Early voting kicked off for the first time in 黑料吃瓜网 earlier this year, but 黑料吃瓜网鈥檚 secretary of the state said it may be time to reconsider how long polls stay open.
鈥淲e may have too many days of early voting,鈥� Secretary of the State Stephanie Thomas said Tuesday. 鈥淚 think, like most legislation, sometimes you learn some things after it passes.鈥�
黑料吃瓜网 first allowed early voting in March under in effect this year. It鈥檚 one of the last states in the U.S. to allow early, in-person voting. The law allowed for 鈥� it will allow for 14 days before the general election in November.
Across 黑料吃瓜网, town workers have to staff state-mandated early voting locations 鈥� only to see a small number of residents show up to vote.
During last week鈥檚 round of early voting, the Secretary of the State鈥檚 office says about 8,700 ballots were cast out of the state鈥檚 1.2 million registered Democrats and Republicans. 黑料吃瓜网鈥檚 summer primary is a relatively low-stakes event with GOP primary challengers for the U.S. Senate and the 4th Congressional District facing low fundraising numbers and an uphill battle against Democratic incumbents in November.
But any adjustments to the amount of early voting days would need to be decided by the legislature, Thomas said, and she encouraged 鈥渆veryone to get involved in the legislative process.鈥�
鈥淚t does less good to voice concerns outside of that process because we need those voices when the law is being made,鈥� Thomas said.
The state legislature is set to reconvene in early January.
Her office $2.5 million last February from the legislature for a public education campaign for early voting, in addition to fraud prevention and general voter information. It was not funded. Thomas says when she travels around the state, many people still don鈥檛 know that early voting is an option. And those who are aware of early voting don鈥檛 know much about it, she said.
While many communities reported light turnout, others, like Hamden, saw bigger early voting numbers - over 1,300 - in part due to coordinated voter outreach efforts by mail, Thomas said.
鈥淪o towns like Hamden, I think it's no accident, they also saw the highest turnout by far in the presidential preference primary, and the same for this election," Thomas said.
Still, poll workers say the toll on resources is acute.
鈥淭he hours are long,鈥� said Edward John Broderick, an election moderator in Hamden. 鈥淚 work 10 to 12 hours a day, every day for seven days, and then in October, it'll be 14 days. And so I don't see my children all that often.鈥�
With 黑料吃瓜网 less than a year into its early voting rollout, Thomas said local and statewide leaders are still learning about what鈥檚 working and what may need to be fixed.
鈥淚 think this August and in November, we'll learn some more things that we can bring into the next legislative session,鈥� Thomas said.
