HARTFORD, Conn. — Secretary of the State Denise Merrill announced Wednesday she will not run for re-election in 2022.
She listed a number of her achievements, making voter registrations easier and bolstering elections security. She called the process for registering a business a national model.
She said she will be working on passing a state constitutional amendment to allow voting changes.
According to the state's website, Merrill was elected to her third term as Connecticut's 73rd Secretary of the State on November 6, 2018. She is Connecticut's chief elections official and business registrar. Merrill has prioritized modernizing Connecticut's elections, business services and improving access to public records.
Leaders across the state responded to Merrill's announcement and thanked her for her service.
Governor Ned Lamont released the following statement:
“Denise Merrill has undoubtedly left her mark on Connecticut and has been among the most vocal champions of voter rights in our state. At a time in history when some of her counterparts across the nation are working to enact provisions that block access to voting, she has worked tirelessly to ensure that every eligible adult has the ability to cast a ballot with ease and not need to jump through endless bureaucratic hoops to practice their democratic rights. As Connecticut’s voting laws evolve in the future making it easier for all of us to vote, I’ll be thinking of how Denise fought tirelessly for these changes.”
State Comptroller Kevin Lembo said in a statement, “Secretary Merrill is the epitome of a public servant. Through her decades in state government, she has always put the people of Connecticut first and taken on hard fights to benefit the common good. At a time when American democracy feels more fragile than ever, Denise’s work as Secretary of State has positioned Connecticut as a national leader in protecting the right to vote and the sanctity of our elections.
“I’m grateful for Denise’s service but also her friendship. I congratulate her on a remarkable career and wish her the very best in her next venture. I’m certain Denise will continue to advocate for the important causes that have guided her time in office and, along with Stephen, will find new and inventive ways to spoil their grandchildren.”
Rep. John Larson issued a statement saying Merrill has been a true public servant for 30 years.
"From her 17 years representing the 54th General Assembly District to her time has Secretary of State, she has focused on making sure the government works for its people," Larson said.
Larson continued: "She has modernized our state’s elections and has done everything she can to make it easier for people to vote. In addition to being an outstanding public servant, she’s an amazing person who I am proud to call a dear friend."
Attorney General William Tong also responded to the news, commending Merrill for being a national leader and fighter for free and fair elections.
"Our democracy is stronger thanks to her leadership,” AG Tong said. "Especially during this last year, through the unprecedented challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic, she ensured that every Connecticut voter had the ability to cast their ballot safely. In doing so, Secretary Merrill protected all of us and our right to vote, at a time when our democracy was at grave risk."
Tong's statement continued: "I look forward to working alongside Secretary Merrill in support of her continued efforts to expand ballot access in Connecticut, and know that she will remain a powerful voice in that fight for many years to come. On a personal note, I served under Secretary Merrill in the House of Representatives, when I was a junior legislator and she was the powerful chair of the appropriations committee and, later our majority leader. I have always looked to Secretary Merrill as a close friend and a key mentor. Secretary Merrill is the best of us working in public office and I look forward to our continued work together."
Secretary of the State Denise Merrill's Remarks As Prepared
At the end of my first term in office as a state legislator, I was chosen for a fellowship program where they asked us to write down what role we wanted to be known for when our careers were over.
The way it was phrased was “write your own political epitaph” – a startling idea at the outset of your career.
They asked us to seal it in an envelope, put it away, and not think about it again for at least 10 years.
At the time, I remember the other legislators, primarily the men, throwing around “U.S. Senator” and even “President of the United States.”
I kept that envelope in my files for over 10 years, largely forgotten.
When I finally opened my envelope, I had written: I would like to end my career as the Connecticut Secretary of the State.
Serving three terms as your Secretary of the State has been the honor of my life.
Today I am announcing that I will not be running for re-election.
I’m so proud of what we have accomplished together during my past three terms.
I came into this office in 2011 with a promise to update and modernize the office with new technology and new ideas.
