Sen. Gordon, Senate GOP Leader Harding Raise Concern Over Early Voting Funding for Towns

Appropriations Committee member State Sen. Jeff Gordon (R-Woodstock), Senate Republican Leader Stephen Harding (R-Brookfield), and Government Administration and Elections Committee ranking member State Sen. Rob Sampson (R-Wolcott) today continued to raise concerns over the burden that 14 days of early voting will place on town budgets statewide.

“Many towns are raising taxes to fund essential services and programs. Democrats passed early voting claiming they favor expanding access. We warned that this would pose a significant unfunded mandate on towns that would be passed on to residents. Most towns in the state lack the budget to open all regular polling locations. Consequently, many will only open one site, which contradicts the goal of ‘increased access’ that early voting is supposed to offer.

“Last year, we warned that the allocated funds would be insufficient for this year. We continue to raise this concern, because early voting may be limited from what they sold to voters, and because it will likely generate increased local taxes. We continue to urge Majority Democrats to reorder their priorities, keep their promises, and help our towns,” said the lawmakers.

Earlier this month, Majority Democrats suggested a “wait-and-see” approach to funding municipalities after the upcoming Fall 2024 elections.