HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) — Unionized state employees are voicing optimism that a second attempt at achieving labor savings will succeed as they finishing voting on a clarified agreement that will stop thousands of layoffs and help balance Connecticut's budget without deep spending cuts.

Voting on the deal reached with Democratic Gov. Dannel P. Malloy's administration is scheduled to wrap up Wednesday and union leaders plan to announce the final results on Thursday. This time around, eight, instead of 14, of the 15 State Employee Bargaining Agent Coalition member unions are needed to ratify the agreement.

"There was a little bit of confusion and a lack of clarification on some of the health care provisions and the contracts and how that was going to work. Now that we were afforded the luxury of time, and the governor was patient with us to get that done, I believe that this will be ratified and I think it will be ratified overwhelmingly. That's my feeling," said Mark O'Brien, president of the judicial marshals' supervisors union.