State Voters Urged to Vote Yes on Ballot Question 1; Constitutional Amendment Aimed at Increasing Voter Turnout

Connecticut voters will be asked to amend the State Constitution when they go to the polls on Election Day, for the first time since 2008. If approved by a majority, Question 1 will remove 80-year-old impediments that often discourage and deter eligible voters from participating in the electoral process.

Efforts to make Connecticut voters aware of the State Constitutional Amendment on the Nov. 4 ballot, and to urge support of its passage, include public forums around the state and a website, www.voteyesct.org, which provides information about the ballot question. A Facebook page and Twitter feed (@voteyestct) have also been established.

Updating the electoral process in Connecticut would make it easier to vote for senior citizens, students, commuters, caregivers as well as many other eligible voters, thus increasing turnout.

Voter approval of the State Constitutional Amendment will provide Connecticut with the opportunity to enact laws to allow any eligible voter to cast a ballot before Election Day and make better use of absentee ballots. The new website outlines facts including:

• More than 33 states permit Early Voting and 27 states will mail an absentee ballot to any eligible voter who requests one. Passage of the Constitutional Amendment could allow Connecticut to do so as well.
• Nationwide, it is estimated that more than 32 million American voters cast their ballots before Election Day in 2012 — nearly 25 percent of the entire electorate.
• If the State Constitutional Amendment is approved by voters, state law does not change automatically. The state legislature would determine whether, when and how updated procedures, such as Early Voting, would be permitted in Connecticut.

Question 1 was twice approved by the state legislature. Now, it goes to the voters. The State Constitution has been amended 30 times in the past 44 years, as recently as 2000 and 2008. The ballot question states: “Shall the Constitution of the State be amended to remove restrictions concerning absentee ballots and to permit a person to vote without appearing at a polling place on the day of an election?”

Early voting provides a means for eligible voters to cast their ballots at a time and location other than in person on Election Day. Specific procedures are determined by each state. Most recently, Minnesota and Massachusetts approved early voting to begin in 2014 and 2016, respectively.