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General Assembly Raised Bill No. 7213
January Session, 2019
LCO No. 4448
Referred to Committee on GOVERNMENT ADMINISTRATION
AND ELECTIONS
Introduced by:
(GAE)
AN ACT CONCERNING EL ECTORAL PRIVILEGES OF CERTAIN
PAROLEES AND CHALLEN GERS IN THE POLLING PLACE.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General
Assembly convened:
Section 1. Section 9-46a of the general statutes is repealed and the 1
following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective July 1, 2019): 2
(a) A person who has been convicted of a felony and committed to 3
confinement in a federal or other state correctional institution or 4
facility or community residence shall have such person's electoral 5
privileges restored [upon the payment of all fines in conjunction with 6
the conviction and] once such person has been [discharged] released 7
from confinement. [, and, if applicable, parole.] 8
(b) Upon the release from confinement in a correctional institution 9
or facility or a community residence of a person who has been 10
convicted of a felony and committed to the custody of the 11
Commissioner of Correction, [and, if applicable, the discharge of such 12
person from parole,] (1) the person shall have the right to become an 13 Raised Bill No. 7213
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elector, (2) the Commissioner of Correction shall give the person a 14
document certifying that the person has been released from such 15
confinement, [and, if applicable, has been discharged from parole,] (3) 16
if the person was an elector at the time of such felony conviction and, 17
after such release, [and any such discharge,] is residing in the same 18
municipality in which the person resided at the time of such felony 19
conviction, the person's electoral privileges shall be restored, and (4) if 20
the person was an elector at the time of such felony conviction and, 21
after such release, [and any such discharge,] is residing in a different 22
municipality or if the person was not an elector at the time of such 23
felony conviction, the person's electoral privileges shall be restored or 24
granted upon submitting to an admitting official satisfactory proof of 25
the person's qualifications to be admitted as an elector. The provisions 26
of subdivisions (1) to (4), inclusive, of this subsection shall not apply to 27
any person convicted of a felony for a violation of any provision of this 28
title until such person has been discharged from any parole or 29
probation for such felony. 30
(c) The registrars of voters of the municipality in which a person is 31
admitted as an elector pursuant to subsection (a) or (b) of this section, 32
within thirty days after the date on which such person is admitted, 33
shall notify the registrars of voters of the municipality wherein such 34
person resided at the time of such person's conviction that such 35
person's electoral rights have been so restored. 36
(d) The Commissioner of Correction shall establish procedures to 37
inform those persons who have been convicted of a felony and 38
committed to the custody of said commissioner for confinement in a 39
correctional institution or facility or a community residence, and are 40
eligible to have their electoral privileges restored or granted pursuant 41
to subsection (b) of this section, of the right and procedures to have 42
such privileges restored. The Office of Adult Probation shall, within 43
available appropriations, inform such persons who are on probation 44
on January 1, 2002, of their right to become electors and procedures to 45
have their electoral privileges restored, which shall be in accordance 46
with subsections (b) and (c) of this section. 47 Raised Bill No. 7213
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(e) The Commissioner of Correction shall, on or before the fifteenth 48
day of each month, transmit to the Secretary of the State a list of all 49
persons convicted of a felony and committed to the custody of said 50
commissioner who, during the preceding calendar month, have been 51
released from confinement in a correctional institution or facility or a 52
community residence. [and, if applicable, discharged from parole.] 53
Such lists shall include the names, birth dates and addresses of such 54
persons, with the dates of their convictions and the crimes of which 55
such persons have been convicted. The Secretary of the State shall 56
transmit such lists to the registrars of the municipalities in which such 57
convicted persons resided at the time of their convictions and to the 58
registrars of any municipalities where the secretary believes such 59
persons may be electors. 60
Sec. 2. Section 9-453e of the general statutes is repealed and the 61
following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective July 1, 2019): 62
Each circulator of a nominating petition page shall be a United 63
States citizen, at least eighteen years of age and a resident of a town in 64
this state. [and shall not be on parole for conviction of a felony.] Any 65
individual proposed as a candidate in any nominating petition may 66
serve as circulator of the pages of such nominating petition. 67
Sec. 3. Section 9-453j of the general statutes is repealed and the 68
following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective July 1, 2019): 69
Each page of a nominating petition submitted to the town clerk or 70
