Absentee Ballots Available for City Elections – But Without Universal Mail-In Voting Supported by Voters

Absentee ballots are available for the upcoming city elections, but restrictions on who is allowed to vote by mail-in voting remain in place, despite the fact that voters approved a constitutional amendment to allow universal absentee balloting.

In 2024, Connecticut voters approved a constitutional amendment to remove past limits on voting by mail only to voters meeting certain “excuses”. But legislation to implement the expanded right to vote by mail did not come to a vote in the full House of Representatives. Secretary of the State Stephanie Thomas (D), who supported universal absentee balloting, citing administrative concerns, urged the legislature to delay implementation until 2026.

However, Connecticut already successfully implemented what was essentially a universal right to vote by absentee ballot – during the pandemic in 2020. After that successful implementation of mail-in voting, then-Secretary of the State Denise Merrill (D), in 2020, said that a historic number of votes were cast by absentee ballots. Merrill reported that, “More than 650,000 voters cast their vote by absentee ballot,” “35% of ballots cast were absentee ballots” and “Absentee ballot rejection rate of less than 1% lowest in recent history.”

“For the first time in Connecticut history, due to the COVID-19 crisis, every Connecticut voter was allowed to vote by absentee ballot if they chose to, and the response was overwhelming,” Secretary Merrill said in 2020. “Connecticut voters clearly want options to make casting their ballots and making their voices heard more convenient.”

Rep Manny Sanchez (D-24) and Rep David DeFronzo (D-26) were the only New Britain legislators given the opportunity to vote in 2025, in a committee vote, on the legislation for a right to vote by mail. They both voted in in favor of it.

The Office of the Secretary of the State says that, presently,

Connecticut law still permits absentee voting only for specific reasons. These include:

-Active service in the armed forces;
-Absence from town on Election Day;
-Sickness (not necessarily the voter’s own);
-Physical disability (not necessarily the voter’s own);
-Religious beliefs that prevent secular activities like voting on Election Day;
-Duties as an election official at a polling place other than one’s own.

Information on how to vote by absentee ballot is available on the website of the Secretary of the State. The website has information on how to download an application for an absentee ballot, as well as rules and restrictions on absentee ballot voting. The Office also says, “Visit myvote.ct.gov/getmyab to request your online Absentee Ballot.”

The Office of the Town Clerk in New Britain says that,

The completed absentee ballot application can be mailed to:

Mark H. Bernacki, Town & City Clerk
City of New Britain – Attn: Elections
27 West Main Street – Room #109
New Britain, CT 06051

The Town Clerk’s office says its phone numbers for elections are (860) 826-3349 and (860) 826-3336.

The availability of absentee ballots was announced on October 3rd.