The right to vote is a cornerstone of our democracy. The ACLU of Connecticut has worked to ensure that all citizens may vote in Connecticut without intimidation, coercion, or unnecessary barriers. In the 1990's, we successfully sued to stop Hartford's discriminatory canvassing procedures, which were disproportionately purging Latinx voters from the voting list and depriving them of their rights to vote. More recently, we helped to pass a law requiring polling places to post signs about Connecticut’s voter identification requirements at all polling places, continued our advocacy for early voting, sued to create absentee voting for all during the 2020 elections, helped laws to end prison gerrymandering and restore voting rights for people on parole, and spoke out to educate people about their voting rights.
ACLU of Connecticut continues our voting access efforts with an emphasis on the ways in which the government, through gerrymandering and other racist policies, thwarts Black and Brown voters from making their voices heard at the ballot box. We seek to advance racial equity through the expansion of the franchise and by making voting more accessible to those who have been historically marginalized by the government. We seek to: ensure that the right to vote is recognized as a fundamental right under Connecticut law; end the practice of stripping people of the right to vote when they are living with certain records; restore the right to vote to those who are disenfranchised while incarcerated with felony conviction; remove barriers to voting, including by working to establish no-excuse absentee voting and early voting; ensure implementation of early and no-excuse absentee voting prioritizes access for communities of color; and educate voters about their voting rights.
Voting Rights
Connecticut NAACP v. Merrill
July 2, 2020
HB 6660, An Act Implementing the Governor’s Budget Recommendations for General Government
April 5, 2023SB 1226, An Act Concerning State Voting Rights in Recognition of John R. Lewis
March 21, 2023SJR 35, A Resolution Proposing a State Constitutional Amendment to Allow Individuals Who Have Attained the Age of Sixteen to Apply for Admission as Electors and Be So Admitted Upon Attaining the Age of Eighteen
March 14, 2023
HB 5702, An Act Allowing Incarcerated Individuals to Vote and HB 5714, An Act Concerning Incarcerated Individuals and Voting
March 13, 2023HB 6693, An Act Concerning Absentee Voting, and SB 713, An Act Concerning the Disclosure of Absentee Ballot Applications
March 3, 2023HR 1, A Resolution Proposing a State Constitutional Amendment Allowing for No-Excuse Absentee Voting, and SR 29, A Resolution Approving an Amendment to the State Constitution to Allow No-Excuse Absentee Voting
March 3, 2023
The Latest

Here's How Connecticut Could Implement a Historic New Voting Law
May 12, 2023Tell Your Legislators: Pass the CT Voting Rights Act

Annual Report 2022
March 27, 2023
I have helped people gain their right to vote back. Let me tell you...
March 7, 2023
It's time to allow incarcerated individuals to vote.
March 7, 2023
Get the Toolkit: SUPPORT EQUITABLE EARLY VOTING IMPLEMENTATION

Get the Toolkit: THE CONNECTICUT VOTING RIGHTS ACT

Connecticut needs its own Voting Rights Act
February 7, 2023