the Secretary of the State and filed with the Secretary of the State under 71
the provisions of sections 9-453a to 9-453s, inclusive, or section 9-216 72
shall contain a statement as to the residency in this state and eligibility 73
of the circulator and authenticity of the signatures thereon, signed 74
under penalties of false statement, by the person who circulated the 75
same. Such statement shall set forth (1) such circulator's residence 76
address, including the town in this state in which such circulator is a 77
resident, (2) the circulator's date of birth and that the circulator is at 78
least eighteen years of age, (3) that the circulator is a United States 79 Raised Bill No. 7213
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citizen, [and not on parole for conviction of a felony,] and (4) that each 80
person whose name appears on such page signed the same in person 81
in the presence of such circulator and that either the circulator knows 82
each such signer or that the signer satisfactorily identified himself to 83
the circulator. Any false statement committed with respect to such 84
statement shall be deemed to have been committed in the town in 85
which the petition was circulated. 86
Sec. 4. Subsection (a) of section 9-232 of the general statutes is 87
repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective July 88
1, 2019): 89
(a) [Each registrar may appoint one or more challengers in his town 90
or district, one of whom may be present at the offering of any vote; and 91
any such challenger or any] Any elector may challenge the right of any 92
person offering to vote, on the ground of want of identity with the 93
person on whose name the vote is offered, or disfranchisement or lack 94
of bona fide residence, and the moderator shall decide upon the right 95
of the person so challenged to vote. 96
Sec. 5. Section 9-235d of the general statutes is repealed and the 97
following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective July 1, 2019): 98
(a) Notwithstanding any provision of sections 9-233, 9-235 and 9-99
258, as amended by this act, to the contrary, a United States citizen 100
who is sixteen or seventeen years of age and a bona fide resident of a 101
town may be [(1)] appointed as [a challenger or] (1) an unofficial 102
checker in an election, or (2) [appointed as] a checker, translator, ballot 103
clerk or voting tabulator tender in an election after (A) attending poll 104
worker training, and (B) receiving the written permission of a parent, 105
guardian or the principal of the school that the citizen attends if the 106
citizen is a secondary school student and the citizen is to be appointed 107
to work on a day when such school is in session. 108
(b) Notwithstanding any provision of section 9-436 or 9-436a to the 109
contrary, a United States citizen who is sixteen or seventeen years of 110
age and a bona fide resident of a town or political subdivision holding 111 Raised Bill No. 7213
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a primary may be [(1)] appointed as [a challenger or] (1) a candidate 112
checker in the primary, or (2) [appointed as] a checker, translator, 113
ballot clerk or voting tabulator tender in a primary after (A) attending 114
poll worker training, and (B) receiving the written permission of a 115
parent, guardian or the principal of the school that the citizen attends 116
if the citizen is a secondary school student and the citizen is to be 117
appointed to work on a day when such school is in session. 118
Sec. 6. Subsections (a) and (b) of section 9-258 of the general statutes 119
are repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective 120
July 1, 2019): 121
(a) For municipalities with more than one voting district, the 122
election officials of each polling place shall be electors of the state and 123
shall consist of (1) one moderator, (2) at least one but not more than 124
two official checkers, (3) two assistant registrars of voters of opposite 125
political parties, each of whom shall be residents of the town, (4) [not 126
more than two challengers if the registrars of voters have appointed 127
challengers pursuant to section 9-232, (5)] at least one but not more 128
than two ballot clerks, and [(6)] (5) at least one but not more than two 129
voting tabulator tenders for each voting tabulator in use at the polling 130
place. A known candidate for any office shall not serve as an election 131
official on election day or serve at the polls in any capacity, except that 132
(A) a municipal clerk or a registrar of voters, who is a candidate for the 133
same office, may perform his or her official duties, and (B) a deputy 134
registrar of voters, who is a candidate for the office of registrar of 135
voters, may perform his or her official duties. If, in the opinion of the 136
registrar of voters, the public convenience of the electors in any voting 137
district so requires, provision shall be made for an additional line or 138
lines of electors at the polling place and, if more than one line of 139
electors is established, at least one but not more than two additional 140
official checkers and at least one but not more than two ballot clerks 141
for each line of electors shall be appointed and, if more than one 142
tabulator is used in a polling place, at least one but not more than two 143
additional voting tabulator tenders shall be appointed for each 144
