Susan Bysiewicz held up a sample ballot Friday and pointed to where voters in Hartford will find a referendum question on amending the Connecticut constitution to allow easier access to voting by absentee ballot. The demonstration by the lieutenant governor may seem overly simplistic, but it is an element of passing any referendum: Reminding voters to look for a question that can appear at the top, bottom, side or on the back of ballots. “We don’t want anyone to miss the ballot question,” Bysiewicz said. Passage of the referendum would remove from the state constitution a list of limited circumstances under which a voter can vote by absentee, allowing the General Assembly to legalize no-excuse or universal absentee voting. Somewhere on every ballot will be this question: “Shall the Constitution of the State be amended to permit the General Assembly to allow each voter to vote by absentee ballot?” In Hartford, the question is at the top. In Andover, it’s at the bottom with three questions about proposed revisions the local charter. In some places, it sits on the side with local spending questions. In Stamford, it’s on the back.  See a sample ballot from your community. Absentee ballots can currently be cast by mail, returned in person, or placed in secure drop boxes that typically sit outside city or town halls. But the constitution empowers the General Assembly to allow absentee voting only by those “unable to appear at the polling place on the day of election because of absence from the city or town of which they are inhabitants or because of sickness, or physical disability or … the tenets of their religion.” In three dozen other states, absentee voting is a universal right. “This is not unique,” Gov. Ned Lamont said. “You look around the rest of the country, especially towards the west coast, where more and more people are voting by absentee ballot. They’re doing that with integrity, and make it easier for people to vote, just like early voting.” Early voting for the general election in Connecticut, which was authorized by another constitutional amendment passed in 2022, begins Oct. 21. A broad coalition that includes the Connecticut AFL-CIO, League of Women Voters, Common Cause, the Connecticut Citizen Action Group, the Connecticut  Project and others are promoting passage. Ed Hawthorne, the president of the AFL-CIO, read a list of deep blue and deep red states where absentee voting is universal. “I think we can all agree political leanings in these states could not be more different,” Hawthorne said. “But what all these states and all these voters understand is we need to make it as easy as possible for registered voters to participate in democracy and exercise their God given right to cast a vote.” Absentee voting became a partisan issue when Donald J. Trump railed against states who encouraged absentee voting during the COVID pandemic in 2020. A result was far more Democrats voted by absentee than Republicans. This year, Trump changed his tune.  “ABSENTEE VOTING, EARLY VOTING, AND ELECTION DAY VOTING ARE ALL GOOD OPTIONS. REPUBLICANS MUST MAKE A PLAN, REGISTER, AND VOTE!” Trump posted on social media in April. The resolution placing the Connecticut question about universal absentee voting on the ballot passed on votes of 113-38 in the House and 26-8 in the Senate, with every Democrat and one in three House Republicans and one in four Senate Republicans in favor. Voting no were the leaders of the House and Senate Republican minorities, Rep. Vincent J. Candelora of North Branford and Sen. Stephen Harding of Brookfield. But each said they were not opposed to the concept, but worried about how it might be implemented. “My concern is more of a practical issue than policy one,” said Candelora, who previously had voted for a similar resolution. “I don’t have any confidence in the way early voting was done.” The legislature passed a law to allow 14 days of early voting, which he saw as too long and a burden to the cities and towns, which administer elections in Connecticut. “My vote was more a protest vote,” Candelora said. Harding said he, too, supported the concept, but he preferred to see detailed language outlining how universal absentee voting would be implemented if the constitution was amended. “That gives me significant pause,” Harding said.