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General Assembly Substitute Bill No. 6872
January Session, 2023
AN ACT CONCERNING FAITHLESS PRESIDENTIAL ELECTORS AND
AUTHORIZING MANDAMUS ACTIONS RELATED TO THE
CERTIFICATION OR DECLARATION OF ELECTION RESULTS.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General
Assembly convened:
Section 1. Section 9-176 of the general statutes is repealed and the 1
following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective October 1, 2023): 2
(a) The presidential electors shall meet at the office of the Secretary of 3
the State at twelve o'clock [,] noon [,] on the first Monday after the 4
second Wednesday of the December following their election and, as 5
required by the Constitution and laws of the United States, shall cast 6
their ballots for President and Vice President. Each such elector shall 7
cast [his] such elector's ballots for the candidates under whose names 8
[he] such elector ran on the official election ballot, as provided in section 9
9-175. If any such elector is absent or if there is a vacancy in the electoral 10
college for any cause, the electors present shall, before voting for 11
President and Vice President, elect by ballot an elector to fill such 12
vacancy, and the person so chosen shall be a presidential elector, shall 13
perform the duties of such office and shall cast his or her ballots for the 14
candidates to whom the elector he or she is replacing was pledged. In 15
the case of any such elector who fails to cast such elector's ballots for the 16
candidates under whose names such elector ran on the official election 17
ballot, or who fails to cast such elector's ballots for the candidates to 18 Substitute Bill No. 6872
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whom the elector he or she is replacing was pledged, (1) the votes of 19
such elector shall be nullified, (2) such elector shall forfeit such elector's 20
office as presidential elector, causing a vacancy in the electoral college, 21
and (3) the other electors present shall elect by ballot an elector to fill 22
such vacancy, and the person so chosen shall be a presidential elector, 23
shall perform the duties of such office and shall cast his or her ballots 24
for the candidates to whom the elector he or she is replacing was 25
pledged. 26
(b) Any presidential elector who fails to cast such elector's ballots for 27
the candidates under whose names such elector ran on the official ballot, 28
or who fails to cast such elector's ballots for the candidates to whom the 29
elector he or she is replacing was pledged, shall (1) be ineligible, upon 30
such failure and thereafter, to the office of presidential elector, and (2) 31
be imprisoned not more than one year, be fined not more than one 32
thousand dollars, or both. 33
Sec. 2. Section 9-315 of the general statutes is repealed and the 34
following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective October 1, 2023): 35
(a) The votes returned as cast for a senator in Congress, 36
representatives in Congress and presidential electors shall be publicly 37
counted by the Treasurer, Secretary of the State and Comptroller on the 38
last Wednesday of the month in which they were cast, and such votes 39
shall be counted in conformity to any decision rendered by the judges 40
of the Supreme Court as provided in section 9-323. In accordance with 41
the count so made, they shall, on said day, declare what persons are 42
elected senators in the Congress of the United States or representatives 43
in Congress, and the Secretary of the State shall forthwith notify them 44
by mail of their election; and they shall declare the proper number of 45
persons having the greatest number of votes to be presidential electors 46
and, in case of an equal vote for said electors, shall determine by lot from 47
the persons having such equal number of votes the persons appointed, 48
and the Secretary of the State shall forthwith notify them by mail of their 49
appointment. 50 Substitute Bill No. 6872
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(b) If the Treasurer, Secretary of the State or Comptroller fails to carry 51
out any duty required under subsection (a) of this section, any resident 52
of the state may bring an action against said officer, as applicable, in the 53
Supreme Court for a writ of mandamus to compel said officer to carry 54
out such duty. Any such resident who prevails in such action shall be 55
entitled to recover court costs and reasonable attorney's fees. 56
Sec. 3. Section 9-316 of the general statutes is repealed and the 57
following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective October 1, 2023): 58
(a) The Treasurer, Secretary of the State and Comptroller shall, within 59
thirty days after a vacancy election for a senator in Congress or 60
representative in Congress, subject to the provisions of section 9-323, 61
publicly count the votes returned, and declare what person is elected, 62
and the Secretary of the State shall forthwith notify [him] such person 63
by mail of [his] such person's election. The Secretary of the State shall 64
enter the returns in tabular form in books kept by [him] the Secretary 65
for that purpose and present a copy of the same, with the name of, and 66
the total number of votes received by, each of the candidates for said 67
office, to the Governor within ten days thereafter. 68
(b) If the Treasurer, Secretary of the State or Comptroller fails to carry 69
out any duty required under subsection (a) of this section, any resident 70
of the state may bring an action against said officer, as applicable, in the 71
Supreme Court for a writ of mandamus to compel said officer to carry 72
out such duty. Any such resident who prevails in such action shall be 73
entitled to recover court costs and reasonable attorney's fees. 74
Sec. 4. Section 9-317 of the general statutes is repealed and the 75
following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective October 1, 2023): 76
When any senator in Congress has been elected, the Governor shall 77
certify [his] such election under the seal of the state to the President of 78
the Senate of the United States, which certificate shall be countersigned 79
by the Secretary of the State. If the Governor fails to so certify or the 80
Secretary fails to so countersign, any resident of the state may bring an 81 Substitute Bill No. 6872
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action against said officer, as applicable, in the Supreme Court for a writ 82
