LCO No. 2728 1 of 3
General Assembly Raised Bill No. 6408
January Session, 2021
LCO No. 2728
Referred to Committee on HOUSING
Introduced by:
(HSG)
AN ACT REQUIRING HOU SING AUTHORITIES TO PROVIDE VOTER
REGISTRATION APPLICA TIONS TO PROSPECTIVE TENANTS.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General
Assembly convened:
Section 1. Section 9-19h of the general statutes is repealed and the 1
following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective January 1, 2022): 2
(a) The Department of Social Services, the Labor Department, [and] 3
the Department of Motor Vehicles and housing authorities, as defined 4
in section 8-39, shall make voter registration information and materials 5
available to the public. Such information and materials shall be placed 6
in public areas of the offices of such departments and authorities. The 7
State Library and the libraries of the state's public institutions of higher 8
education shall also make such information and materials available to 9
users of the libraries. The Secretary of the State shall provide such 10
departments, such housing authorities, such libraries and any libraries 11
open to the public with suitable nonpartisan literature, materials and 12
voter registration application forms authorized under sections 9-23g 13
and 9-23h. The secretary shall also provide to the Department of Social 14
Services, the Labor Department, [and] the Department of Motor 15 Raised Bill No. 6408
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Vehicles and each housing authority any furniture needed to display 16
such literature, materials and forms. 17
(b) In addition to the requirements of subsection (a) of this section, 18
the Commissioner of Motor Vehicles, not later than January 1, 1994, shall 19
include an application for the admission of an elector with each 20
application form provided for a motor vehicle operator's license and a 21
motor vehicle operator's license renewal, which are issued under 22
subpart (B) of part III of chapter 246, and with each application form 23
provided for an identity card issued under section 1-1h. Such 24
application form for the admission of an elector (1) shall be subject to 25
the approval of the Secretary of the State, (2) shall not include any 26
provisions for the witnessing of the application, and (3) shall contain a 27
statement that (A) specifies each eligibility requirement, (B) contains an 28
attestation that the applicant meets each such requirement, and (C) 29
requires the signature of the applicant under penalty of perjury. The 30
Commissioner of Motor Vehicles shall accept any such completed 31
application for admission which is submitted in person or by mail. The 32
applicant shall state on such form, under penalty of perjury, the 33
applicant's name, bona fide residence address, date of birth, whether the 34
applicant is a United States citizen, party enrollment, if any, prior voting 35
address, if registered previously, and that the applicant's privileges as 36
an elector are not forfeited by reason of conviction of a felony. No Social 37
Security number on any such application form for the admission of an 38
elector filed prior to January 1, 2000, may be disclosed to the public or 39
to any governmental agency. The commissioner shall indicate on each 40
such form the date of receipt of such application to ensure that any 41
eligible applicant is registered to vote in an election if it is received by 42
the Commissioner of Motor Vehicles by the last day for registration to 43
vote in an election. The commissioner shall provide the applicant with 44
an application receipt, on a form approved by the Secretary of the State 45
and on which the commissioner shall record the date that the 46
commissioner received the application, using an official date stamp 47
bearing the words "Department of Motor Vehicles". The commissioner 48
shall provide such receipt whether the application was submitted in 49 Raised Bill No. 6408
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person or by mail. The commissioner shall forthwith transmit the 50
application to the registrars of voters of the applicant's town of 51
residence. If a registration application is accepted within five days 52
before the last day for registration to vote in a regular election, the 53
application shall be transmitted to the registrars of voters of the town of 54
voting residence of the applicant not later than five days after the date 55
of acceptance. The procedures in subsections (c), (d), (f) and (g) of 56
section 9-23g which are not inconsistent with the National Voter 57
Registration Act of 1993, P.L. 103-31, as amended from time to time, 58
shall apply to applications made under this section. The commissioner 59
is not an admitting official and may not restore, under the provisions of 60
section 9-46a, electoral privileges of persons convicted of a felony. 61
(c) On and after January 1, 2022, each housing authority shall provide, 62
at the time an individual applies for or has been accepted for admission 63
to a housing authority residential unit, and at the annual recertification 64
of such individual's household, an application for admission as an 65
elector to each member of such individual's household who is eligible 66
to apply for admission as an elector pursuant to section 9-12. A housing 67
authority shall assist any individual who requests assistance in 68
completing the application form. 69
This act shall take effect as follows and shall amend the following
sections:
Section 1 January 1, 2022 9-19h
Statement of Purpose:
To require housing authorities to provide prospective tenants with voter
registration applications.
[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.]