To The Editor:

I urge you to vote NO on the ballot question “Shall the Constitution of the State be amended to permit the General Assembly to allow each voter to vote by absentee ballot?” Here’s why.

A constitution is the overall law of the land, and its purpose is to provide for necessary governance, while also protecting We the People from an all-powerful government — the power should remain in We the People. Amending a constitution should be taken very seriously.

First, it’s not clear what the problem is that needs to be resolved by a constitutional amendment. Currently in Connecticut a qualified voter can vote by absentee ballot by first applying for such ballot if they are unable to be at the polling place for certain specified reasons. Connecticut has also recently enacted two weeks of early in-person voting.

Clearly defining the problem is a necessary first step for a change to our Constitution.

The section of the Constitution that would be amended currently allows the General Assembly to provide laws for allowing voting for qualified voters who are unable to be at their polling place “because of sickness or physical disability or because the tenets of their religion forbid secular activity.”

If this question is approved, the new wording of this section of our Constitution would be:

“Sec. 7. The general assembly may provide by law for voting in the choice of any officer to be elected or upon any question to be voted on at an election by qualified voters of the state who will not appear at the polling place on the day of election.”

Such a change to our Constitution gives too much power to the General Assembly to enact sweeping new voting laws, which could include just sending ballots to all registered voters. (Some of whom could have moved, or died—then what happens to their ballot?)

We need to protect our voting rights, and voting NO on this question is a necessary step in that direction.

Cathy Reiss

Newtown