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General Assembly Committee Bill No. 5461
January Session, 2021
LCO No. 4981
Referred to Committee on GOVERNMENT ADMINISTRATION
AND ELECTIONS
Introduced by:
(GAE)
AN ACT CONCERNING JU RISDICTION OVER DISPUTES IN
ELECTIONS FOR THE OF FICES OF STATE SENATOR AND ST ATE
REPRESENTATIVE.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General
Assembly convened:
Section 1. Section 9-324 of the general statutes is repealed and the 1
following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective October 1, 2021): 2
Any elector or candidate who claims that such elector or candidate is 3
aggrieved by any ruling of any election official in connection with any 4
election for Governor, Lieutenant Governor, Secretary of the State, State 5
Treasurer, Attorney General, State Comptroller, state senator, state 6
representative or judge of probate, held in such elector's or candidate's 7
town, or that there has been a mistake in the count of the votes cast at 8
such election for candidates for said offices or any of them, at any voting 9
district in such elector's or candidate's town, or any candidate for such 10
an office who claims that such candidate is aggrieved by a violation of 11
any provision of section 9-355, 9-357 to 9-361, inclusive, 9-364, 9-364a or 12
9-365 in the casting of absentee ballots at such election or any candidate 13
for the office of Governor, Lieutenant Governor, Secretary of the State, 14
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State Treasurer, Attorney General, [or] State Comptroller, state senator 15
or state representative who claims that such candidate is aggrieved by a 16
violation of any provision of sections 9-700 to 9-716, inclusive, may bring 17
such elector's or candidate's complaint to any judge of the Superior 18
Court, in which such elector or candidate shall set out the claimed errors 19
of such election official, the claimed errors in the count or the claimed 20
violations of said sections. In any action brought pursuant to the 21
provisions of this section, the complainant shall send a copy of the 22
complaint by first-class mail, or deliver a copy of the complaint by hand, 23
to the State Elections Enforcement Commission. If such complaint is 24
made prior to such election, such judge shall proceed expeditiously to 25
render judgment on the complaint and shall cause notice of the hearing 26
to be given to the Secretary of the State and the State Elections 27
Enforcement Commission. If such complaint is made subsequent to the 28
election, it shall be brought not later than fourteen days after the election 29
or, if such complaint is brought in response to the manual tabulation of 30
paper ballots authorized pursuant to section 9-320f, such complaint 31
shall be brought not later than seven days after the close of any such 32
manual tabulation and, in either such circumstance, such judge shall 33
forthwith order a hearing to be had upon such complaint, upon a day 34
not more than five nor less than three days from the making of such 35
order, and shall cause notice of not less than three nor more than five 36
days to be given to any candidate or candidates whose election may be 37
affected by the decision upon such hearing, to such election official, the 38
Secretary of the State, the State Elections Enforcement Commission and 39
to any other party or parties whom such judge deems proper parties 40
thereto, of the time and place for the hearing upon such complaint. Such 41
judge shall, on the day fixed for such hearing and without unnecessary 42
delay, proceed to hear the parties. If sufficient reason is shown, such 43
judge may order any voting tabulators to be unlocked or any ballot 44
boxes to be opened and a recount of the votes cast, including absentee 45
ballots, to be made. Such judge shall thereupon, in case such judge finds 46
any error in the rulings of the election official, any mistake in the count 47
of the votes or any violation of said sections, certify the result of such 48
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judge's finding or decision to the Secretary of the State before the 49
fifteenth day of the next succeeding December. Such judge may order a 50
new election or a change in the existing election schedule. Such 51
certificate of such judge of such judge's finding or decision shall be final 52
and conclusive upon all questions relating to errors in the rulings of 53
such election officials, to the correctness of such count, and, for the 54
purposes of this section only, such claimed violations, and shall operate 55
to correct the returns of the moderators or presiding officers, so as to 56
conform to such finding or decision, unless the same is appealed from 57
as provided in section 9-325. 58
This act shall take effect as follows and shall amend the following
sections:
Section 1 October 1, 2021 9-324
Statement of Purpose:
To statutorily confer jurisdiction over contested elections for state
legislative offices to the judicial branch.
[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. CANDELORA, 86th Dist.; REP. DEVLIN, 134th Dist.
REP. O'DEA, 125th Dist.; REP. PERILLO, 113th Dist.
REP. REBIMBAS, 70th Dist.; REP. ZUPKUS, 89th Dist.
REP. ZAWISTOWSKI, 61st Dist.; REP. FISHBEIN, 90th Dist.
REP. BOLINSKY, 106th Dist.; REP. WOOD, 141st Dist.
H.B. 5461