additional machine so used. Head moderators, central counting 145 Raised Bill No. 7213
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moderators and absentee ballot counters appointed pursuant to law 146
shall also be deemed election officials. 147
(b) For municipalities with one voting district, the election officials 148
of such polling place shall be electors of the state and shall consist of 149
(1) one moderator, (2) at least one but not more than two official 150
checkers, (3) [not more than two challengers if the registrars of voters 151
have appointed challengers pursuant to section 9-232, (4)] at least one 152
but not more than two voting tabulator tenders for each voting 153
tabulator in use at the polling place, and [(5)] (4) at least one but not 154
more than two ballot clerks. Additionally, such election officials may 155
consist of two registrars of voters of opposite political parties, or two 156
assistant registrars of voters of opposite political parties, as the case 157
may be, subject to the requirements of sections 9-259 and 9-439, 158
provided if the registrars of voters are present in the polling place, they 159
shall appoint at least one designee to be present in their office. A 160
known candidate for any office shall not serve as an election official on 161
election day or serve at the polls in any capacity, except that (A) a 162
municipal clerk or a registrar of voters, who is a candidate for the same 163
office, may perform his or her official duties, and (B) a deputy registrar 164
of voters, who is a candidate for the office of registrar of voters, may 165
perform his or her official duties. If, in the opinion of the registrar of 166
voters, the public convenience of the electors in any voting district so 167
requires, provision shall be made for an additional line or lines of 168
electors at the polling place and, if more than one line of electors is 169
established, at least one but not more than two additional official 170
checkers for each line of electors shall be appointed and, if more than 171
one tabulator is used in a polling place, at least one but not more than 172
two additional voting tabulator tenders shall be appointed for each 173
additional tabulator so used. Head moderators, central counting 174
moderators and absentee ballot counters appointed pursuant to law 175
shall be deemed to be election officials. 176
Sec. 7. Subsection (c) of section 9-436 of the general statutes is 177
repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective July 178
1, 2019): 179 Raised Bill No. 7213
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(c) The registrar shall appoint from among the enrolled party 180
members in the state, to serve in each polling place, the primary 181
polling place officials, who shall consist of (1) one moderator, (2) at 182
least one [,] but not more than two official checkers, [not more than 183
two challengers if the registrar deems it necessary, and] (3) at least one 184
[and] but not more than two ballot clerks, [and] (4) at least one but not 185
more than two voting tabulator tenders for each tabulator in use at 186
such primary, and [,] (5) in towns with two or more voting districts, at 187
least one [and] but not more than two assistant registrars, provided 188
[(1)] (A) in the case of either a municipality or a political subdivision 189
holding a primary, if no enrolled party member can be found or no 190
such person consents to serve as a moderator, the registrar may 191
appoint any elector who resides in the state and is a certified 192
moderator to be moderator, [(2)] (B) in the case of a political 193
subdivision holding a primary, if an insufficient number of enrolled 194
party members who reside in the state consent to serve as checkers, 195
[challengers,] voting tabulator tenders or assistant registrars, the 196
registrar may appoint any elector who resides in the state to be a 197
checker, [challenger,] voting tabulator tender or assistant registrar, and 198
[(3)] (C) in the case of either a municipality or a political subdivision 199
holding more than one primary on the same day for different political 200
parties, one certified moderator may serve as moderator for both 201
primaries, if the registrars of voters so agree. If unaffiliated electors are 202
authorized under section 9-431 to vote for some but not all of the 203
offices to be contested at the primary, the registrar shall appoint two 204
additional checkers to check the list of unaffiliated electors who are 205
authorized to vote on the separate tabulators. If unaffiliated electors 206
are authorized under section 9-431 to vote in the primary of either of 207
two parties in the same polling place, whether for some or for all 208
offices to be contested at the primary, each such registrar shall appoint 209
two additional checkers to check the list of unaffiliated electors who 210
are authorized to vote in either such primary. 211
This act shall take effect as follows and shall amend the following
sections:
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Section 1 July 1, 2019 9-46a
Sec. 2 July 1, 2019 9-453e
Sec. 3 July 1, 2019 9-453j
Sec. 4 July 1, 2019 9-232(a)
Sec. 5 July 1, 2019 9-235d
Sec. 6 July 1, 2019 9-258(a) and (b)
Sec. 7 July 1, 2019 9-436(c)
Statement of Purpose:
To eliminate registrar-appointed challengers from who may be present
in the polling place during a primary or election.
[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.]