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General Assembly Committee Bill No. 5872
January Session, 2021
LCO No. 4939
Referred to Committee on GOVERNMENT ADMINISTRATION
AND ELECTIONS
Introduced by:
(GAE)
AN ACT EXPANDING AUT OMATIC APPLICATION FOR VOTER
REGISTRATION TO CERT AIN STATE AGENCIES.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General
Assembly convened:
Section 1. Section 9-23n of the general statutes is repealed and the 1
following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective January 1, 2022): 2
(a) As used in this section, "voter registration agency" means (1) 3
public assistance offices, (2) all offices in the state that provide 4
state-funded programs primarily engaged in providing services to 5
persons with disabilities, (3) libraries that are open to the public, [and] 6
(4) the Department of Social Services, (5) the Labor Department, (6) the 7
Department of Emergency Services and Public Protection, (7) the 8
Connecticut Health Insurance Exchange, and (8) such other appropriate 9
offices or agencies as the Secretary of the State shall designate in 10
accordance with the National Voter Registration Act of 1993, P.L. 103-31, 11
as amended from time to time, based on periodic assessments of offices 12
or agencies capable of effectuating the purposes of subdivision (1) of 13
subsection (b) of this section. 14
(b) [Voter registration agencies shall] (1) Except as provided in 15
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subdivision (2) of this subsection, each voter registration agency shall 16
(A) distribute mail voter registration application forms, [(2)] (B) assist 17
applicants for [such] assistance or services provided by the agency in 18
completing voter registration application forms, except for applicants 19
who refuse [such] assistance in completing such forms, [(3)] (C) accept 20
completed voter registration application forms and provide each 21
applicant with an application receipt, on which the agency shall record 22
the date that the agency received the application, using an official date 23
stamp bearing the name of the agency, and [(4)] (D) immediately 24
transmit all such applications to the registrars of voters of the town of 25
voting residence of the applicants. The agency shall provide such receipt 26
whether the application was submitted in person, [or] by mail or 27
through an electronic system pursuant to subdivision (2) of this 28
subsection. If a registration application is accepted within five days 29
before the last day for registration to vote in a regular election, the 30
application shall be transmitted to the registrars of voters of the town of 31
voting residence of the applicant not later than five days after the date 32
of acceptance. [The] Except as provided in subdivision (2) of this 33
subsection, the voter registration agency shall indicate on the completed 34
mail voter registration application form, without indicating the identity 35
of the voter registration agency, the date of its acceptance by such 36
agency, to ensure that any eligible applicant is registered to vote in an 37
election if it is received by the registration agency by the last day for 38
registration to vote in an election. If a state-funded program primarily 39
engaged in providing services to persons with disabilities provides 40
services to a person with a disability at the person's home, the agency 41
shall provide such voter registration services at the person's home. The 42
procedures in subsections (c), (d), (f) and (g) of section 9-23g that are not 43
inconsistent with the National Voter Registration Act of 1993, P.L. 44
103-31, as amended from time to time, shall apply to applications made 45
under this section. Officials and employees of such voter registration 46
agencies are not admitting officials, as defined in section 9-17a, and may 47
not restore, under the provisions of section 9-46a, electoral privileges of 48
persons convicted of a felony. 49
(2) (A) On and after January 1, 2022, each voter registration agency 50
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shall provide an electronic system, subject to the approval of the 51
Secretary of the State, to effectuate the purposes of subdivision (1) of this 52
subsection regarding application for admission of an elector, except that 53
the condition that an applicant state and attest to meeting each eligibility 54
requirement may be waived for any such eligibility requirement 55
verified independently by the agency through a federally approved 56
identity verification program or other evidence acceptable to the 57
agency. Such electronic system may provide for the transmittal to the 58
Secretary of an applicant's signature on file with the voter registration 59
agency. The use of any such electronic system shall comply with the 60
National Voter Registration Act of 1993, P.L. 103-31, as amended from 61
time to time. 62
(B) (i) Unless otherwise provided in this subparagraph, if the voter 63
registration agency determines that a person applying for assistance or 64
services provided by the agency meets each eligibility requirement for 65
admission as an elector, the agency shall forthwith transmit an 66
application for such person's admission as an elector to the registrars of 67
voters of such person's residence through an electronic system pursuant 68
