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General Assembly Committee Bill No. 6672
January Session, 2019
LCO No. 6486
Referred to Committee on GOVERNMENT ADMINISTRATION
AND ELECTIONS
Introduced by:
(GAE)
AN ACT CONCERNING VO TING FOR MUNICIPAL OFFICERS AND ON
LOCAL QUESTIONS.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General
Assembly convened:
Section 1. (NEW) (Effective from passage) (a) Any municipality may, 1
by ordinance, permit bona fide residents of such municipality who 2
have attained the age of sixteen years to vote (1) at any regular or 3
special municipal election for only the officers of such municipality or 4
at any primary for only the nomination of candidates for such officers, 5
and (2) at any referendum for any question or proposal of only such 6
municipality. 7
(b) In the case of any election or primary described in subdivision 8
(1) of subsection (a) of this section and any referendum described in 9
subdivision (2) of said subsection, the provisions of title 9 of the 10
general statutes relating to the conduct of and voting at any such 11
election, primary or referendum by electors, including, but not limited 12
to, admission to voting privileges and inclusion on registry and 13
enrollment lists, voting by absentee ballot and signature of petitions, 14
shall apply equally to the conduct of and voting at any such election, 15
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primary or referendum by minor municipal voters, as described in said 16
subsection and defined in section 9-1 of the general statutes, as 17
amended by this act. 18
(c) The registrars of voters of any municipality described in 19
subsection (a) of this section shall ensure that, in the case of any 20
election or primary described in subdivision (1) of said subsection and 21
any referendum described in subdivision (2) of said subsection, the 22
ballot used by minor municipal voters at any such election, primary or 23
referendum only permits voting in accordance with said subsection. 24
Sec. 2. Section 9-1 of the general statutes is repealed and the 25
following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective from passage): 26
Except as otherwise provided, the following terms, as used in this 27
title and sections 3-124, 7-5, 7-6, 7-7, 7-17, 7-20, 7-39, 7-157, 7-214, 7-275, 28
7-295, 7-343, 7-407, 8-1, 8-5, 8-19, 10-219, 11-36, 13a-11, 30-10, 30-11, 45a-29
18, 45a-19 and 51-95 have the following meanings: 30
(a) "Ballot" means paper or other material containing the names of 31
the candidates or a statement of a proposed constitutional amendment 32
or other question or proposition to be voted on; 33
(b) "Board for admission of electors" means the board as composed 34
under subsection (a) of section 9-15a; 35
(c) "Clerical error" means any error in the registry list or enrollment 36
list due to a mistake or an omission on the part of the printer or a 37
mistake or omission made by the registrars or their assistants; 38
(d) "Election" means any [electors'] meeting at which the electors 39
and, when and where permitted by ordinance adopted pursuant to 40
section 1 of this act, minor municipal voters choose public officials by 41
use of voting tabulators or by paper ballots as provided in section 9-42
272; 43
(e) "Elector" means any person possessing the qualifications 44
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prescribed by the Constitution and duly admitted to, and entitled to 45
exercise, the privileges of an elector in a town; 46
(f) Repealed by P.A. 77-298, S. 14; 47
(g) "Municipal clerk" means the clerk of a municipality; 48
(h) "Municipal election" means the regularly recurring election held 49
in a municipality at which the electors and, where permitted by 50
ordinance adopted pursuant to section 1 of this act, minor municipal 51
voters of the municipality choose public officials of such municipality; 52
(i) "Municipality" means any city, borough or town within the state; 53
(j) "Official ballot" means the official ballot to be used at an election, 54
or the official ballot to be used thereat in accordance with the 55
provisions of section 9-272; 56
(k) "Population" means the population according to the last-57
completed United States census; 58
(l) "Presidential electors" means persons elected to cast their ballots 59
for President and Vice President of the United States; 60
(m) "Print" means methods of duplication of words by mechanical 61
process, but shall not include typewriting; 62
(n) "Referendum" means (1) a question or proposal which is 63
submitted to a vote of the electors, [or] voters or, when and where 64
permitted by ordinance adopted pursuant to section 1 of this act, 65
