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General Assembly Substitute Bill No. 390
February Session, 2024
AN ACT CONCERNING PENALTIES FOR CERTAIN ELECTION
CRIMES.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General
Assembly convened:
Section 1. Section 9-352 of the general statutes is repealed and the 1
following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective October 1, 2024): 2
Any election official who, with intent to cause or permit any voting 3
tabulator to fail to correctly register all votes cast thereon, tampers with 4
or disarranges such tabulator in any way or any part or appliance 5
thereof, or causes such tabulator to be used or consents to its being used 6
for voting at any election with knowledge of the fact that the same is not 7
in order, or not perfectly set and adjusted to correctly register all votes 8
cast thereon, or who, for the purpose of defrauding or deceiving any 9
elector or of causing it to be doubtful for what candidate or candidates 10
or proposition any vote is cast, or causing it to appear upon such 11
tabulator that votes cast for one candidate or proposition were cast for 12
another candidate or proposition, removes, changes or mutilates any 13
ballot, shall be guilty of a class D felony with a minimum term of 14
imprisonment of twelve months that may not be suspended or reduced. 15
Sec. 2. Section 9-353 of the general statutes is repealed and the 16
following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective October 1, 2024): 17
Any election official who, at the close of the polls, purposely causes 18 Substitute Bill No. 390
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the vote registered on the tabulator to be incorrectly taken down as to 19
any candidate or proposition voted on, or who knowingly causes to be 20
made or signed any false statement, certificate or return of any kind, of 21
such vote, or who knowingly consents to any such act, shall be guilty of 22
a class D felony with a minimum term of imprisonment of twelve 23
months that may not be suspended or reduced. 24
Sec. 3. Section 9-354 of the general statutes is repealed and the 25
following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective October 1, 2024): 26
Any person who prints or causes to be printed upon any official ballot 27
the name of any person not a candidate of a party whose name is printed 28
at the head of the column containing such nominees, or who prints or 29
causes to be printed any authorized ballot in any manner other than that 30
prescribed by the Secretary of the State, shall be guilty of a class D felony 31
with a minimum term of imprisonment of twelve months that may not 32
be suspended or reduced. 33
Sec. 4. Section 9-355 of the general statutes is repealed and the 34
following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective October 1, 2024): 35
Any person who, without reasonable cause, neglects to perform any 36
of the duties required of him by the laws relating to elections or 37
primaries and for which neglect no other punishment is provided, and 38
any person who is guilty of fraud in the performance of any such duty, 39
and any person who makes any unlawful alteration in any list required 40
by law, shall be fined not more than three hundred dollars or be 41
imprisoned not more than [one year] twelve months or be both fined 42
and imprisoned. Any official who is convicted of fraud in the 43
performance of any duty imposed upon him by any law relating to the 44
registration or admission of electors or to the conduct of any election 45
shall be disfranchised. Any public officer or any election official upon 46
whom any duty is imposed by part I of chapter 147 and sections 9-308 47
to 9-311, inclusive, who wilfully omits or neglects to perform any such 48
duty or does any act prohibited therein for which punishment is not 49
otherwise provided shall be guilty of a class E felony with a minimum 50 Substitute Bill No. 390
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term of imprisonment of twelve months that may not be suspended or 51
reduced. 52
Sec. 5. Section 9-359 of the general statutes is repealed and the 53
following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective October 1, 2024): 54
(a) Any [(1)] person who executes an absentee ballot for the purpose 55
of informing any other person how he votes, or who procures any 56
absentee ballot to be prepared for such purpose, [(2)] shall be guilty of a 57
class D felony. 58
(b) Any (1) municipal clerk or moderator, elector appointed to count 59
any absentee ballot or other person who wilfully attempts to ascertain 60
how any elector marked his absentee ballot or how it was cast, [(3)] (2) 61
person who unlawfully opens or fills out, except as provided in section 62
9-140a with respect to a person unable to write, any elector's absentee 63
ballot signed in blank, [(4)] (3) person designated under section 9-140a 64
who executes an absentee ballot contrary to the elector's wishes, or [(5)] 65
(4) person who wilfully violates any provision of chapter 145, shall be 66
guilty of a class D felony with a minimum term of imprisonment of 67
twelve months that may not be suspended or reduced. 68
Sec. 6. Section 9-359a of the general statutes is repealed and the 69
following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective October 1, 2024): 70
(a) (1) A person is guilty of false statement in absentee balloting in the 71
first degree when such person intentionally signs the name of another 72
person to the application for an absentee ballot or the inner envelope 73
accompanying any such ballot, which such person does not believe to 74
be true and which signature is intended to mislead a public servant in 75
the performance of such public servant's official function. 76
(2) False statement in absentee balloting in the first degree is a class 77
