Shawn Griffiths
HARTFORD, Conn. – The Connecticut General Assembly’s Government Administration and Elections (GAE) Committee held a public hearing Monday on SB 1536, a bill to implement Ranked Choice Voting (RCV) in Connecticut.
The legislation follows the recommendations of Governor Lamont’s Working Group on Ranked Choice Voting.
The RCV Working Group, co-chaired by Senator Tony Hwang (R-Fairfield) and Senator Catherine Osten (D-Sprague), held public meetings and a hearing in 2024 to study RCV and its benefits. Their final recommendations included allowing it in presidential preference primaries and party primaries.
These recommendations are included in SB 1536.
If adopted, RCV will be added to the state's most critical elections as most races in Connecticut are effectively decided in the primaries due to many districts being safe for one party or the other. However, it is worth noting that this means RCV will only be available to registered Republicans and Democrats.
Connecticut uses closed partisan primaries, meaning participation is conditioned on being a member of one of the two major political parties. The parties could decide to allow unaffiliated voters to participate, but these taxpayer-funded elections are not available to all voters.
The working group also recommended that local municipalities be allowed the option to use RCV in single-winner races if they choose to adopt it.
“This bill is an important step toward modernizing our elections and giving Connecticut voters a stronger voice," said CT Voters First Campaign Director Brendan Finely in a news release.
"RCV has been shown to increase participation, reduce negative campaigning, and ensure that winners have broad voter support—bringing Connecticut in line with other states that have adopted these commonsense reforms.”
SB 1536 is supported by a large statewide coalition, including many Democrats, Republicans, and independents in the legislature, as well as other public officials like Hartford City Council President Shirley Surgeon, Democratic Town Chair Colin Hosten, and Republican Town Clerk Rick McQuaid.
State organizations involved include Common Cause, the League of Women Voters, the CT League of Conservation Voters, the Connecticut Independent Party, veterans groups, and labor organizations -- highlighting the wide range of support for RCV reform.
Monday’s committee hearing on SB 1536 provided voters the opportunity to express their views on RCV in Connecticut. If adopted, Connecticut would become the third state to use the reform in at least some taxpayer-funded elections and would join dozens of cities across the US.