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‘Voters Should Not Have to Choose Between Voting and Their Health’

The state is working with local governments to make sure that, both for the primary on Tuesday, Aug. 11 and the general election on Tuesday, Nov. 3, that voters will not have to choose between voting and their health, according to Secretary of the State Denise Merrill.

Merrill said she wants to make sure what happened recently in Milwaukee and Green Bay, Wisconsin does not happen in Connecticut.

In Wisconsin on April 7, voters had to go in person to the polls in the midst of a statewide stay-at-home order related to the COVID-19 pandemic.

In big cities like Milwaukee and Green Bay, voters had to wait in line for hours due to a shortage of polling places. In Milwaukee the polling places were reduced to five from the usual 180 after many poll workers decided they did not want to work due to the risk of catching the virus.

Deemed a "fiasco" by Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, there were 54 Milwaukee County voters and two poll workers who were later diagnosed with COVID-19 who voted on April 7 and may have been infectious - or infected - at that time.

"We don't want to have what happened in Milwaukee happen here," Merrill said. "We're going to make sure our polling places are safe. We want to make sure we have a smooth election, even given these circumstances."

'We'll Be Ready for November'

Merrill's plan includes making sure that municipalities have the resources to make sure polling stations are sanitized and staffed appropriately; making sure that towns have the money and resources to recruit, hire, and train additional poll workers; implementing an education campaign to make sure people know they will be safe going to the polls; and addressing critical cybersecurity, infrastructure, and connectivity issues as well.

Her office also is taking steps that likely will dramatically increase the number of people who vote by absentee ballot, which requires voters to first request an absentee ballot and then to send in or drop off the completed ballot. Merrill plans to send out an absentee ballot application to every eligible voter in the state.

John V. Heiser, the Republican registrar of voters in Essex, said that, while he is working from home and going into the office once a week, he and the Democratic registrar of voters in Essex, Caitlin Riley, are working together to make sure both poll workers and voters will be safe on election day. He expects the coming elections will bring a large increase in the number of people who apply for an absentee ballot and then vote by absentee ballot.

Heiser said he plans to have his town prepared. He doesn't think it will be overwhelming, and added that he's glad to have the primary on Aug. 11 as a trial before the general election in November. With the primary races for presidential candidates all but decided, he expects participation to be relatively low in towns that don't have any other races on the ballot that day.

"Primaries are usually low turnout, so this will be a good experiment to do it this way" with new safety measures and increased access to absentee ballots. "The secretary of state will mail out the applications; we'll see how that works. Before the November situation, we'll work out any problems. We'll be ready for November."

Expanding the Definition

Merrill says her interpretation of the state constitution and state statutes relating to voting by absentee ballot is that, even now, anyone who has any concern about an underlying medical condition that might put them at risk for contracting the virus is currently eligible to vote by absentee ballot.

She has already sent a notice to local voting officials letting them know that those who can vote by absentee ballot this year include any registered voter with a pre-existing illness, anyone who may have been in contact with someone with COVID-19 (including healthcare workers and first responders), anyone who is caring for someone at increased risk, "as well as those that feel ill or think they are ill because of the possibility of contact with the COVID-19 virus."

In addition, she is urging legislators, when and if the state legislature comes back into session this summer, to change the language in the applicable Connecticut General Statute 9-135.

That state statute now says anyone can vote by absentee ballot, among other reasons, due to "his or her illness." Merrill said that should be changed by striking the words "his or her," so that there is no ambiguity and that anyone who is worried about illness, including COVID-19, can vote by absentee ballot. She said changing the state statute would bring it in line with the state constitution, which says people can vote by absentee ballot "due to sickness."

While Merrill is discussing the expanded definition of who can vote by absentee ballot with other state officials, her office plans to contract with a mail firm to send out applications for absentee ballots to every eligible voter in the state, and have the state pay for that, including postage-paid return for the applications.

Those applications will be processed at the local level by town clerks and other municipal officials.

Anyone who applies for an absentee ballot will then get a ballot delivered, also by the mail firm, with the cost of both the mailing and the return of the absentee ballot to be paid for by her office.

Merrill said towns and cities must have significantly more resources available at the local level to deal with the anticipated increase in absentee ballots. She said those resources should include secure drop boxes, along with a grant program that municipalities can use to pay for additional costs, including hiring personnel. She said in a prepared release that this proposed expansion of absentee ballot voting will be done "at no cost to the town or voters," and that her office will be offering grants to help cover any additional expenses incurred.

State Senator Martin M. Looney (D-11), who represents part of North Haven, Hamden, and New Haven, and who is also president pro tempore of the Senate, said it is his understanding that Governor Ned Lamont is working on an executive order that will eliminate any ambiguity when it comes to the language of the state statute, making sure that people know they can opt to vote by absentee ballot even if they are just worried about their health in the current pandemic.

"The governor's powers are very broad in terms of executive orders; he probably can do that," Looney said.

While it's likely there is no legal issue for such an executive order covering the primary in August, Looney said the governor's legal counsel also is evaluating the possibility of having the executive order extend to the November election, even though the state of emergency is due to expire Wednesday, Sept. 9.

"In the current climate, it would make sense to reduce any ambiguity," he said.

'Without Precedent'

"We are facing an illness without precedent in our lifetimes and our election system has to adapt to meet its challenge," Merrill said in the release. "[M]ake no mistake - fear fear of the coronavirus will guarantee that we will be seeing a higher volume of absentee ballots in 2020 whether we like it or not."

The League of Women Voters - a non-partisan American civic organization open to all genders that works on behalf of voters and voter acess - said id the organization will work with the Secretary of the State's Office to make sure voters understand the changes coming up.

"It is important for voters to know that this is a still evolving plan for elections during the pandemic. There will be modifications and changes still to come," said League of Women Voters of Connecticut (LWVCT) President Carol Reimers, who lives in Killingworth. "All voters will want to educate themselves to prepare for the new voting processes whether they vote by absentee ballot or in person. This year's elections will require voters to adapt to the differences in voting during a pandemic. These changes may very well become the regular process for all future elections."

She said the LWVCT will work with its local chapters and partners to make sure voters and towns have the information they need.

"We are currently working on an explanation of the absentee ballot process from the voters' perspective," she said, adding that she is fully in favor of the steps being taken by the Secretary of the State's Office. "We applaud the secretary of the state for planning ahead and working to assist municipalities in providing safe and secure elections during the pandemic."

"The League of Women Voters wants all voters to feel that they can vote safely without jeopardizing their health," Reimers said.

Merrill's plan is available at myvote.ct.gov/2020Plan. More information about the LWVCT is available at my.lwv.org/connecticut.