D felony with a minimum term of imprisonment of twelve months that 78
may not be suspended or reduced. 79
[(a)] (b) (1) A person is guilty of false statement in absentee balloting 80 Substitute Bill No. 390
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in the second degree when [he] such person intentionally makes a false 81
written statement in or on [or signs the name of another person to] the 82
application for an absentee ballot or the inner envelope accompanying 83
any such ballot, which [he] such person does not believe to be true and 84
which statement [or signature] is intended to mislead a public servant 85
in the performance of [his] such public servant's official function. 86
[(b)] (2) False statement in absentee balloting in the second degree is 87
a class D felony. 88
Sec. 7. Section 9-363 of the general statutes is repealed and the 89
following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective October 1, 2024): 90
Any person who, with intent to defraud any elector of his or her vote 91
or cause any elector to lose his or her vote or any part thereof, gives in 92
any way, or prints, writes or circulates, or causes to be written, printed 93
or circulated, any improper, false, misleading or incorrect instructions 94
or advice or suggestions as to the manner of voting on any tabulator, the 95
following of which or any part of which would cause any elector to lose 96
his or her vote or any part thereof, or would cause any elector to fail in 97
whole or in part to register or record the same on the tabulator for the 98
candidates of his or her choice, shall be guilty of a class D felony with a 99
minimum term of imprisonment of twelve months that may not be 100
suspended or reduced. 101
Sec. 8. Section 9-364 of the general statutes is repealed and the 102
following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective October 1, 2024): 103
Any person who, with intent to disenfranchise any elector, influences 104
or attempts to influence by force or threat, bribery or corrupt, fraudulent 105
or deliberately deceitful means any elector to stay away from any 106
election shall be guilty of a class D felony with a minimum term of 107
imprisonment of twelve months that may not be suspended or reduced. 108
Sec. 9. Section 9-365 of the general statutes is repealed and the 109
following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective October 1, 2024): 110 Substitute Bill No. 390
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Any person who (1) during the period that is sixty days or less prior 111
to any election, municipal meeting, school district election or school 112
district meeting, attempts to influence the vote of any operative in his or 113
her employ by threats of withholding employment from him or her or 114
by promises of employment, or (2) dismisses any operative from his or 115
her employment on account of any vote he or she has given at any such 116
election or meeting, shall be guilty of a class D felony with a minimum 117
term of imprisonment of twelve months that may not be suspended or 118
reduced. 119
Sec. 10. Section 9-366 of the general statutes is repealed and the 120
following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective October 1, 2024): 121
Any person who induces or attempts to induce any elector to write, 122
paste or otherwise place, on a ballot, or a table or booth used for voting, 123
any name, sign or device of any kind, as a distinguishing mark by which 124
to indicate to another how such elector voted, or enters into or attempts 125
to form any agreement or conspiracy with any person to induce or 126
attempt to induce electors or any elector to so place any distinguishing 127
mark on such ballot, table or booth, or attempts to induce any elector to 128
do anything with a view to enabling another person to see or know for 129
what persons or any of them such elector votes, or enters into or 130
attempts to form any agreement or conspiracy to induce any elector to 131
do any act for the purpose of enabling another person or persons to see 132
or know for what person or persons such elector votes, or attempts to 133
induce any person to place himself or herself in such position, or to do 134
any other act for the purpose of enabling him or her to see or know for 135
what candidates any elector other than himself or herself votes, or 136
himself or herself attempts to get in such position to do any act so that 137
he or she will be enabled to see or know how any elector other than 138
himself or herself votes, or does any act which invades or interferes with 139
the secrecy of the voting or causes the same to be invaded or interfered 140
with, shall be guilty of a class D felony with a minimum term of 141
imprisonment of twelve months that may not be suspended or reduced. 142
Sec. 11. Section 9-368c of the 2024 supplement to the general statutes 143 Substitute Bill No. 390
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is repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective 144
October 1, 2024): 145
(a) No person shall intentionally misrepresent the contents of a 146
petition circulated under this title. 147
(b) Any person who violates any provision of this section shall be 148
guilty of a class D felony with a minimum term of imprisonment of 149
twelve months that may not be suspended or reduced. 150
This act shall take effect as follows and shall amend the following
sections:
Section 1 October 1, 2024 9-352
Sec. 2 October 1, 2024 9-353
Sec. 3 October 1, 2024 9-354
Sec. 4 October 1, 2024 9-355
Sec. 5 October 1, 2024 9-359
Sec. 6 October 1, 2024 9-359a
Sec. 7 October 1, 2024 9-363
Sec. 8 October 1, 2024 9-364
Sec. 9 October 1, 2024 9-365
Sec. 10 October 1, 2024 9-366
Sec. 11 October 1, 2024 9-368c
Statement of Legislative Commissioners:
In Section 5(a), "or procures" was changed to "or who procures" for
consistency.
GAE Joint Favorable Subst. -LCO