaukee had no choice but to vote in person at one of five polling locations (down from 180) risking themselves and others while waiting in line — the question of how we can safely vote has been brought up with increasing frequency. In states across the nation, elected officials and groups like The League of Women Voters have called for immediate changes to make voting easier and safer so that voters are not disenfranchised due to fears of going to the polls in person.

In a wise decision, Governor Ned Lamont has moved the Presidential Preference Primary — previously scheduled for June 2nd — to coincide with Connecticut’s legislative primaries on August 11th. This means the State of Connecticut has bought itself three months to change the way Connecticut votes.

Some states like Colorado, Washington, and Oregon have universal vote-by-mail for all voters. The majority of other states throughout the country allow for mail-in ballots with no excuse required. Unfortunately, despite this severity of this health crisis, Connecticut’s Constitution would need to be amended to allow for either of these possibilities. Obviously, that will not happen in the next three months, leaving us with only a few options that simultaneously protect democracy and public health.

I recommend that our Governor and election officials take the following steps as we prepare for the upcoming August 11th primary. First, absentee ballot applications should be sent to all voters that are registered with a political party, something that Secretary of State Denise Merrill is currently considering according to press reports. Second, Governor Lamont should mirror the executive order issued by Governor Cuomo of New York last Friday and mandate that all absentee ballot applications be accompanied by a postage-paid return envelope. And finally, Connecticut should implement “no-fault” absentee voting this election cycle, giving voters broad deference and discretion to check off “illness” on their absentee ballot application due to the current health crisis.

While there is a cost associated with this level of outreach, significant savings can be found by the massive scale-back of managing in-person voting sites on Election Day. To protect our democratic process, this is an essential expenditure.

If our leaders enact these measures, I am hopeful that we will not see a drastic downtick in voter participation this election cycle. State and local municipalities will need to create a process to handle absentee ballots in a greater volume than the norm — a small logistical sticking point when one considers the benefits: enfranchised voters and virtually zero public safety risk. Unless you’re Donald Trump, who states that any form of voting by mail begets fraud, despite voting by mail himself, these efforts are hard to argue against.

The hallmark of a vibrant and functioning Democracy is free and fair elections resulting in accurate representation of the people. If we do not take bold steps now to ensure voters can exercise their right to vote in the midst of Coronavirus pandemic, then voter participation will be greatly diminished and those that want to participate in the electoral process will be put at risk of contracting the virus. We cannot sit idly by and proceed, as they did in Wisconsin, as though we are not in the middle of a public health emergency. I am hopeful that Governor Lamont and our election officials will do what is right this election cycle and make voting by absentee ballot universally accessible and free of cost.

Marcus Brown is President Pro-Tempore of the Bridgeport City Council and Co-Chair of the Ordinance Committee. He is running for State Senate in the 22nd District.

This press release was produced by Marcus Brown. The views expressed here are the author’s own