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Connecticut has spent the last six years fundamentally changing the way we vote. What began as a temporary response to a public-health emergency has evolved into a dramatically different election system—one that now offers absentee ballots to every eligible voter, permanent ballot drop boxes, and an extended period of early in-person voting.
The question isn’t whether every eligible citizen should have a reasonable opportunity to vote. Of course they should. The question is whether, in making voting easier and more convenient, Connecticut has also made it more difficult to verify that every ballot was legitimately cast, properly handled and accurately counted. Convenience matters, but so does confidence. A democracy cannot function well when citizens lose confidence in the integrity of the process.
It Started With the Ballot Box
In 2020, during the COVID-19 pandemic, Connecticut introduced secure absentee-ballot drop boxes. The reasoning was understandable. With government offices operating under pandemic restrictions and many people reluctant to enter public buildings, drop boxes provided another way for voters to return absentee ballots without having to interact with election officials or rely exclusively on the U.S. Postal Service. What began as a temporary pandemic-era accommodation, however, did not remain temporary. In 2021, Connecticut made absentee-ballot drop boxes a permanent part of the state’s election system.
That decision deserves examination—not because drop boxes are inherently fraudulent, but because they change the environment in which a ballot moves from the voter to the election system. A voter can complete an absentee ballot away from election officials and deposit it into a secure box. Connecticut has established rules governing the handling of those boxes, who may return another person’s ballot, and how ballots are processed. The state has also added video surveillance requirements and criminal penalties for tampering. Those safeguards are important, but they don’t change the fundamental difference: the voter is not standing before an election official when the ballot is deposited.
Bridgeport demonstrated why that distinction matters. During the 2023 Democratic mayoral primary, surveillance video showed activity involving multiple absentee ballots being deposited into a drop box. The controversy resulted in litigation, and a judge ultimately ordered a new primary. The state’s subsequent criminal investigation led to charges against five people in connection with absentee-ballot handling during the 2023 election cycle. Whatever one’s political affiliation, that episode should remind us that election procedures must be designed not only for honest voters, but also to withstand the actions of those who may attempt to manipulate them.
Election integrity is not a Republican issue or a Democratic issue. It belongs to every voter.
Then Came Early Voting
Connecticut took another major step in 2023 when the legislature established early in-person voting. The first early voting in Connecticut took place in March 2024. This was a significant change, but it also represented something different from absentee voting.
Early voting preserves an important element of the traditional election process: the voter is physically present at an official voting location. Election officials can verify the voter through the registration system, establish that the voter is eligible, and record the issuance of the ballot. The voter then casts the ballot in an environment controlled by election officials.
That is an important distinction. Connecticut found a way to provide voters with greater convenience—more days in which to vote—without completely removing the voter from the controlled environment of the election process. A person who cannot vote on Tuesday can vote earlier while still appearing before election officials. For many voters, early voting addresses the very scheduling, transportation and work-related problems that proponents of expanded absentee voting cite.
In other words, early voting adds convenience without abandoning in-person verification.
Then Came No-Excuse Absentee Voting
In November 2024, Connecticut voters approved a constitutional amendment allowing the legislature to expand absentee voting. In 2026, the legislature acted through Public Act 26-42, eliminating the previous requirement that a voter provide one of the state’s specified excuses. Now, any eligible voter can request an absentee ballot.⁶
There are legitimate circumstances in which absentee voting is important. Someone may be unable to travel, may have caregiving responsibilities, may be working, or may have another legitimate reason for not appearing at an election site. No one should be prevented from voting because of a genuine barrier.
But Connecticut now has to answer a reasonable policy question: Why was it necessary to move from an excuse-based absentee system to universal no-excuse absentee voting when the state had already established early in-person voting?
The completed absentee ballot can be returned by mail, delivered to the Town Clerk, or deposited into a secure absentee-ballot drop box. The voter therefore has multiple ways to cast a ballot without ever appearing before an election official.
Connecticut has safeguards. Town clerks process applications, associate ballots with eligible voters, track returned ballots and check the information required by law. There are restrictions on who may return another person’s ballot, and there are procedures intended to prevent a voter from casting both an absentee ballot and an in-person ballot.
But we need to be precise about what those safeguards accomplish.
They can help establish that a ballot was associated with an eligible voter and that it was returned according to the required procedures. They do not provide the same direct observation that occurs when the voter appears at an election location and interacts with election officials before casting the ballot.
Verifying the eligibility of a voter is not necessarily the same as verifying the circumstances under which a remote ballot was completed.
That distinction deserves more attention.
And Then Came the 250-Foot Law
Public Act 26-42 didn’t stop with absentee voting. It also created a 250-foot restriction around what the law calls an “elections site.” That definition extends beyond traditional Election Day polling places. It includes polling places, early-voting locations, same-day registration locations, ballot-counting locations, recanvass locations and, significantly, absentee-ballot drop boxes while they are being used.
The political discussion surrounding this provision was explicitly tied to concerns about ICE and federal immigration enforcement at polling places. Governor Lamont’s announcement described the law as restricting federal law enforcement officials from being within 250 feet of polling places and other sensitive election sites without permission from state election officials or a court order.
The stated purpose was to prevent intimidation.
But here is where the legislation becomes more complicated.
The final statute does not simply say “ICE.” It applies to officers or agents authorized by the federal government or by any state to use force, search, detain or arrest individuals.¹¹ That means the language reaches beyond federal immigration enforcement and can encompass state and local law enforcement as well.
That raises a legitimate question: In trying to prevent federal immigration enforcement from intimidating voters, did Connecticut create a restriction broad enough to interfere with the traditional role of our own police officers in protecting polling places and responding to emergencies?
This is especially important in towns where police stations and polling places are located near one another, or where local law enforcement has historically been present at voting locations to maintain public safety. Connecticut subsequently issued guidance clarifying circumstances under which state and local police could enter the 250-foot zone. That clarification may have addressed some practical concerns, but it also demonstrates how broadly the original provision was written.
And there is something else worth asking.
If the principal concern was ICE, why was the law written to include state and local law enforcement?
That question deserves an answer from the people who wrote and supported the legislation.
Step Back and Look at the Whole Picture
Consider how quickly Connecticut’s voting system has changed:
In just six years, Connecticut has moved a long way from the traditional model of going to your neighborhood polling place, being checked against the voter list and casting your ballot under the supervision of election officials.
Some of these changes provide legitimate convenience. Some may make voting easier for people who genuinely need flexibility.
But convenience should never become the enemy of confidence.
We should be willing to ask difficult questions without being accused of trying to suppress the vote.
And perhaps most importantly:
Can Connecticut voters clearly understand how every ballot gets from the voter to the final count—and can they have confidence that every step is secure?
These are not unreasonable questions.
They are questions a healthy democracy should welcome.
The conservative approach to elections should be straightforward:
Make voting accessible. Make verification strong. Protect voters. Protect election workers. Protect law enforcement. Protect the chain of custody. And make certain that every legitimate vote—and only legitimate votes—is counted.
Voting should be convenient.
But confidence in our elections is priceless.
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