minor municipal voters of a municipality at any regular or special state 66
or municipal election, as defined in this section, (2) a question or 67
proposal which is submitted to a vote of the electors, [or] voters or, 68
when and where permitted by ordinance adopted pursuant to section 69
1 of this act, minor municipal voters, as the case may be, of a 70
municipality at a meeting of such electors, [or] voters or minor 71
municipal voters, which meeting is not an election, as defined in 72
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subsection (d) of this section, and is not a town meeting, or (3) a 73
question or proposal which is submitted to a vote of the electors, [or] 74
voters or, when and where permitted by ordinance adopted pursuant 75
to section 1 of this act, minor municipal voters, as the case may be, of a 76
municipality at a meeting of such electors, [or] voters or minor 77
municipal voters pursuant to section 7-7 or pursuant to charter or 78
special act; 79
(o) "Regular election" means any state or municipal election; 80
(p) "Registrars" means the registrars of voters of the municipality; 81
(q) "Registry list" means the list of electors of any municipality 82
certified by the registrars; 83
(r) "Special election" means any election not a regular election; 84
(s) "State election" means the election held in the state on the first 85
Tuesday after the first Monday in November in the even-numbered 86
years in accordance with the provisions of the Constitution of 87
Connecticut; 88
(t) "State officers" means the Governor, Lieutenant Governor, 89
Secretary of the State, Treasurer, Comptroller and Attorney General; 90
(u) "Voter" means a person qualified to vote at town and district 91
meetings under the provisions of section 7-6 and shall include, where 92
permitted by ordinance adopted pursuant to section 1 of this act, a 93
minor municipal voter; 94
(v) "Voting district" means any municipality, or any political 95
subdivision thereof, having not more than one polling place in a 96
regular election; 97
(w) "Voting tabulator" means a machine, including, but not limited 98
to, a device which operates by electronic means, for the registering and 99
recording of votes cast at elections, primaries and referenda; 100
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(x) "Write-in ballot" means a vote cast for any person whose name 101
does not appear on the official ballot as a candidate for the office for 102
which the person's name is written in; 103
(y) "The last session for admission of electors prior to an election" 104
means the day which is the seventh day prior to an election; 105
(z) "Minor municipal voter" means any person qualified, under the 106
provisions of section 1 of this act, to vote (1) at any regular or special 107
municipal election for only the officers of such municipality or at any 108
primary for only the nomination of candidates for such officers, and (2) 109
at any referendum for any question or proposal of only such 110
municipality. 111
Sec. 3. Section 9-372 of the general statutes is repealed and the 112
following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective from passage): 113
The following terms, as used in this chapter, chapter 157 and 114
sections 9-51 to 9-67, inclusive, 9-169e, 9-217, 9-236 and 9-361, shall 115
have the following meanings: 116
(1) "Caucus" means any meeting, at a designated hour and place, or 117
at designated hours and places, of the enrolled members of a political 118
party within a municipality or political subdivision thereof for the 119
purpose of selecting party-endorsed candidates for a primary to be 120
held by such party or for the purpose of transacting other business of 121
such party; 122
(2) "Convention" means a meeting of delegates of a political party 123
held for the purpose of designating the candidate or candidates to be 124
endorsed by such party in a primary of such party for state or district 125
office or for the purpose of transacting other business of such party; 126
(3) "District" means any geographic portion of the state which 127
crosses the boundary or boundaries between two or more towns; 128
(4) "District office" means an elective office for which only the 129
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electors in a district, as defined in subdivision (3) of this section, may 130
vote; 131
(5) "Major party" means (A) a political party or organization whose 132
candidate for Governor at the last-preceding election for Governor 133
received, under the designation of that political party or organization, 134
at least twenty per cent of the whole number of votes cast for all 135
candidates for Governor, or (B) a political party having, at the last-136
