To the Editor,
If ever there was a time in American history that our democratic, constitutional form of governance was threatened by authoritarian rule, it is now. An essential strategy to protect our democracy is to ensure that we continue to have free and fair elections and that every voting-age citizen has equal access to the ballot box.
Upholding our democracy requires fully funding the Secretary of the State’s office, which is not the case in Gov. Ned Lamont’s proposed budget. It is incumbent upon the Connecticut General Assembly to add money to the budget to adequately fund state and local administration of early voting and the implementation of no-excuse absentee voting. It must also provide the funds needed to enforce the Connecticut Voting Rights Act to ensure that everyone’s freedom to vote is protected.
Connecticut voters have sent clear messages to state lawmakers that making voting more accessible is a priority. Majorities of the electorate approved the early voting and no-excuse absentee voting constitutional amendments. In last year’s presidential election, four in ten voters took advantage of early in-person voting.
But making voting easy and accessible to everyone takes resources. As the League of Women Voters of Connecticut, Common Cause Connecticut and other civic organizations testified to at an Appropriations Committee public hearing last week, the Governor’s proposed appropriation falls short of what’s needed. His budget for the Secretary of State’s office is 6 percent less than the current year appropriation and more than $2 million less than the agency requested.
In 2020, the Center for Public Integrity observed that, “Outside of the South … deeply segregated Connecticut has some of the most restrictive voting laws in the country. Long lines on Election Day disproportionately affect Black and Latino voters.”
Over the past few years, the legislature has made significant strides in addressing our restrictive voting laws. But our expanded freedom to vote can’t be enjoyed by all voters unless adequate funds are appropriated to ensure equitable, accessible, and inclusive voting, whether in-person, early or absentee.
The NAACP calls the Connecticut Voting Rights Act “the nation’s most comprehensive state-level voting rights act.”
That’s something we can all be proud of at this moment in history when the freedom to vote is under assault, even here in Connecticut. But the protections afforded by the Act mean nothing if the budget doesn’t adequately fund the work needed to make the statutory protections a reality.
To make sure our democracy continues to represent the people, and not just the billionaire class that President Trump and his un-elected partner Elon Musk are trying to further enrich, Gov. Lamont and the legislature must fully fund election administration and the protection of voting rights in the budget that will be voted on by state legislators later this session.
Jonathan Perloe
Cos Cob