A proposed amendment to the Connecticut State Constitution, permitting absentee balloting for voters whose religion poses conflict with a fixed election date, was seen here today as making progress, following a hearing before a legislative committee at the state capitol. While no one appeared against the proposal, pleas for adoption of the amendment were voiced during the hearing by Mrs. Ella T. Grasso, Secretary of State, and Ben Stark, executive director of the Connecticut Jewish Community Relations Council.
Mrs. Grasso told the committee that analysis of the calendar for the next 25 years showed that at least 11 election days in various towns and cities in Connecticut will fall on Rosh Hashanah or Yom Kippur.
The amendment received a simple majority in the State House of Representatives, where it was introduced in 1961. If approved by the committee now, it must receive a two-thirds majority in both the House and the Senate. The amendment would permit referenda in various towns and cities on the issue, requiring only a simple majority in each case.
The Connecticut Jewish Ledger quoted Common Pleas Court Judge Samuel S. Googel, of New Britain, as cautioning that adoption of the amendment by the State’s General Assembly will be only one step toward permitting absentee balloting when an election day conflicts with a religious holiday. Judge Googel was chairman of the Joint Legislative Council of the State when the proposal for such an amendment was first made in 1957. In that year, a local election was held in New Britain on Passover, preventing some Jews from voting.
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The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
