Branford Registrars of Voters wants to remind electors that the Tuesday, Nov. 8 ballot for this year’s State Election includes a question regarding Early Voting.

The question is: “Shall the Constitution of the State be amended to permit the General Assembly to provide for early voting?”

A ballot question explanation provided at https://www.cga.ct.gov/ shares the following Explanatory Text about the question:

CONTENT AND PURPOSE OF THE PROPOSED AMENDMENT

Currently, the Connecticut Constitution does not permit in-person, early voting. If this amendment is approved, it would allow the General Assembly to pass legislation establishing in-person voting before the day of an election.

Additionally, approval of the amendment would eliminate the constitutional requirement that certain copies of election results, when sent to the Secretary of the State, be under seal. It would not change the statutory requirement that these copies be sent under seal.

Further Explanation

The state constitution contains several provisions about the time, place, and manner of elections in Connecticut. These provisions currently require voters to cast their ballots at their polling place on the day of an election unless they qualify to vote by absentee ballot. Because these are constitutional requirements, the General Assembly cannot pass legislation establishing a form of voting that conflicts with them.

If this amendment is approved, it would specifically allow the General Assembly to pass legislation establishing in-person, early voting. This authority would apply both to choosing candidates for office and to voting on referendum questions at an election. Relatedly, the amendment would eliminate a requirement that town election officials receive the votes at elections for state officers and state legislators only on the day of the election.