I wanted to make sure that Connecticut’s election system reflected our modern world and not 18th century Connecticut when it was designed.
I wanted to make it easier for businesses to register and do business in the state, and to access business filings online.
We made it easier for Connecticut citizens to register to vote by setting up online voter registration, Election Day Registration, and Automatic Voter Registration through the DMV, and now beyond.
I am proud to say that we have done all that and more over this past decade.
Besides helping voters more easily register to vote, these reforms also helped our hard-working local election officials, of both parties, in each of Connecticut’s 169 towns, to keep accurate voter rolls.
We are now using new tools to help keep the voter rolls more accurate, including the sharing of information with other states.
And of course, the world, and the world of election administration, changed dramatically during my time as Secretary.
I was the President of the National Association of Secretaries of State in 2016 when the US Intelligence Community, speaking with one voice, warned that hostile foreign powers, particularly Russia, were seeking to affect the outcome of our elections.
Overnight, election administration required a cybersecurity component, so we created the first in the nation state cybersecurity task force that incorporated local, state, and federal agencies.
Connecticut committed to bolstering our cyberinfrastructure – not just at the state level, but also for the registrars and town clerks in every town.
Meanwhile it became clear that hostile foreign powers weren’t as concerned with hacking our voting technology as they were with hacking our minds.
A well-documented campaign of misinformation was launched, designed to erode American’s trust in their elections – one that continues to this day.
And then came a once-a-century global pandemic.
COVID-19 changed everything.
A deadly virus that passed through person-to-person contact put tremendous stress on an election system designed for one day of voting in school cafeterias and town halls throughout our state.
My staff and I started meeting in February, and working with the registrars, the town clerks, the legislature, and the governor, we were able to plan, design, and implement a system where every Connecticut voter was able to safely participate in the 2020 election.
And we launched the most comprehensive voter education campaign in state history to make sure that every voter knew exactly how to cast their ballot, even if it was new to them.
COVID-19 exposed the inflexibility of our election system.
It is clear now that there is broad public support for making our system more accessible to the modern voter.
I am proud that as I leave office voters will be choosing to authorize Early Voting, and that allowing universal access to absentee ballots is moving inexorably to its eventual passage.
Finally, I am proud of the steps that we have taken to modernize and streamline the Office of the Secretary of the State.
We do more today, using fewer resources, than we did when I came into office in 2011.
Businesses can now do virtually all their interactions with my office online, and we are working with Governor Lamont and the other agencies to make a true one-stop experience for starting and growing a business in the state of Connecticut.
Our e-regulation system is a national example of good government, bringing the regulations process into the 21st century.
I want to make one thing clear – while I’m not running again, I am not retiring, there is too much work to be done!
I look forward to continuing to work on my twin passions – expanding access to the franchise to every eligible voter and fighting the insidious spread of misinformation about our elections through civic education and engagement.
I will be lending my efforts to passing the constitutional amendments that will allow voters to vote by the method of their choice – by absentee ballot without needing an excuse, in-person before Election Day, or at their local polling places as Connecticut voters have been doing for more than 200 years.
And I will be ending my career the way I began it – by promoting civic education.
We must commit to educating students and adults alike about how our government works, the safeguards in place to ensure the integrity of our elections, and giving everyone the tools necessary to tell the difference between reliable news and attractive falsehoods.
We must rededicate our efforts to include education for citizenship in our school curriculum and helping all citizens engage with their government at the local, state, and national levels.
Healing our country will take Republicans, Democrats, and unaffiliated voters working together, and I look forward to playing a part.
I also look forward to continuing to encourage more women to get involved in politics.
On average, women need to be asked seven times before they decide to run for office, and for women of color it is twice that.
Programs like the Women’s Campaign School at Yale that encourage women to run for office should be supported and encouraged.
We need more women of both parties doing this important work.
This year marks my thirtieth year in elected office.
I began in 1991 serving on the Mansfield Board of Education.
I hope I have made a difference.
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