preceding election for Governor, a number of enrolled members on the 137
active registry list equal to at least twenty per cent of the total number 138
of enrolled members of all political parties on the active registry list in 139
the state; 140
(6) "Minor party" means a political party or organization which is 141
not a major party and whose candidate for the office in question 142
received at the last-preceding regular election for such office, under the 143
designation of that political party or organization, at least one per cent 144
of the whole number of votes cast for all candidates for such office at 145
such election; 146
(7) "Municipal office" means an elective office for which only the 147
electors and, where permitted by ordinance adopted pursuant to 148
section 1 of this act, minor municipal voters, as defined in section 9-1, 149
as amended by this act, of a single town, city, borough, or political 150
subdivision, as defined in subdivision (10) of this section, may vote, 151
including the office of justice of the peace; 152
(8) "Party designation committee" means an organization, composed 153
of at least twenty-five members who are electors, which has, on or after 154
November 4, 1981, reserved a party designation with the Secretary of 155
the State pursuant to the provisions of this chapter; 156
(9) "Party-endorsed candidate" means (A) in the case of a candidate 157
for state or district office, a person endorsed by the convention of a 158
political party as a candidate in a primary to be held by such party, 159
and (B) in the case of a candidate for municipal office or for member of 160
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a town committee, a person endorsed by the town committee, caucus 161
or convention, as the case may be, of a political party as a candidate in 162
a primary to be held by such party; 163
(10) "Political subdivision" means any voting district or combination 164
of voting districts constituting a part of a municipality; 165
(11) "Primary" means a meeting of the enrolled members of a 166
political party and, when applicable under section 9-431, unaffiliated 167
electors and, where permitted by ordinance adopted pursuant to 168
section 1 of this act, minor municipal voters, held during consecutive 169
hours at which such members, [or] electors or minor municipal voters 170
may, without assembling at the same hour, vote by secret ballot for 171
candidates for nomination to office or for town committee members; 172
(12) "Registrar" means the registrar of voters in a municipality who 173
is enrolled with the political party holding a primary and, in each 174
municipality where there are different registrars for different voting 175
districts, means the registrar so enrolled in the voting district in which, 176
at the last-preceding regular election, the presiding officer for the 177
purpose of declaring the result of the vote of the whole municipality 178
was moderator; 179
(13) "Slate" means a group of candidates for nomination by a 180
political party to the office of justice of the peace of a town, which 181
group numbers at least a bare majority of the number of justices of the 182
peace to be nominated by such party for such town; 183
(14) "State office" means any office for which all the electors of the 184
state may vote and includes the office of Governor, Lieutenant 185
Governor, Secretary, Treasurer, Comptroller, Attorney General and 186
senator in Congress, but does not include the office of elector of 187
President and Vice-President of the United States; 188
(15) "Votes cast for the same office at the last-preceding election" or 189
"votes cast for all candidates for such office at the last-preceding 190
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election" means, in the case of multiple openings for the same office, 191
the total number of electors and, where permitted by ordinance 192
adopted pursuant to section 1 of this act, minor municipal voters 193
checked as having voted at the last-preceding election at which such 194
office appeared on the ballot. 195
This act shall take effect as follows and shall amend the following
sections:
Section 1 from passage New section
Sec. 2 from passage 9-1
Sec. 3 from passage 9-372
Statement of Purpose:
To permit sixteen year olds to vote at elections and primaries of
municipal officers and on local questions.
[Proposed deletions are enclosed in brackets. Proposed additions are indicated by underline,
except that when the entire text of a bill or resolution or a section of a bill or resolution is new, it is
not underlined.]
Co-Sponsors: REP. ZIOGAS, 79th Dist.; REP. WINKLER, 56th Dist.
REP. ELLIOTT, 88th Dist.; REP. PHIPPS, 100th Dist.
H.B. 6672