to this subdivision, in accordance with the provisions of subdivision (1) 69
of this subsection, except that no such application shall be transmitted if 70
such person declines to apply for such admission. 71
(ii) If the voter registration agency determines that a person applying 72
for assistance or services provided by the agency is not a United States 73
citizen, the agency shall not provide such person an opportunity to 74
apply for admission as an elector through an electronic system pursuant 75
to this subdivision and shall not transmit any application for such 76
admission on behalf of such person. 77
(iii) If the voter registration agency cannot determine whether a 78
person applying for assistance or services provided by the agency is a 79
United States citizen, such person shall attest to his or her United States 80
citizenship as a precondition of the agency processing such person's 81
application for admission as an elector through an electronic system 82
pursuant to this subdivision. 83
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(C) In the case of an individual already admitted as an elector and 84
who is also enrolled in a party, if use of such electronic system results in 85
such elector being removed from the enrollment list of such party 86
because such elector did not affirmatively confirm an intent to continue 87
enrollment in such party, such removal shall be presumed unintentional 88
and such elector shall be restored to such list upon such elector's 89
notification of such removal to the registrar of voters of the town in 90
which such elector resides. 91
Sec. 2. Section 9-23o of the general statutes is repealed and the 92
following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective January 1, 2022): 93
A voter registration agency, as defined in section 9-23n, as amended 94
by this act, shall comply with the National Voter Registration Act of 95
1993, P.L. 103-31, as amended from time to time, and (1) shall distribute 96
with each application for [service or] assistance or services provided by 97
the agency, and with each recertification, renewal or change of address 98
form relating to such [service or] assistance or services a mail voter 99
registration application form approved by the Secretary of the State, and 100
(2) on and after January 1, 2022, during each application for such 101
assistance or services and each recertification, renewal or change of 102
address relating to such assistance or services, shall use an electronic 103
system described in subdivision (2) of subsection (b) of section 9-23n, as 104
amended by this act, and in accordance with said subdivision to 105
effectuate the purposes of subdivision (1) of said subsection regarding 106
application for admission of an elector, unless the applicant declines to 107
register to vote pursuant to the provisions of the National Voter 108
Registration Act of 1993, P.L. 103-31, as amended from time to time. 109
Such declination shall be in writing, except in the case of an application 110
for service or assistance provided by a library, or a recertification, 111
renewal or change of address form relating to such library service or 112
assistance. Such voter registration agency shall provide each applicant 113
to register to vote the same degree of assistance with regard to the 114
completion of the registration application form as is provided by the 115
agency with regard to the completion of its own forms, unless the 116
applicant refuses such assistance. 117
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Sec. 3. Section 9-23p of the general statutes is repealed and the 118
following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective January 1, 2022): 119
Each public institution of higher education shall (1) distribute mail 120
voter registration application forms, [and (2)] as well as assist applicants 121
who request assistance in completing such voter registration application 122
forms, and (2) on and after January 1, 2022, use an electronic system 123
described in subdivision (2) of subsection (b) of section 9-23n, as 124
amended by this act, and in accordance with said subdivision to 125
effectuate the purposes of subdivision (1) of said subsection regarding 126
application for admission of an elector, as well as assist applicants who 127
request assistance in so applying through such electronic system. 128
This act shall take effect as follows and shall amend the following
sections:
Section 1 January 1, 2022 9-23n
Sec. 2 January 1, 2022 9-23o
Sec. 3 January 1, 2022 9-23p
Statement of Purpose:
To (1) establish automatic application for voter registration at certain
state agencies that currently make available voter registration
information, and (2) create a presumption that any removal from a party
enrollment list through such automatic application for voter registration
was unintentional.
[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. THOMAS, 143rd Dist.; REP. MORRIN BELLO, 28th Dist.
REP. QUINN, 82nd Dist.; REP. BERGER-GIRVALO, 111th Dist.
REP. CHAFEE, 33rd Dist.; REP. KAVROS DEGRAW, 17th Dist.
REP. FARRAR, 20th Dist.; REP. GOUPIL, 35th Dist.
REP. WELANDER, 114th Dist.; REP. LEEPER, 132nd Dist.
REP. PARKER, 101st Dist.; REP. MICHEL, 146th Dist.
H.B. 5872
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