Name: Denise Merrill: Federal funding will help make elections safe and secure
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Denise Merrill: Federal funding will help make elections safe and secure

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AdvertisementBy Special to Hartford CourantMay 04, 2020 at 8:00 amThanks to the hard work of our federal delegation, Connecticut can expect $5.4 million appropriated from Congress specifically to help states hold their 2020 elections by expanding access to voting by mail and increasing the safety of voting in person.Working with our partners at the local level, the registrars of voters and town clerks, here is Connecticut’s plan to make sure that Connecticut’s elections remain safe, secure, and accessible to all voters.AdvertisementFirst, we are going to enhance the safety of our in-person polling places. That includes getting towns the materials they need to hold a healthy election (including disinfecting wipes, hand sanitizer, gloves, masks and pens), hiring more poll workers both to make sure that every polling place has adequate staffing in case of absences and to get voters in and out faster, and reducing the number of voters in a polling place at any one time. We will also help towns to overcome their specific obstacles, like finding new polling place locations when their normal polling place is unavailable or managing increased demand for curbside ballot delivery.Second, we are going to make it possible for voters to have access to voting at home, by absentee ballot, if the threat of the coronavirus makes it necessary. My office will contract with a mail house and pay for and send absentee ballot applications to every voter in the state, including the cost of returning the applications, mailing the actual ballots to the voters, and for the voters to return their ballots. The federal funding gives us the flexibility to ensure that every voter who needs to conveniently cast a ballot from home by mail is able to do so, without cost to either the towns or the voters.AdvertisementIn anticipation of a much larger volume of requests for applications for absentee ballots than we usually have under Connecticut’s restrictive absentee ballot laws, we are going to use the federal money to help the towns hire and train additional workers, locate, pay for, and secure sites to hold the mailed in ballots for the towns who need them, and, most importantly, to ensure that every voter is able to cast one and only one ballot. The towns will be submitting their plans to my office for approval to ensure that every voter is able to participate in a safe and secure election, no matter where they live.This is on top of the significant investment in cybersecurity infrastructure we have made at the state and local level, also using federal funding, to ensure that every valid vote cast in a Connecticut election is a vote counted. The security and fairness of our election will be paramount as we all become accustomed to an election under unique circumstances.Having more voters vote by mail for the first time will be a challenging process, as will ensuring that in-person voting remains available and safe for those voters who want it, but we have the time and now the resources to do it and do it correctly. Connecticut’s registrars and town clerks are often overworked and understaffed, so this federal funding gives the state the ability to give them the resources they need to run the elections that Connecticut voters deserve.We are also planning a significant public education campaign so that voters know that their polling places are safe and their access to the ballot is secure. Working together, we can ensure that the 2020 election in Connecticut is safe for voters and for poll workers, secure, and, most importantly, accessible to every voter who chooses to participate.We can’t let fear of infection from a global pandemic cost a single voter their right to vote, and this plan is the best way to make sure every voter can safely and securely cast their ballot.Denise Merrill is Connecticut’s Secretary of the State. Advertisement

AdvertisementBy Special to Hartford CourantMay 04, 2020 at 8:00 amThanks to the hard work of our federal delegation, Connecticut can expect $5.4 million appropriated from Congress specifically to help states hold their 2020 elections by expanding access to voting by mail and increasing the safety of voting in person.Working with our partners at the local level, the registrars of voters and town clerks, here is Connecticut’s plan to make sure that Connecticut’s elections remain safe, secure, and accessible to all voters.AdvertisementFirst, we are going to enhance the safety of our in-person...

Denise Merrill: Federal funding will help make elections safe and secure

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