When voters finally approved early voting in Connecticut in November of 2022, we became one of the last states to do so, leaving Alabama, Mississippi and New Hampshire as the only states remaining where early voting is not available.  Fortunately, our citizenry was prescient and, now, each of us has the opportunity to vote early in person starting Monday, October 21. Fred Klein The benefits to this substantially broadened window of opportunity are numerous.  For those who might struggle to find time to vote on Election Day itself (Tuesday, November 5), this provides, roughly, two weeks of continuous opportunities to fit this most important of civic duties into their calendars.  Additionally, once a citizen has voted, it is entered into the public record and campaigns will no longer need to expend time, talent and treasure chasing their votes.  This is good for both the voter and the campaign the voter supports.  For the campaign, it drives obvious efficiencies.  For the voter, it means they will stop getting emails, texts, postcards and knocks at their door.  Their work is done. Perhaps most importantly, if we bank a critical mass of early votes, such that the vast majority of all votes are counted by the end of Election Day itself, we will substantially reduce the possibility of the sort of uncertainty which led to rancor in late 2020 and early 2021.  Whatever you think of what transpired in the wake of Election Day in November 2020, it is undeniable that the “long tail” of mail-in vote counting widened the window for increasingly strident claims that undermined large groups of Americans’ confidence in both the process and the outcome. For the sake of transparency, I am a Democrat.  Prior to 2017, though, I had been a Republican dating back to my first eligible election in November 1992.  I stopped voting Republican in November of 2016 and left the party altogether in 2017.  While I know many reading this may disagree with much that I stand for, I have to believe that most of you remain deeply disturbed by what transpired in the months that followed Election Day 2020.  We must do whatever we can to avoid a recurrence of that grim and tragic period in our history.  While none of us can control the behaviors of the candidates, we can control ourselves.  We must vote and we must do so promptly. Early Voting starts Monday, October 21 in Connecticut and runs daily through Sunday, November 3.  To find your early voting location visit MyVote.CT.gov or call 860-509-6200. Fred Klein lives in Westport.