Many state voters appear to appreciate this early voting opportunity. As of Friday, 455,861 voters had cast absentee ballots, or 27% of all the votes that were cast in Connecticut in the 2016 presidential election. Four years ago, only 126,948 absentee ballots were cast.

Of course, 2020 is special in so many ways. Normally Connecticut, with among the strictest voting laws in the nation — those restrictions built into the state Constitution — only allows absentee ballot use if you are sick or otherwise unable to get to the polls, out of state, serving in the military or have a religious-based conflict on Election Day. But the legislature, meeting in special session, extended for this election the sickness provision to include the COVID-19 epidemic. And Secretary of the State Denise Merrill made things easier still by ordering absentee ballot applications mailed to every registered voter.

Republican candidates could be hurt by these developments, with the wounds self-inflicted. Registered Republicans have the same opportunity but, as in much of the country, they are not using it as widely as Democrats. This is probably because of President Trump’s phony claims of mail-in voting fraud.

The latest figures show 28% of registered Democrats have voted absentee already, compared to only 14% of Republicans. And 16% of those registered as unaffiliated have voted absentee. Registered Democrats have 233,214 votes now locked up, Republicans only 67,707. What happens if some of those Republicans, who waited to cast their votes on Election Day, decide that given rising infection numbers and the certainty that Joe Biden will take the state, decide to stay home after all? Nothing good for down-ticket Republican candidates, that is for sure.

Some Democrats could stay away too, of course. But, one, that seems less likely because Democrats appear more fired up by anti-Trump fervor and, two, their candidates would be hurt less because so many Democrat votes would have already been cast absentee.

Trump is killing the Connecticut GOP by not only being a lousy candidate at the top of the ticket, but also by discouraging early Republican voting.

Early voting is going to become normalized in Connecticut, it is just a matter of when and how.

In 2019, a proposed state constitutional amendment to allow for early voting was approved by the legislature. If ratified by voters, the legislature would then set the rules for the voting that would allow voters to show up at polling places days or weeks before Election Day.

The amendment would have been on the ballot in this election if it had received super-majority approval — three-quarters — in the House and Senate. It made the grade in the House but came up short in the Senate because of Republican opposition. If the newly seated legislature next year approves it again, it would go on the ballot in 2022, with the first early-voting election in 2024, assuming a "yes" vote.

Given what has transpired, I expect there will also be a proposal to amend the Constitution to allow no-excuse absentee voting. If such a proposal received super-majority support in the legislature, both early voting and no-excuse absentee ballot voting could be up for voter approval in 2022.

Voters have gotten a taste of more convenient voting and I suspect most will want to expand it, not go back. Republican lawmakers would be making a mistake if they try to get in front of this train. If Republicans slow a move to no-excuse absentees — the failure to gain super-majority support would push to 2024 the chance for voters to weigh — it will hand the Democrats a ready issue; voter suppression by Republicans.

Instead Republicans should embrace voting reform, then compete for those votes, not fear them.

Paul Choiniere is the editorial page editor.