Newly sworn-in Secretary of the State Stephanie Thomas has presented the Connecticut General Assembly with a new report studying early voting best practices.
In November, voters approved the constitutional amendment to allow for early voting.
Since then, Thomas partnered with the nonpartisan nonprofit the Center for Election Innovation & Research, known as CEIR, to conduct the research.
In 2022, they reviewed the laws in all 50 states and the District of Columbia, finding a number of things to consider when shaping Connecticut's early-voting program before the next election.
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"A lot of people have been focusing on the number of days which is certainly important but there are other parameters," Thomas said. "Most states who have been doing early voting for any length of time have found that there's a spike at the beginning and a spike at the end so like the last week or so. So even though states who do 30 days find that in the middle no one is utilizing it as much," she continued.
Based on those findings, Thomas recommends early voting would start 10 days ahead of election. Early morning hours and evening hours will be available and only certain polling locations would be open. She also said adequate funding would be required for municipalities to implement the changes.
Thomas said she will be holding several town halls as they go through the legislative session ahead of the early-voting program.
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She is encouraging people to get involved with their government to ensure they have a voice in the changes being made.
"This democracy belongs to all of us and I want to empower people to engage with it," Thomas said.
Thomas requested that a bill be passed no later than March 31 in order to prepare for the new early-voting program.
She said she has not yet received specific feedback from state legislators based on her recommendations.
