Connecticut's 2020 Election Plan

May 4, 2020

Many constituents have contacted me regarding the upcoming elections in Connecticut both for the August primary as well as the November general election. I am pleased to announce that today, our Secretary of State, Denise Merrill, announced an election plan for voters to keep people safe and not have a repeat of what happened in Wisconsin a number of weeks ago.

To read and see a copy of the full announcement, please click on the image below or keep reading for a summary.

Secretary Merrill said the state will take the following measures:

  • Expand Absentee Ballot Access
    • The Office of the Secretary of the State will provide an absentee ballot application to all eligible voters for the 2020 primary and general elections.
    • After processing by their town clerks, those who request absentee ballots will be provided with absentee ballots via a mail house contracted by the Office of the Secretary of the State.
    • Secure drop boxes will be provided to every municipality so that absentee ballots may be deposited by voters.
    • The Secretary of the State will offer a grant program to meet extra costs for processing and personnel which might be required for the town clerks due to increased demand for absentee ballots.
    • Pre-paid postage will be provided so that neither voters nor municipalities have to pay to mail absentee ballots and absentee ballot applications back and forth.
  • The Office of the Secretary of State will conduct a public information campaign using social media and traditional outreach to convey information about the absentee ballot option for voting during the pandemic. This campaign will encourage voters to fill out their applications for absentee ballots as early as possible, easing the strain on the offices of town clerks across the state.
  • The Safe Polls Plan
    • Working with public health officials, the Secretary of the State's office will require all municipalities to submit a plan for the primary and general elections in the 2020 election cycle that includes a list of polling locations, staffing levels for each polling location, an identified list of poll workers and moderators ready to work on election day, list of cleaning and safety products required, and an emergency plan. Municipalities which complete their Safe Polls Plan will be eligible for a Safe Polls Grant from the Office of the Secretary of the State.
  • Safe Polls Grant Program
    • Municipalities that submit their Safe Polls Plan will be eligible for a Safe Polls Grant which can be applied to meet the costs incurred to conduct an election in a pandemic environment. These expenses, as vetted by public health officials, include cleaning and safety products and additional personnel if necessary.

Funds from the federal CARES Act and the Help America Vote Act (HAVA) will be used to make these changes.

Finally, it is important that you know the state has taken measures to protect your safety and ensure safety at polling places.

Over the past year, the SOS office has significantly upgraded the security of the CVRS by instituting complex password and dual-factor authentication requirements. As one of the first centralized voter registration databases in the country, Connecticut's CVRS is nearing the end of its useful and secure life and requires a comprehensive upgrade in the near future. Plans are underway for CVRS' eventual replacement and will begin implementation at the end of the 2020 cycle. In the near term, due to the complexity of the legacy code, the Office has frozen that code in place for the 2020 election cycle to prevent the creation of security risks.

The Office of the Secretary is also going to leverage cybersecurity funding to protect our elections from malicious actors at both the state and local levels. Working with the SOS office, the Connecticut National Guard will perform a high-level cybersecurity assessment of the election infrastructure of each of Connecticut's 169 towns. Approximately 20 towns have been identified with having chronic connectivity issues to the state's election infrastructure, and will be providing network upgrades in theses towns to prevent potential security risks.

You can check you or a family’s member registration status or register to vote here: https://portaldir.ct.gov/sots/LookUp.aspx