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General Assembly Raised Bill No. 1156
January Session, 2023
LCO No. 5151
Referred to Committee on GOVERNMENT ADMINISTRATION
AND ELECTIONS
Introduced by:
(GAE)
AN ACT CONCERNING CIRCULATORS OF NOMINATING AND
PRIMARY PETITIONS.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General
Assembly convened:
Section 1. Section 9-453e of the general statutes is repealed and the 1
following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective from passage): 2
Each circulator of a nominating petition page shall be a United States 3
citizen [,] and at least eighteen years of age, [and a resident of a town in 4
this state] and shall not be on parole for conviction of a felony. Any 5
individual proposed as a candidate in any nominating petition may 6
serve as circulator of the pages of such nominating petition. 7
Sec. 2. Section 9-453j of the general statutes is repealed and the 8
following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective from passage): 9
Each page of a nominating petition submitted to the town clerk or 10
[the] Secretary of the State and filed with the Secretary of the State under 11
the provisions of sections 9-453a to 9-453s, inclusive, or section 9-216 12
shall contain a statement as to the residency [in this state] and eligibility 13 Raised Bill No. 1156
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of the circulator and as to the authenticity of the signatures thereon, 14
signed under [penalties] penalty of false statement, by the person who 15
circulated the same. Such statement shall set forth (1) [such] the 16
circulator's residence address, including the town [in this state] in which 17
[such] the circulator is a resident, (2) if the circulator is not a resident in 18
this state, that the circulator agrees to submit to the jurisdiction of the 19
state in any case or controversy arising out of or related to the circulation 20
of a petition pursuant to this subpart, (3) the circulator's date of birth 21
and that the circulator is at least eighteen years of age, [(3)] (4) that the 22
circulator is a United States citizen and not on parole for conviction of a 23
felony, and [(4)] (5) that each person whose name appears on such page 24
signed the same in person in the presence of [such] the circulator and 25
that either the circulator knows each such signer or that the signer 26
satisfactorily identified [himself] such signer to the circulator. Any false 27
statement committed with respect to such statement shall be deemed to 28
have been committed in the town in which the petition was circulated. 29
Sec. 3. Subsections (a) and (b), inclusive, of section 9-453k of the 30
general statutes are repealed and the following is substituted in lieu 31
thereof (Effective from passage): 32
(a) The town clerk or Secretary of the State shall not accept any page 33
of a nominating petition unless the circulator thereof has signed before 34
[him] the clerk or Secretary, or an appropriate person as provided in 35
section 1-29, the statement as to the residency [in this state] and 36
eligibility of the circulator and as to the authenticity of the signatures 37
thereon required by section 9-453j, as amended by this act. 38
(b) The town clerk or Secretary of the State, or an appropriate person 39
as provided in section 1-29, shall certify on each such page that the 40
circulator thereof signed such statement in [his] the presence of the 41
clerk, Secretary or appropriate person, as applicable, and that either [he] 42
the clerk, Secretary or appropriate person, as applicable, knows the 43
circulator or that the circulator satisfactorily identified [himself] such 44
circulator to the individual certifying. 45 Raised Bill No. 1156
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Sec. 4. Section 9-453o of the general statutes is repealed and the 46
following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective from passage): 47
(a) The Secretary of the State may not count, for purposes of 48
determining compliance with the number of signatures required by 49
section 9-453d, the signatures certified by the town clerk on any petition 50
page filed under sections 9-453a to 9-453s, inclusive, or 9-216 if: (1) The 51
name of the candidate, [his] such candidate's address or the party 52
designation, if any, has been omitted from the face of the petition; (2) the 53
page does not contain a statement by the circulator as to the residency 54
[in this state] and eligibility of the circulator and as to the authenticity 55
of the signatures thereon as required by section 9-453j, as amended by 56
this act, or upon which such statement of the circulator is incomplete in 57
any respect; or (3) the page does not contain the certifications required 58
by sections 9-453a to 9-453s, inclusive, by the town clerk of the town in 59
which the signers reside. The town clerk shall cure any omission on [his] 60
the clerk's part by signing any such page at the office of the Secretary of 61
the State and making the necessary amendment or by filing a separate 62
statement in this regard, which amendment shall be dated. 63
(b) Except as otherwise provided in this subsection, the Secretary of 64
the State shall approve [every] each nominating petition which contains 65
sufficient signatures counted and certified on approved pages by the 66
town clerks. In the case of a candidate who petitions under a reserved 67
party designation, the Secretary shall approve the petition only if it 68
meets the signature requirement and if a statement endorsing such 69
candidate is filed with the Secretary by the party designation committee 70
not later than four o'clock p.m. on the sixty-second day before the 71
election. In the case of a candidate who petitions under a party 72
designation which is the same as the name of a minor party, the 73
Secretary shall approve the petition only if it meets the signature 74
requirement and if a statement endorsing such candidate is filed in the 75
office of the Secretary by the chairman or secretary of such minor party 76
not later than four o'clock p.m. on the sixty-second day before the 77
