Connecticut Question 2, Removal of Party Levers From Voting Machines Amendment (1986)

Connecticut Question 2
Election date November 4, 1986
Topic Election administration and governance
Status Approved
Type Legislatively referred constitutional amendment	Origin State legislature

Connecticut Question 2 was on the ballot as a legislatively referred constitutional amendment in Connecticut on November 4, 1986. It was approved.

A "yes" vote supported amending the Connecticut Constitution to remove party levers, which casts votes for all candidates within a political party in one move, from voting machines.

A "no" vote opposed amending the Connecticut Constitution to remove party levers, which casts votes for all candidates within a political party in one move, from voting machines.

Election results

Connecticut Question 2
Result		Votes	Percentage
Yes		302,899	50.42%
No		297,827	49.58%

Results are officially certified.

Source

Text of measure

Ballot title

The ballot title for Question 2 was as follows:

“

Shall the constitution of the state be amended to eliminate the use of party levers on voting machines?

”

Support

Arguments

• Former Hartford City Councilmember Sidney L. Gardner: "Connecticut is an especially inappropriate place for the party lever. We are a state with many independent voters, consistent ticket-splitting and wider spectrums of party membership than in many other states. There are conservatives and progressives in both parties, and that is a good thing. But party diversity means that the party label means less. It can deceive a voter who uses it as a short-cut guide to voting."

Opposition

Arguments

• State Rep. Bill Cibes, Jr. (D-39): "This is the kind of technical detail about election law which should properly be decided by the General Assembly, not by constitutional amendment. If the constitution, which now includes a requirement that voters be given an opportunity to use a party lever if he or she chooses, is to be amended at all, my belief is that the existing requirement should simply be removed. With that change, the legislature would be allowed to decide by statute whether the party lever should exist."

Media editorials

Support

The following media editorial boards published an editorial supporting the ballot measure:

• The Hartford Courant Editorial Board: "It's time the party lever was retired to museums of political history, and voters instead were asked to choose from among individuals, not simply between parties. Government at all levels in Connecticut would be healthier for it."

Opposition

You can share campaign information or arguments, along with source links for this information, at editor@ballotpedia.org.

Path to the ballot

See also: Amending the Connecticut Constitution

In Connecticut, a constitutional amendment can be referred to the ballot after one legislative session or two legislative sessions depending on the vote count.

When an amendment receives a 75% vote in both legislative chambers, the amendment goes on the ballot. That amounts to a minimum of 114 votes in the Connecticut House of Representatives and 27 votes in the Connecticut State Senate, assuming no vacancies.

When an amendment receives a simple majority vote in both legislative chambers, the amendment must pass during two successive legislative sessions to go on the ballot. That amounts to a minimum of 76 votes in the Connecticut House of Representatives and 19 votes in the Connecticut State Senate, assuming no vacancies.

Amendments do not require the governor's signature to be referred to the ballot.

See also

1986 Measures

• 1986 Measures
• Election administration and governance on the ballot
• 1986 legislative sessions

Connecticut

• Connecticut ballot measures
• Connecticut ballot measure laws

News and analysis

• Ballot measure lawsuits
• Ballot measure readability
• Ballot measure polls

External links

• Connecticut Ballot Question Election Results Archive