The Connecticut Voting Rights Act (CTVRA) is the nation’s most comprehensive state-level voting rights act. To remain the national leader, Connecticut must adequately fund its protections in this biennial budget, which will require $988,438 each year. This will cover five staff positions needed to implement the historic preclearance provision and other aspects of law, maintenance of the statewide election database in partnership with the UConn Voter Center, and translation services to comply with language access requirements.
Through enacting the CTVRA in 2023, the Connecticut legislature made a commitment to Black voters and other voters of color. Three-quarters of Connecticut voters supported the CTVRA and 89% of Black voters wanted their representatives to prioritize it. As we are seeing attacks, not progress, on voting rights at the federal level the state must double-down on this commitment, not walk it back.
Despite Connecticut’s progressive reputation, there are still discriminatory barriers to equal participation in our democracy for voters of color and people whose first language is not English, particularly at the local level. Recently, the Center for Public Integrity observed that Connecticut voters still “face some of the biggest obstacles outside of the south.” In fact, Connecticut has some of the most restrictive voting laws in the nation with Black and Latino voters facing limited access to absentee voting, no early voting, and longer voting lines.
Conditions that can foster voting discrimination — such as unfairly drawn districts that weaken Black and Brown voting power, inaccessible polling locations, insufficient language assistance for voters who don’t speak English, and even outright voter intimidation — endure throughout Connecticut. Connecticut’s towns and cities use at-large election structures or district maps, some of which may impair the ability of voters of color to elect candidates of their choice or influence the outcome of elections.
As we approach the 60th anniversary of the Voting Rights Act, that landmark law remains under attack in federal courts, and the Trump Administration’s Project 2025 agenda includes plans to roll back enforcement of protections against voting discrimination. States are fighting back with their own voting rights acts, and the CTVRA is the strongest in the nation. Now is Connecticut’s time to lead—not undercut its commitment to a democracy that works for all by shortchanging the CTVRA.
Voting Rights
State VRAs can provide key protections to their constituents that prevent and guard against discriminatory voting practices and policies. Learn more about LDF’s work to advance state VRAs.
LDF Original Content
A tandem approach of restoring and expanding federal voting rights legislation along with passing individual state VRAs is essential for providing the most robust voting protections for all voters.
LDF Original Content
How States with discriminatory maps have shirked their responsibilities to their constituents, paving the way for the passage of oppressive legislation.
LDF Reports
In 2022, LDF conducted civic engagement, election monitoring, and advocacy efforts in seven southern states: Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, South Carolina, and Texas. Our monitoring and advocacy work identified that limitations on the ability of Black voters to access the ballot and have their votes counted remained a prominent factor in U.S. elections. This report incorporates just some of the data points and observations conveyed during elections in LDF’s target states in 2022.
2020 saw a dramatic increase in attempts to suppress the vote of Black, Latino, and other minority-community voters. Democracy Defended captures and analyzes LDF’s work during the 2020 election season in 10 states — Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Michigan, Mississippi, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, and Texas. The report provides documentation of barriers faced by Black voters and solutions for policy makers, election administrators, and community members to implement to ensure fair access to the vote in future elections.