election. No candidate shall be qualified to appear on any ballot by 78
nominating petition unless the candidate's petition is approved by the 79 Raised Bill No. 1156
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Secretary pursuant to this subsection. 80
(c) The Secretary of the State may approve a nominating petition 81
received under section 9-453k, as amended by this act, at any time, 82
except such approval shall be withdrawn if sufficient signatures are 83
withdrawn under section 9-453h. 84
Sec. 5. Subsections (c) and (d) of section 9-404b of the general statutes 85
are repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective 86
from passage): 87
(c) The names of enrolled party members signing a primary petition 88
may be on several pages, provided no person shall sign more than one 89
petition page for the same candidate or candidates. Any person who 90
signs a name other than the person's own to a primary petition filed 91
under the provisions of this section or who signs a name other than the 92
person's own as circulator of such petition shall be fined not more than 93
one hundred dollars or imprisoned not more than one year, or both. 94
Each such page shall indicate the candidate or candidates supported, 95
the offices sought and the political party for which nomination is being 96
sought. No page of such a petition shall contain the names of enrolled 97
party members residing in different municipalities and any petition 98
page that has been certified by the registrars of voters of two or more 99
municipalities shall be rejected by the Secretary. Withdrawal of petition 100
signatures shall not be permitted. 101
(d) [Each] Any person qualified to vote under the laws of any state or 102
territory of the United States may be a circulator of a primary petition 103
page [shall be] if such person (1) is an enrolled party member of a 104
municipality in this state, [. Each] or (2) agrees to submit to the 105
jurisdiction of this state in any case or controversy arising out of or 106
related to the circulation of a primary petition. For any circulator 107
described in subdivision (1) of this subsection, each petition page shall 108
contain a statement signed by the registrar of voters of the municipality 109
in which the circulator is an enrolled party member attesting that the 110
circulator is an enrolled party member in the municipality. For any 111 Raised Bill No. 1156
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circulator described in subdivision (2) of this subsection, each petition 112
page shall contain a statement signed by the circulator that the circulator 113
agrees to submit to the jurisdiction of this state in any case or 114
controversy arising out of or related to the circulation of a primary 115
petition, which signed statement shall be attested to by the registrar of 116
voters of the municipality in which such page was circulated. Unless 117
such [a] an attested statement by the registrar of voters appears on each 118
page so submitted, the Secretary shall reject the page. Each separate 119
page of the petition shall contain a statement as to the authenticity of the 120
signatures on the page and the number of such signatures, and shall be 121
signed under the [penalties] penalty of false statement by the person 122
who circulated the page, setting forth the circulator's address and the 123
town in which the circulator is an enrolled party member and attesting 124
that each person whose name appears on the page signed the petition in 125
person in the presence of the circulator, that the circulator either knows 126
each such signer or that the signer satisfactorily identified [himself or 127
herself] such signer to the circulator and that the spaces for candidates 128
supported, offices sought and the political party involved were filled in 129
prior to the obtaining of the signatures. Each separate page of the 130
petition shall also be acknowledged before an appropriate person as 131
provided in section 1-29. The Secretary shall reject any page of a petition 132
filed with the Secretary which does not contain such a statement by the 133
circulator as to the authenticity of the signatures on the page, or upon 134
which the statement of the circulator is incomplete in any respect, or 135
which does not contain the [certification] attested statement required 136
under this section by the registrar of voters of the town in which the 137
circulator is an enrolled party member or in which the page was 138
circulated. Any individual proposed as a candidate in any primary 139
petition may serve as a circulator of the pages of the petition, provided 140
the individual's service as circulator does not violate any provision of 141
this section. 142
Sec. 6. Section 9-410 of the general statutes is repealed and the 143
following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective from passage): 144
(a) The petition form for candidacies for nomination to municipal 145 Raised Bill No. 1156
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office or for election as members of town committees shall be prescribed 146
by the Secretary of the State and provided by the registrar of voters of 147
the municipality in which the candidacy is to be filed or duplicate 148
petition pages shall be produced in accordance with section 9-409, and 149
signatures shall be obtained only on such forms or such duplicate 150
petition pages. Such form shall include, at the top of the form and in 151
bold print, the following: 152
WARNING 153
IT IS A CRIME TO SIGN THIS PETITION 154
IN THE NAME OF ANOTHER PERSON 155
WITHOUT LEGAL AUTHORITY TO DO SO 156
AND YOU MAY NOT SIG N THIS PETITION 157
IF YOU ARE NOT AN ELECTOR. 158
The form shall include thereon a statement of instructions to persons 159
using the form and shall indicate the date and time by which it shall be 160
filed and the person with whom it shall be filed. The form shall provide 161
spaces for the names and addresses of the candidates, the offices to 162
which nomination is sought or the positions to which election is sought 163
and the political party holding the primary, and shall provide lines for 164
