Connecticut House Passes No-Excuse Absentee Voting

0:00It's April 24th. Welcome to Hartford News Today, powered by AI. Connecticut's house just pushed through a big change to voting rules, passing House Bill 5,001 on a straight-party line vote of 1, 101-49. This sends it straight to the Senate, aiming to make no excuse absentee voting available to everyone by scrapping the old excuses needed for mail. Ballots, like illness or being out of town. It wasn't smooth sailing, though. Earlier this week, they hit a wall late at night when Republicans threatened an all-night debate, forcing a postponement around 11 p.m. House Speaker Matt Ritter called it a needed time out to cool tempers, and by Thursday afternoon, they were back at it. After some overnight talks, Democrats have long pushed this, pointing out Connecticut's rules were among the tightest in the nation, especially after voters approved A. Constitutional tweak last November by 58-42%. Despite Matt Blumenthal highlighted how those barriers kept folks from easy access, a split

1:01that really blew up during the pandemic when mail voting became a hot-button issue. Negotiations scored some wins for Republicans, like ditching permanent mail-ballot signups that could have auto-send ballots every election without. Address checks. Instead, voters can now get applications mailed automatically, which GOP ranking member Gail Mastro Francesco called Way More Secure. They still voted no over other parts, like poll intimidation rules, but praised the dialogue that killed the filibuster threat. Now the bill heads to the Senate, where it'll test if this push for broader mail voting sticks, potentially opening doors for more turnout without the old hurdles holding people back.