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General Assembly Raised Bill No. 1102
January Session, 2019
LCO No. 6376
Referred to Committee on GOVERNMENT ADMINISTRATION
AND ELECTIONS
Introduced by:
(GAE)
AN ACT REVISING CERTAIN ABSENTEE VOTING STATUTES.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General
Assembly convened:
Section 1. Section 9-135 of the general statutes is repealed and the 1
following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective October 1, 2019): 2
(a) Any elector eligible to vote at a primary or an election and any 3
person eligible to vote at a referendum may vote by absentee ballot if 4
he or she is unable to appear at his or her polling place [during the 5
hours of voting] on the day of such primary, election or referendum 6
for any of the following reasons: (1) His or her active service with the 7
armed forces of the United States; (2) his or her absence from the town 8
of [his or her voting residence during all of the hours of voting] which 9
he or she is an inhabitant; (3) his or her [illness] sickness; (4) his or her 10
physical disability; (5) the tenets of his or her religion forbid secular 11
activity; [on the day of the primary, election or referendum;] or (6) the 12
required performance of his or her duties as a primary, election or 13
referendum official, including as a town clerk or registrar of voters or 14
as staff of the clerk or registrar, at a polling place other than his or her 15 Raised Bill No. 1102
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own during all of the hours of voting at such primary, election or 16
referendum. 17
(b) No person shall misrepresent the eligibility requirements for 18
voting by absentee ballot prescribed in subsection (a) of this section, to 19
any elector or prospective absentee ballot applicant. 20
Sec. 2. Section 9-137 of the general statutes is repealed and the 21
following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective October 1, 2019): 22
Each absentee ballot shall be returned to the municipal clerk, 23
inserted in an inner envelope which shall be capable of being sealed 24
and which shall have printed on its face a form containing the 25
following statements: 26
"I hereby state under the penalties of false statement in absentee 27
balloting that I am eligible to vote at the primary, election or 28
referendum in the municipality in which this absentee ballot is to be 29
cast and that I expect to be unable to appear at my polling place 30
[during the hours of voting at] on the day of such primary, election or 31
referendum for one or more of the following reasons: (1) My active 32
service in the armed forces; (2) my absence from the town in which I 33
am eligible to vote; [during all of the hours of voting;] (3) my [illness] 34
sickness or physical disability; (4) the tenets of my religion which 35
forbid secular activity; [on the day of the primary, election or 36
referendum;] or (5) my duties as a primary, election or referendum 37
official. 38
Date .... 39
.... (Signature)" 40
This act shall take effect as follows and shall amend the following
sections:
Section 1 October 1, 2019 9-135
Sec. 2 October 1, 2019 9-137
Raised Bill No. 1102
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Statement of Purpose:
To revise certain absentee voting statutes.
[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.]