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General Assembly Raised Bill No. 5262
February Session, 2022
LCO No. 1809
Referred to Committee on GOVERNMENT ADMINISTRATION
AND ELECTIONS
Introduced by:
(GAE)
AN ACT REVISING CERTAIN ABSENTEE VOTING ELIGIBILITY
STATUTES.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General
Assembly convened:
Section 1. Section 9-135 of the 2022 supplement to the general statutes 1
is repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective from 2
passage): 3
(a) Any elector eligible to vote at a primary or an election and any 4
person eligible to vote at a referendum may vote by absentee ballot if 5
such elector or person is unable to appear at such elector's or person's 6
polling place during the hours of voting for any of the following reasons: 7
(1) Such elector's or person's active service with the armed forces of the 8
United States; (2) such elector's or person's absence from the town of 9
such elector's or person's voting residence; [during all of the hours of 10
voting; (3) such elector's or person's] (3) illness; (4) [such elector's or 11
person's] physical disability; (5) the tenets of such elector's or person's 12
religion forbid secular activity on the day of the primary, election or 13
referendum; or (6) the required performance of such elector's or person's 14
duties as a primary, election or referendum official, including as a town 15
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clerk or registrar of voters or as staff of the clerk or registrar, at a polling 16
place other than such elector's or person's own during all of the hours 17
of voting at such primary, election or referendum. [; or (7) for the state 18
election in 2020, and any election, primary or referendum held on or 19
after June 23, 2021, but prior to November 3, 2021, the sickness of 20
COVID-19. As used in this section, "COVID-19" means the respiratory 21
disease designated by the World Health Organization on February 11, 22
2020, as coronavirus 2019, and any related mutation thereof recognized 23
by said organization as a communicable respiratory disease.] 24
(b) No person shall misrepresent the eligibility requirements for 25
voting by absentee ballot prescribed in subsection (a) of this section, to 26
any elector or prospective absentee ballot applicant. 27
Sec. 2. Section 9-137 of the 2022 supplement to the general statutes is 28
repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective from 29
passage): 30
[(a)] Each absentee ballot shall be returned to the municipal clerk, 31
inserted in an inner envelope which shall be capable of being sealed and 32
which shall have printed on its face a form containing the following 33
statements: 34
"I hereby state under the penalties of false statement in absentee 35
balloting that I am eligible to vote at the primary, election or referendum 36
in the municipality in which this absentee ballot is to be cast and that I 37
expect to be unable to appear at my polling place during the hours of 38
voting at such primary, election or referendum for one or more of the 39
following reasons: (1) My active service in the armed forces; (2) my 40
absence from the town in which I am eligible to vote; [during all of the 41
hours of voting; (3) my] (3) illness or physical disability; (4) the tenets of 42
my religion which forbid secular activity on the day of the primary, 43
election or referendum; or (5) my duties as a primary, election or 44
referendum official. 45
Date .... 46
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.... (Signature)" 47
[(b) Notwithstanding the provisions of subsection (a) of this section, 48
for the state election in 2020, and any election, primary or referendum 49
held on or after June 23, 2021, but prior to November 3, 2021, each inner 50
envelope in which an absentee ballot is returned to the municipal clerk 51
shall have printed on its face a form containing the following statements: 52
"I hereby state under the penalties of false statement in absentee 53
balloting that I am eligible to vote at the primary, election or referendum 54
in the municipality in which this absentee ballot is to be cast and that I 55
expect to be unable to appear at my polling place during the hours of 56
voting at such primary, election or referendum for one or more of the 57
following reasons: (1) My active service in the armed forces; (2) my 58
absence from the town in which I am eligible to vote during all of the 59
hours of voting; (3) my illness or physical disability; (4) the tenets of my 60
religion which forbid secular activity on the day of the primary, election 61
or referendum; (5) my duties as a primary, election or referendum 62
official; or (6) the sickness of COVID-19. 63
Date .... 64
.... (Signature)"] 65
This act shall take effect as follows and shall amend the following
sections:
Section 1 from passage 9-135
Sec. 2 from passage 9-137
Statement of Purpose:
To revise certain absentee voting eligibility statutes to more closely align
the language thereof with that of the related state constitutional
provision.
[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.]