of mandamus to compel said officer to carry out such duty. Any such 83
resident who prevails in such action shall be entitled to recover court 84
costs and reasonable attorney's fees. 85
Sec. 5. Section 9-318 of the general statutes is repealed and the 86
following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective October 1, 2023): 87
(a) The votes for Governor, Lieutenant Governor, Secretary of the 88
State, Treasurer, Comptroller and Attorney General shall be canvassed 89
by the persons authorized to receive and count the same, within thirty 90
days next after they were cast, unless a complaint under the provisions 91
of section 9-324 is pending, in which case such canvass shall not be made 92
until after the third Monday of December next after they were cast. In 93
making such canvass, the votes upon the returns made by presiding 94
officers shall be counted in conformity to the decision of the judge of the 95
Superior Court or of the Supreme Court, as the case may be, and such 96
canvass shall be in conformity to such decision, and a fair list of such 97
votes made to conform to the original returns of the presiding officers, 98
as corrected or affected by the finding or decision of such judge, with 99
the original returns of the presiding officers and certified copies of the 100
decision of such judge, shall, on the first day of the session, be laid before 101
the General Assembly, which shall declare who are elected to said 102
offices respectively. 103
(b) (1) If any of the persons authorized to receive and count the votes 104
for Governor, Lieutenant Governor, Secretary of the State, Treasurer, 105
Comptroller or Attorney General fail to carry out any duty required 106
under subsection (a) of this section, any resident of the state may bring 107
an action against such person, as applicable, in the Supreme Court for a 108
writ of mandamus to compel such person to carry out such duty. 109
(2) If the General Assembly fails to declare who is elected to any of 110
said offices, as required under subsection (a) of this section and in 111
accordance with the provisions of section 9-173, any resident of the state 112
may bring an action against the General Assembly in the Supreme Court 113 Substitute Bill No. 6872
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for a writ of mandamus to compel the General Assembly to carry out 114
such duty. 115
(3) Any resident of the state who prevails in an action brought under 116
subdivision (1) or (2) of this subsection shall be entitled to recover court 117
costs and reasonable attorney's fees. 118
Sec. 6. Section 9-319 of the general statutes is repealed and the 119
following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective October 1, 2023): 120
(a) The votes for state senators, state representatives and judges of 121
probate, as returned by the moderators, shall be canvassed, during the 122
month in which they are cast, by the Treasurer, Secretary of the State 123
and Comptroller, and they shall declare, except in case of a tie vote, who 124
is elected senator in each senatorial district, representative in each 125
assembly district and judge of probate in each probate district. The 126
Secretary of the State shall, within three days after such declaration, give 127
notice by mail to each person chosen state senator, state representative 128
or judge of probate of [his] such person's election. 129
(b) If the Treasurer, Secretary of the State or Comptroller fails to carry 130
out any duty required under subsection (a) of this section, any resident 131
of the state may bring an action against said officer, as applicable, in the 132
Supreme Court for a writ of mandamus to compel said officer to carry 133
out such duty. Any such resident who prevails in such action shall be 134
entitled to recover court costs and reasonable attorney's fees. 135
Sec. 7. Subsections (b) and (c) of section 51-199 of the general statutes 136
are repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective 137
October 1, 2023): 138
(b) The following matters shall be taken directly to the Supreme 139
Court: (1) Any matter brought pursuant to the original jurisdiction of 140
the Supreme Court under section 2 of article [sixteen] sixteenth of the 141
amendments to the Constitution; (2) an appeal in any matter where the 142
Superior Court declares invalid a state statute or a provision of the state 143
Constitution; (3) an appeal in any criminal action involving a conviction 144 Substitute Bill No. 6872
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for a capital felony under the provisions of section 53a-54b in effect prior 145
to April 25, 2012, class A felony or any other felony, including any 146
persistent offender status, for which the maximum sentence which may 147
be imposed exceeds twenty years; (4) review of a sentence of death 148
pursuant to section 53a-46b; (5) any election or primary dispute brought 149
to the Supreme Court pursuant to section 9-323 or 9-325, or any action 150
for a writ of mandamus brought to the Supreme Court pursuant to 151
sections 9-315 to 9-319, inclusive, as amended by this act; (6) an appeal 152
of any reprimand or censure of a probate judge pursuant to section 45a-153
65; (7) any matter regarding judicial removal or suspension pursuant to 154
section 51-51j; (8) an appeal of any decision of the Judicial Review 155
Council pursuant to section 51-51r; (9) any matter brought to the 156
Supreme Court pursuant to section 52-265a; and (10) any other matter 157
as provided by law. 158
(c) The Supreme Court may transfer to itself a cause in the Appellate 159
Court. Except for any matter brought pursuant to its original 160
jurisdiction under section 2 of article [sixteen] sixteenth of the 161
amendments to the Constitution, the Supreme Court may transfer a 162
cause or class of causes from itself, including any cause or class of causes 163
pending on July 1, 1983, to the Appellate Court. The court to which a 164
cause is transferred has jurisdiction. 165
This act shall take effect as follows and shall amend the following
sections:
Section 1 October 1, 2023 9-176
Sec. 2 October 1, 2023 9-315
Sec. 3 October 1, 2023 9-316
Sec. 4 October 1, 2023 9-317
Sec. 5 October 1, 2023 9-318
Sec. 6 October 1, 2023 9-319
Sec. 7 October 1, 2023 51-199(b) and (c)
GAE Joint Favorable Subst. -LCO Substitute Bill No. 6872
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JUD Joint Favorable