the signatures, street addresses, dates of birth and the printing of the 165
names of enrolled party members supporting the person or persons on 166
behalf of whose candidacy the petition is used. Only as many candidates 167
may be proposed in any one primary petition for the same office or 168
position as are to be nominated or chosen by such party for such office 169
or position; but any one primary petition may propose as many 170
candidates for different offices or positions as there are nominations to 171
be made or positions to be filled. 172
(b) The names of enrolled party members signing a primary petition 173
need not all be on one sheet but may be on several sheets, but no person 174
shall sign more than one petition page for the same candidate or 175 Raised Bill No. 1156
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candidates. Any person who signs a name other than the person's own 176
to a primary petition filed under the provisions of this section or who 177
signs a name other than the person's own as circulator of such a petition 178
shall be fined not more than one hundred dollars or imprisoned not 179
more than one year or both. Each such sheet shall indicate the candidate 180
or candidates supported, the offices or positions sought and the political 181
party the nomination of which is sought or which is holding the primary 182
for election of town committee members. No page of such a petition 183
shall contain the names of enrolled party members residing in different 184
municipalities and any page thereof which has been certified by the 185
registrars of voters of two or more municipalities shall be rejected by the 186
registrar of voters. Withdrawal of petition signatures shall not be 187
permitted. 188
(c) [Each] Any person qualified to vote under the laws of any state or 189
territory of the United States may be a circulator of a primary petition 190
page [shall be] if such person (1) is an enrolled party member of a 191
municipality in this state, [who is entitled to vote. Each] or (2) agrees to 192
submit to the jurisdiction of this state in any case or controversy arising 193
out of or related to the circulation of a primary petition. For any 194
circulator described in subdivision (1) of this subsection, each petition 195
page shall contain a statement signed by the registrar of voters of the 196
municipality in which such circulator is an enrolled party member 197
attesting that the circulator is an enrolled party member in such 198
municipality. For any circulator described in subdivision (2) of this 199
subsection, each petition page shall contain a statement signed by the 200
circulator that the circulator agrees to submit to the jurisdiction of this 201
state in any case or controversy arising out of or related to the circulation 202
of a primary petition, which signed statement shall be attested to by the 203
registrar of voters of the municipality in which such page was 204
circulated. Unless such [a] an attested statement by the registrar of 205
voters appears on each page so submitted, the registrar of voters shall 206
reject such page. No candidate for the nomination of a party for a 207
municipal office or the position of town committee member shall 208
circulate any petition for another candidate or another group of 209 Raised Bill No. 1156
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candidates contained in one primary petition for the nomination of such 210
party for the same office or position, and any petition page circulated in 211
violation of this provision shall be rejected by the registrar of voters. No 212
person shall circulate petitions for more than the maximum number of 213
candidates to be nominated by a party for the same office or position, 214
and any petition page circulated in violation of this provision shall be 215
rejected by the registrar of voters. Each separate sheet of such petition 216
shall contain a statement as to the authenticity of the signatures thereon 217
and the number of such signatures, and shall be signed under the 218
[penalties] penalty of false statement by the person who circulated the 219
same, setting forth such circulator's address and the town in which such 220
circulator is an enrolled party member and attesting that each person 221
whose name appears on such sheet signed the same in person in the 222
presence of such circulator, that the circulator either knows each such 223
signer or that the signer satisfactorily identified [the signer] such signer 224
to the circulator and that the spaces for candidates supported, offices or 225
positions sought and the political party involved were filled in prior to 226
the obtaining of the signatures. Each separate sheet of such petition shall 227
also be acknowledged before an appropriate person as provided in 228
section 1-29. Any sheet of a petition filed with the registrar of voters 229
which does not contain such a statement by the circulator as to the 230
authenticity of the signatures thereon, or upon which the statement of 231
the circulator is incomplete in any respect, or which does not contain the 232
[certification hereinbefore] attested statement required under this 233
section by the registrar of voters of the town in which the circulator is 234
an enrolled party member or in which the page was circulated, shall be 235
rejected by the registrar of voters. Any individual proposed as a 236
candidate in any primary petition may serve as a circulator of the pages 237
of such petition, provided such individual's service as circulator does 238
not violate any provision of this section. 239
This act shall take effect as follows and shall amend the following
sections:
Section 1 from passage 9-453e
Sec. 2 from passage 9-453j Raised Bill No. 1156
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Sec. 3 from passage 9-453k(a) and (b)
Sec. 4 from passage 9-453o
Sec. 5 from passage 9-404b(c) and (d)
Sec. 6 from passage 9-410
Statement of Purpose:
To bring into compliance with federal case law certain state statutes
relating to the circulation of nominating and primary petitions.
[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.]