Latest Column | ‘Your Vote Belongs to You’ (September 2026)

By State Sen. Rob Sampson

There are few things more personal than your vote.

It belongs to you, not to a political party, a campaign operative, a government bureaucrat, or someone standing in your living room telling you what to do with your ballot.

That ought to be the easiest thing in the world for Republicans and Democrats to agree on.

Apparently, it isn’t.

For more than a decade, I have fought to strengthen Connecticut’s election laws. Long before “election denier” became the fashionable insult for anyone asking inconvenient questions, I was raising concerns about absentee ballots, voter identification, inaccurate voter rolls, weak verification procedures, and political operatives inserting themselves into the voting process.

This has never been about Donald Trump or the 2020 presidential election.

It is about Connecticut. I want our elections to be as secure, orderly, and trusted as they were when I walked into a polling place at 18 and cast my first vote.

Unfortunately, Connecticut keeps giving us reasons to worry.

In 2023, surveillance video exposed improper handling of absentee ballots during Bridgeport’s Democratic mayoral primary. The evidence was serious enough that a Superior Court judge threw out the result and ordered another primary because the legitimate outcome could not reliably be determined. Criminal charges followed.

That should have been a wake-up call loud enough to rattle the windows at the State Capitol.

Instead, the Democratic majority continued treating those of us demanding stronger safeguards as if we were the problem.

Now Bridgeport is back in the news. Resident Alesia Dennis filed a complaint alleging that former Democratic State Senator Dennis Bradley and another man entered her apartment after she had completed and sealed her absentee ballot. Her home surveillance camera captured them handling the ballot envelope, and Dennis alleges Bradley instructed her to change her vote. She later said she felt scared and intimidated and simply wanted them out of her home.

The investigation should determine exactly what happened. But the larger point is impossible to miss. No voter should ever feel pressured by a political operative while casting a ballot.

Yet Connecticut’s safeguards remain weaker than many residents realize. We do not require photo identification to vote. In most cases, someone without acceptable identification may sign an affidavit instead. Our absentee ballot system requires a signature on the return envelope but does not require election officials to compare it with a verified signature on file. Our voter rolls require constant maintenance. Political organizations may distribute absentee-ballot applications. And Connecticut has now expanded absentee voting to every eligible voter without requiring an excuse.

The farther voting moves from the controlled environment of a polling place, the more important verification should become, not less.

That isn’t “voter suppression.” It is common sense.

Photo ID protects lawful voters. Accurate voter rolls protect lawful voters. Signature verification protects lawful voters. Strong chain-of-custody rules protect lawful voters. Tough penalties for people who interfere with someone else’s ballot protect lawful voters.

Yet legislative Democrats repeatedly reject these safeguards.

This year provided a remarkable example of both the policy problem and the process that produced it.

On the final night of the legislative session, Democrats brought out another controversial gun-control bill at roughly 3:30 in the morning. If the idea was that the hour would discourage lengthy debate, they miscalculated. I debated it for nearly four hours, and it did not pass until 7:22 a.m.

Then Democratic leadership wanted to roll immediately into H.B. 5001, a massive, 73-section elections bill fundamentally expanding absentee voting. Republican leadership ultimately agreed to limit debate on that consequential legislation so we could briefly go home, clean up, and return after having spent the night in the Senate chamber. The official record reflects that agreement and the exhaustion surrounding the debate.

Think about that.

A sweeping rewrite of Connecticut election law, on the final day of session, after an all-night debate, with legislators exhausted, and the minority given just two hours to challenge 73 sections of policy.

That is no way to make good law. It shows precious little respect for the legislative process, for the minority whose job is to scrutinize the majority, or frankly for the citizens who deserve thoughtful public policy instead of a mad dash toward midnight.

I used those two hours.

I offered eight amendments addressing photo identification, voter-roll audits, absentee-ballot safeguards, unsolicited applications, penalties for election crimes and more.

Every single one was rejected. All eight failed 25-11 on party-line votes.

Those votes matter. When one party possesses overwhelming legislative majorities, responsibility cannot be blurred into some vague complaint about “Hartford.” Democrats had the votes to enact stronger safeguards. They chose not to.

And the argument that fraud must be insignificant because little is proven misses the entire point. Successful fraud can be difficult to detect precisely because it succeeds.

“We didn’t find fraud” is not the same thing as “our system prevents fraud.”

I am not letting this go. I will continue introducing bills and offering amendments for photo ID, accurate voter rolls, stronger absentee-ballot verification, secure ballot handling, and meaningful penalties for election crimes until Connecticut gets this right.

But citizens are part of the solution too. Pay attention. Report suspicious activity. Ask candidates where they stand. And if you want stronger election safeguards, elect people in November who will actually pass them.

Freedom requires vigilance.

Your vote belongs to you. Make it easy for every eligible citizen to vote, make it hard to cheat, and give Connecticut an election system worthy of our trust.