Dathan, Mastronardi Tackle 8-30g, Early Voting, Women’s Reproductive Rights During LWV Candidates Debate

State Representative Lucy Dathan (D-142) defended her seat against challenger Don Mastronardi (R) during the League of Women Voters New Canaan Candidate Debate held Oct. 20 at Town Hall. The debate, which was moderated by students from New Canaan High School, was one of five held during the evening, including two for races for the State Senate and three for the State House. The 142nd House District includes New Canaan and Norwalk. “Local elections are so important and truly affect our daily lives,” said Dathan, who was elected to the post in 2018, in her opening remarks.

Boucher, Maher Discuss Affordable Housing, Rising Energy Costs and More During LWV Debate

Although they differ in their approaches to the issues, Republican Toni Boucher and her Democratic opponent, Ceci Maher, mostly see eye-to-eye when it comes to topics such as women’s reproductive rights, early voting, and rising energy costs – but their views diverge more significantly when it comes to affordable housing and how to balance spending with revenue, as revealed during the League of Women Voters New Canaan Candidate Debate held Oct. 20 at Town Hall. The debate featured a total of 10 candidates participating in three races in the state House of Representative and two races in the State Senate – including the race between Boucher and Maher for the 26th State Senate District, which includes Darien, New Canaan, Redding, Ridgefield, Stamford, Weston, Westport, and Wilton. The event was broadcast only – no audience members were allowed. In her opening remarks, Boucher explained that she was first elected to represent the 26th Senatorial District in 2008, after having served as the State Representative from the 143rd Assembly District for 12 years.

Fazio, Crow Debate Affordable Housing, Taxes, Reproductive Rights and More During LWV Debate

Affordable housing, early voting, energy costs, women’s reproductive rights and balancing taxes with state spending were among the many topics discussed when incumbent State Senator Ryan Fazio (R-36th) defended his seat from challenger and political newcomer Trevor Crow (D), during the League of Women Voters New Canaan Candidate Debate held Oct. 20 at Town Hall. The debate – which was televised only (there was no live audience allowed) and moderated by New Canaan High School students – featured candidates participating in three races in the state House of Representative as well as candidates squaring-off in two races in the state Senate, including the heated race between Fazio and Crow, both of whom are Greenwich residents. “As soon as I got elected, I went to work across the aisle in order to solve the challenges facing our district,” said Fazio, who was elected State Senator in August 2021, in his opening remarks. “I wrote and passed legislation to improve student mental health.

Op-Ed: A Referendum Question With Consequences

On Election Day, Connecticut ballots will include an important question in addition to the usual Federal and State races.  The ballots will ask voters to vote “Yes” or “No” on the following:
“Shall the Constitution of the State be amended to permit the General Assembly to provide for early voting?”
Connecticut is one of just a handful of states which does not currently offer early voting.  There was a similar referendum question on the ballot in 2014 which was voted down. When assessing if early voting is right for Connecticut, it is worth considering how voting works here.  In Connecticut, elections are run by each of our 169 municipalities – towns like New Canaan.  Polling places are set up and overseen Registrars of Voters, part-time officials who already work very hard to make sure our single-day elections run smoothly.   Absentee Ballots are managed by Town Clerks who also have lots of unrelated responsibilities as well.  This decentralized system is fundamentally different than most other states which organize their election infrastructure around counties.  Delaware, another small state which currently offers Absentee Voting, offers just 4 polling places for early voting statewide. While we see the obvious value in improving access to the polls, this open-ended referendum question should viewed with some skepticism.  Here are some of our concerns:

Open-Ended Authority – The referendum proposes allowing Early Voting without providing any boundaries or limitations.  The State legislature can adopt a law mandating any early voting period by a simple majority vote.  Do we want 46 days of early voting like they have in Minnesota?  Can we afford to staff voting sites in every town for weeks?  Probably not, but once you vote “yes” on the referendum question, the details are out of the voter’s hands.  For voters voting “Yes” on the ballot question, it will be “In the Connecticut State Legislature we trust …”
Unfunded Mandate – Massachusetts passed a law in 2014 that allowed 14 days of early voting.  Like Connecticut, Massachusetts’ elections are run locally and the cities and towns have battled the state over costs every election cycle since the law went into effect.  In 2017, the state auditor ruled that early voting was an unfunded mandate, but election funding has still not been permanently included in the state’s budget. Reduced Voter Engagement – In Connecticut, we hold our primaries in mid-August.  If early voting starts in mid-October, campaigns will have just 2 months to reach voters before votes are cast.  It also allows little time for candidates to be vetted by the press and opposing candidates.  In most early-voting states, voters are not permitted to change their vote once an early vote has been cast.