Early Voting—What are We Trying to Solve?

This Election Day, you will see a question about early voting on the ballot. This same proposed amendment was voted down in 2014 and reappears now as an open-ended proposal that, if affirmed, would give unlimited powers to lawmakers to extend early voting in any manner and for any duration as decided by a simple majority of lawmakers.

Early voting is not right for Connecticut and is a solution looking for a problem. Here’s why:

• Chaos with Election Officials: Early Voting states have full-time election officials while Connecticut has mostly part-time Registrars.Thirty days of early voting, for example, would introduce chaos to this group of professionals. This would affect their full-time employment and leave municipalities scrambling for personnel replacements and/or funds to pay for overtime.
• Connecticut has Decentralized Voting: In states with early voting, elections are organized around county-based elections whereas several towns are aggregated around early voting precincts with full resources. Connecticut would have to establish at least one voting precinct in 169 towns for an unspecified period of operation.
• Unfunded Mandate: Establishing voting centers in 169 towns, with part-time registrars, for up to 30 days could cost as much as $15M to $20M in personnel and site rentals. Most schools would not be available as election centers.
• Reduced Voter Engagement: Connecticut primaries end in mid-August and early voting begins as early as week 2 of October. This leaves 6-8 weeks for voter engagement and education before the first votes are cast.
• Smaller Campaigns Disenfranchised: The extension of Get Out The Vote (GOTV) efforts could make it cost-prohibitive for small campaigns to compete over a prolonged period.

The Bottom Line: Early voting reduces a voter’s opportunity to learn more about the issues, and the candidates. Additionally, voters may miss the revelations of an “October surprise.”And Connecticut already has one of the highest voter turnouts in the country. So what problem are we trying to solve?
 

Don’t Miss Dominic’s Debate Next Week!

Next Tuesday, October, Sept. 18, the rescheduled debate against my opponent, Democrat Stephanie Thomas—which will air across all CT Public platforms, including PBS and NPR, beginning at 8 p.m. The debate will take place at the Lincoln Theater on the campus of the University of Hartford and is sponsored by the League of Women Voters.

I look forward to representing our principles and values on this very important stage.

I hope you will tune in!

Thank you and Godspeed,

Dominic Rapini

Republican Candidate for Secretary of the State