Connecticut voters on Aug. 11 rubber-stamped President Donald Trump and presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden in the state’s primary, which marked the final contest of the 2020 election season.
Biden won the state primary, securing about 84 percent of the vote with 23 percent of precincts reporting, in contrast to 12 percent for Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.). Trump, meanwhile, won the GOP primary with more than 86 of the vote based on initial results, the Associated Press reported.
“It’s a difficult process, with many steps for a voter to get an absentee ballot and as far as on-line ballot that can be downloaded—not everyone has access to printers.”
He continued, “Without a doubt, there will be a massive drop in numbers of voters because our state does not have a no-excuse ballot option.”
There were about 300,000 requests for absentee ballots for Connecticut’s primary, according to Secretary of the State Denise Merrill, who said the number is about 10 times the highest number absentee ballot requests for any election in the state.
Gov. Ned Lamont (D) on Monday signed an executive order giving election officials until Thursday to count absentee ballots, guaranteed that they are postmarked by Tuesday.
News that Biden won the state primary came just hours he announced he is selecting Sen. Kamala Harris (D-Calif.) as his vice presidential pick.
“I have the great honor to announce that I’ve picked [Harris]—a fearless fighter for the little guy, and one of the country’s finest public servants—as my running mate,” he wrote in an announcement on Tuesday.
“Back when Kamala was Attorney General, she worked closely with Beau,” his deceased son, Biden added. “I watched as they took on the big banks, lifted up working people, and protected women and kids from abuse. I was proud then, and I’m proud now to have her as my partner in this campaign.”
With just six days until the nominating convention, Biden was expected to choose a vice president this week.