Antidisenfranchisementism

ballotI think I’m being disenfranchised! It’s probably unintentional, but it’s a bit annoying… here’s how it goes…

I vote in Connecticut. To get an absentee ballot, I have to request one via snail-mail. They’re not sent until a while before a vote, and obviously you can’t wait until the last minute. So you have to plan and make sure you request it at the right time. In addition, you can’t get get them sent to you regularly — you have to request one for each election, including different requests for primaries and general elections. Basically, they make it a pain. Intentional? You tell me. Apparently, in other states you can register as a permanent absentee voter and get the  ballots sent to you automatically. Not me 🙁

I can usually deal with this 19th century technology, but this year is even more painful. I requested my ballot a bit more than a week ago, and I just got the reply. So far, so good. Usually it comes with an envelope (duh…), some instructions, a ballot, and two other envelopes. You’re supposed to put your completed ballot in one, “inner” envelope, and then send this envelope in the second, “outer” envelope they’ve given you. I guess this is to try to keep my vote secret.

But I didn’t get the “inner” envelope (they call it envelope ‘B’). I’ve written an email to the town clerk, but it’s hard to imagine that this will get cleared up in time for me to vote. It’s not hard to guess which direction absentee voters probably vote. You think this is on purpose?

One thought on “Antidisenfranchisementism”

  1. So, I’ve just gotten my response from the Norwalk town clerk. My faith in democracy is restored!

    His message…

    Ken,
    Good Morning,
    So there is no delay you can put it inside a regular envelope and mark the outside election material.
    Sorry about that, Thank you for voting!
    Rick McQuaid
    Norwalk Town Clerk

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