Essential workers, racial equity advocates, and those with pre-existing medical conditions were all angered by the state’s decision..
Mar 03, 2021
Steady Habits: Will the pandemic primary show Connecticut a new path to early voting?
This week on “Steady Habits,” John speaks with the state’s top election official, Secretary of the State Denise Merrill. She’s been pushing for voting reforms for years, and now she shares what we can expect to learn from this unprecedented primary.
This week’s Connecticut primary doesn’t feature any big statewide races or a contested race for a presidential nomination. But it’s actually a lot more interesting than it’s ever been, because it’s a test run for a new, expanded absentee ballot system in the state, meant to keep people safe from Covid-19.
Letters went out weeks ago from the Secretary of State’s office, asking registered voters if they wanted an absentee ballot for the primary. They got hundreds of thousands of requests back.
But some of those requests came back as undeliverable, some were returned to the sender because of issues with printing, and then, when it came time to get out the ballots, reports from town clerks came back that tens of thousands of requested ballots weren’t sent.
All of these complications are compounded by Connecticut’s notorious home rule, which makes sure that every town is going to handle elections differently, and our history of being very restrictive with mail-in voting, which hasn’t exactly gotten us used to this way of doing things. Neither of these things are new.
However, one thing is new: the turmoil at the US Postal service, which is currently in chaos because of changes being forced upon it by the Trump administration.
How did this new, temporary mail-in ballot system work and what can it tell us about the big election in November?
Lawmakers have approved a no-excuse mail-in voting system for the general election, but not beyond. Will this be the moment where Connecticut actually breaks one of its most confounding steady habits?
Listen On
Get Email Alerts for New Episodes
Recent Episodes
Steady Habits: New CT vaccine plan ‘disappointing’ to equity advocates
State residents were surprised by Gov. Ned Lamont’s announcement this week that Connecticut was changing course on..
Feb 24, 2021
Steady Habits: Bigger government? House GOP’s “change of pace”
House minority leader Vincent Candelora says this legislative session has been a real “change of pace” for him..
Feb 17, 2021
Steady Habits: Senate leader’s plan includes new taxes on the rich, legal pot, sports betting
Signs point to a lean budget proposal from Gov. Ned Lamont, even though he’s talked about having “the..
Feb 10, 2021
Steady Habits: CT’s budget forecast is sunny, with increasing clouds
Gov. Ned Lamont unveils his two year budget proposal a week from today, and despite the economic damage..
Feb 03, 2021
Steady Habits: Is Connecticut’s vaccine rollout inequitable?
Connecticut continues to be among the leading states in getting its residents Covid vaccine shots. The most..
Jan 27, 2021
Steady Habits Inauguration Day Special: CT Democrats, Republicans see better times ahead
It is inauguration day in America, and the question today is, who’s happier about it, Republicans or Democrats?..
Jan 20, 2021
Steady Habits: What’s slowing down CT’s vaccine rollout?
Yale Epidemiologist Gregg Gonsalves doesn’t mince words about the nation's response to COVID-19, either on Twitter, or in..
Jan 13, 2021
Steady Habits: How will Connecticut lawmakers govern during a pandemic?
The last legislative session in Connecticut was cut short by COVID-19. And this one is starting in..
Jan 05, 2021
Steady Habits: Could Cardona take Connecticut education experience to Washington?
Miguel Cardona, Connecticut's education commissioner, is on a short list of candidates to become education secretary in the..
Dec 21, 2020
Steady Habits: Health experts weigh in on vaccine, mandates, equity
With the FDA's emergency approval of the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine, Connecticut is set for what Gov. Ned Lamont..
Dec 13, 2020
Steady Habits: Time to raise taxes on the rich? Lamont says yes…and no.
Last Wednesday night, I interviewed Gov. Ned Lamont as part of a special Connecticut Mirror Conversation. You..
Dec 07, 2020
Steady Habits: Lamont plans for vaccines, wants to keep businesses, schools open
Governor Ned Lamont is in a tough spot. This week, he had a group of medical professionals send..
Dec 03, 2020
Steady Habits: Homeownership matters. So why are so many in CT left behind?
We’ve talked about it on the show before — a potential positive of the pandemic for CT is..
Nov 19, 2020
Steady Habits: What 2020 results mean for the future of elections in CT
More than a week after the 2020 election, it’s fair to ask, “what just happened?” The results point..
Nov 12, 2020About Steady Habits
On “Steady Habits,” our goal is to foster meaningful conversations with newsmakers and the journalists who cover them. We’re planning to dig into some of Connecticut’s biggest stories in policy and politics.
John Dankosky, a 25-year radio journalist in Connecticut, will serve as the program’s host.