FAIRFIELD COUNTY – Sweeping election law changes proposed in Connecticut would make it easier for Fairfield County voters to register online, allow registration on the same day as an election and permit more people to obtain absentee ballots.

That would be helpful to Fairfield County commuters who work late in New York and often can't get back in time to vote, say state and local election officials.

“I am a strong supporter of reforming voter registration laws in Connecticut because so many people throughout Fairfield County have trouble getting to the polls within the mandated time frame,” said Wilton’s Democratic Registrar of Voters Carole Young-Kleinfeld.

The proposed changes are included in parts of several bills supported by Democratic Gov. Dannel P. Malloy, Secretary of the State Denise Merrill and the state’s Election Performance Task Force. Young-Kleinfeld represented the state’s League of Women’s Voters on the task force.

Click here to read the full Daily Westport story by Richard Weizel.

RIDGEFIELD, Conn. - Secretary of the State Denise Merrill has released a report which looks at ways to improve vote security and voter turnout in the state.

Carole Young-Kleinfeld, a member of the League of Women Voters of Connecticut and the Election Performance Task Force. says that Merrill, with support from Gov. Dannel Malloy, has introduced several bills to the General Assembly.

"One of which is election-day registration. Another is on-line voter registration, and that is not on-line voting."

Other states with election-day registration have seen increased voter turnout. Online voter registration would help keep voting rolls up to date.

Listen to, or read, the full Public News Service story by Melinda Tuhus here

Presented by: Carole Young-Kleinfeld, Member, Elections Performance Task Force, LWVCT 

The League of Women Voters of CT, a nonpartisan national organization with 1800 Connecticut members, is pleased to have taken part in the Elections Performance Task Force convened last year by Secretary Merrill.   

Rarely, if ever, has our state gathered together such a committed group of local elections officials, voters rights advocates, academic experts, and state agency representatives whose task was to take a comprehensive look at Connecticut’s elections—all the way from the registration process, to Election Day procedures, and on to evaluation of our system’s effectiveness in engaging our voters in their democracy.

All of our meetings were broadcast on CT-N for all state residents to view—with accompanying information also posted on the Secretary of the State’s website and all meetings open to the public, of course. 

The League of Women Voters of Connecticut applauds the openness and inclusiveness of this effort and hope that our legislators and our voters will take the time to consider the task force’s report. 

The task force report is available online here.

Did you miss the winter edition of The Connecticut Voter?  Read it online here!

The state, towns and utilities have some organizing, some hard decisions and some spending to do in order to avoid storm damage similar to the $750 million the last two big storms cost Connecticut, according to a public discussion by a panel of experts.

The panel discussion, "Power Struggle: Balancing the Needs of People, Power & Trees," attracted about 100 people to the Darien Town Hall Auditorium.  

The panel discussion was organized by the Greenwich Tree Conservancy the Tree Conservancy of Darien, the Fairfield Forestry Committee, the Stamford Tree Foundation and chapters of the League of Women Voters in Darien, Fairfield, Greenwich, New Canaan, Norwalk and Stamford. 

Read the full Darien Patch story by David Gurliacci here.

May 15, 2012
8:30 a.m. - 12:30 p.m.
University Commons - Sacred Heart University
5151 Park Avenue, Fairfield, CT 06825

Panelists:

• Jane Bornemeier, Editor, NY Times Radio
  
• Nayan Chanda, The Yale Center for the Study of Globalization
  
• Robert Palm, Reporter

For registration form, click here.