One of Connecticut Secretary of the State Denise Merrill’s more recent official ventures outside the confines of the Capitol region and her Hartford offices in late April was to honor Newtown Registrars of Voters Erica Canfield and LeReine Frampton with the state ‘Democracy Cup,’ in recognition of Newtown having the highest voter turnout in its population class during the 2020 presidential election.

On June 23, Merrill — the state’s 73rd SOTS — announced she would not be seeking another term as one of the state’s top constitutional officers, signaling her intention to retire from her long-tenured elected service, which began in 1991 serving on the Mansfield Board of Education. After that local post, according to her state bio, she served as a lawmaker for the 54th General Assembly District for 17 years, representing the towns of Mansfield and Chaplin, before being elected SOTS, where she is in her third term.

The announcement came as Merrill is marking her 30th year in elected service.

In a statement circulated late Wednesday morning, Merrill recalled, “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,” she said.

She was asked to seal it in an envelope, put it away, and not think about it again for at least ten years.

Tucked away largely forgotten, Merrill said, “When I finally opened my envelope, I had written: ‘I would like to end my career as the Connecticut Secretary of the State,’” and having the opportunity to serve three terms in that capacity, “has been the honor of my life. Today I am announcing that I will not be running for re-election.”

The news generated an outpouring of reactions from a number of state and national political colleagues including State Senator Tony Hwang, a former ranking leader of the legislature’s Government Administration and Elections committee.

"I can attest to her passion and philosophical commitment and vision when it came to her duties as the Secretary of the State," Hwang said. "I wish her the very best in the next stage of her personal and professional endeavors.”

“I want to extend my sincere appreciation and admiration to Secretary Denise Merrill for her service to our state and hard fought legislative and municipal interactions to improve voter access and election integrity in Connecticut," Hwang added. "She has been at the helm through incredible technological advancements and challenges that have both supported and threatened our voting systems and infrastructure."

US Senator Chris Murphy (D-Conn) on Wednesday released the following statement:

“Denise Merrill has been a mentor and friend for over twenty years, and while I'm sad she won't be running again I know her public service is far from over. Denise has been at the forefront of reforming Connecticut’s election laws over her 12 years as Secretary of the State,” said Murphy. "In addition, she has been unwavering in her approach to expanding access to the ballot box and making sure Connecticut’s elections are safe and secure. The groundwork that Denise has laid in Hartford will serve as a blueprint for the reforms we are working on in Washington. Her legacy is impressive,."

Governor Ned Lamont said Merrill 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," Lamont said. "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.”

Her state bio notes that Merrill is focused on both civic engagement and fostering business enterprise.

Since taking office, she has supported and expanded democratic participation, ensuring that every citizen’s rights and privileges are protected and that every vote is counted accurately. As SOTS, Merrill has worked to expand voter participation through Election Day and online voter registration, and improved Connecticut’s democratic accountability and integrity with a series of rapid response processes to Election Day problems.

She was elected president of the National Association of Secretaries of State (NASS) for the 2016-17 term, the co-chair of NASS’s Election Infrastructure Subsector Government Coordinating Council, and on the board of advisors to the US Election Assistance Commission.

“I wanted to make sure that Connecticut’s election system reflected our modern world and not 18th Century Connecticut when it was designed,” she said in her announcement. “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.”

As Connecticut’s business registrar, Merrill has worked to make it easier for businesses to interact with the office by increasing online functionality, improving response times and connecting businesses with government resources.

In that capacity she has partnered with the US Department of Commerce Export Assistance Center, the General Services Administration, and Small Business Development Administration to distribute information about business assistance and educational events being offered by these agencies.

“I wanted to make it easier for businesses to register and do business in the state, and to access business filings online,” she said. “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. [And] our e-regulation system is a national example of good government, bringing the regulations process into the 21st Century.”

She closed her announcement vowing that while she was not seeking re-election, she was also not retiring.

“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,” she said. “And I will be ending my career the way I began it — by promoting civic education.

“I also look forward to continuing to encourage more women to get involved in politics,” Merrill added. “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. We need more women of both parties doing this important work.”

In closing, the dedicated public official summed everything up humbly stating, “I hope I have made a difference.”