O F F I C E O F L E G I S L A T I V E R E S E A R C H
P U B L I C A C T S U M M A R Y
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RA 21-1—HJ 59
Government Administration and Elections Committee
RESOLUTION APPROVING AN AMENDMENT TO THE STATE
CONSTITUTION TO ALLO W FOR EARLY VOTING
SUMMARY: This resolution proposes a constitutional amendment to authorize
the General Assembly to provide by law for in-person, early voting before an
election or referendum. It also removes the requirement that a duplicate list of
election results for state officers and state legislators, which under the constitution
must be sent to the secretary of the state within 10 days after the election, be
submitted under seal (See BACKGROUND).
The ballot designation to be used when the amendment is presented at the
general election is: “Shall the Constitution of the State be amended to permit the
General Assembly to provide for early voting?”
EFFECTIVE DATE: The resolution will appear on the 2022 general election
ballot. If a majority of those voting on the amendment in the general election
approves it, the amendment will become part of the state constitution.
CURRENT CONSTITUTION AL PROVISIONS
The state constitution sets the first Tuesday after the first Monday in
November in specified years as the day of election for legislative and statewide
offices. It currently requires election officials to receive and declare votes on this
day to elect state legislators and state officers, with one exception. (The exception
authorizes the General Assembly to pass a law allowing electors to cast their
votes by absentee ballot for specified reasons (e.g., illness or physical disability).)
If passed, the resolution would authorize the General Assembly to provide by
law for in-person, early voting before an election or referendum. To effectuate
this, it eliminates the requirement that election officials receive and declare votes
on the day of an election for state officers and state legislators.
BACKGROUND
Duplicate List
By law, after an election, moderators generally must send a duplicate list of
election results to the secretary of the state (1) electronically within 48 hours and
(2) under seal within three days (CGS § 9-314). For the 2020 state election and
any election, primary, or referendum held from June 23, 2021, through November
2, 2021, the law extends these deadlines to 96 hours for the electronic submission
and five days for the sealed submission (PA 20-3, July Special Session (§ 14), as
amended by PA 21-2, June Special Session (§ 142)). O L R P U B L I C A C T S U M M A R Y
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