Matt Blumenthal

On Monday afternoon, our House of Representatives passed my bill, HB 6205 which expands access to absentee voting. HB 6205 offers absentee voting eligibility to commuters, healthcare workers, and those who care for the sick or elderly and who are not able to reach a polling place during the election. Whether you are unable to appear at a polling place on election day because you are away from where you are registered to vote, or you are caring for an adult who requires intensive support, you now qualify for an absentee ballot. This bill is a fix to the leaks in our laws. It is a necessary and timely solution to the gap between our legislative statutes and our constitution.

Our State Supreme Court once said, "when there is disenfranchisement, a grievous wrong is done to the citizen and, when that disenfranchisement exists to any great extent, the system is put in serious jeopardy of being used to defeat its real ends."

My bill assures that the thousands of hard-working folks who are prevented by current statutes to vote with an absentee ballot are now able to do so. It is a disservice to any American citizen to not provide every opportunity possible to participate in our American experiment.

Thank you to Representative Dan Fox and Senator Mae Flexer for their unwavering support on this momentous bill.