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OLR Bill Analysis
sHB 7228
AN ACT CONCERNING VARIOUS REFORMS TO THE
ADMINISTRATION OF ELECTIONS IN THIS STATE.
SUMMARY
This bill makes various changes to the state’s election laws. Primarily,
the bill establishes provisions for pre-counting absentee ballots for
elections, primaries, and referenda. It also adjusts various timelines and
procedures related to the processing and counting of absentee ballots,
including requiring registrars to make their best efforts to notify
absentee ballot applicants if their ballot has been rejected for specific
reasons (§§ 1-7).
The bill also makes the following changes:
1. requires certain petition forms to be supplied by the secretary of
the state instead of registrars and for these forms to include space
for the date an individual signs the petition (§§ 8-10);
2. authorizes the interruption of a canvass of votes due to certain
emergencies and limits other reasons for interruptions (§ 11);
3. expands the scope of discrepancy recanvasses (§ 12);
4. modifies procedures for communicating with elections officials
during a recanvass (§ 13);
5. requires tests and demonstrations of the state’s election
management system prior to each primary or election (§ 14); and
6. establishes requirements for posting information on voting
districts at certain early voting locations (§ 15).
Finally, the bill appropriates $1,320,000 in FY 26 and FY 27 from the
General Fund to the secretary of the state’s office for early voting 2025HB-07228-R000693-BA.DOCX
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administration purposes (§ 16). The bill also makes minor, technical, and
conforming changes.
EFFECTIVE DATE: January 1, 2026, except that the appropriation for
early voting administration is effective July 1, 2025.
§§ 1 & 5-7 — DELIVERY OF ABSENTEE BALLOTS
By law, town clerks must sort into voting districts any absentee
ballots received by the day before an election, primary, or referendum.
For ballots received by 11:00 a.m. on this day, registrars of voters must
check the names of applicants returning absentee ballots on the official
registry list with “A” or “absentee.” Currently, this sorting and checking
must be completed before, and the clerk must deliver the sorted and
checked ballots to the registrars on, the day of the election, primary, or
referendum.
The bill authorizes clerks to begin sorting ballots 14 days beforehand,
rather than seven days before as current law provides.
The bill also allows town clerks to deliver sorted and checked ballots
to the registrars before the day of an election, primary, or referendum to
begin certain pre-counting procedures (see below).
Specifically, it allows any ballots received, sorted, and checked by
5:00 p.m. on the fourth day before the election, primary, or referendum
to be delivered to the registrars at that time. It also allows ballots
received, sorted, and checked by 5:00 p.m. on the third and second days
before the election, primary, or referendum to be delivered to the
registrars at those times. Ballots received at or before 11:00 a.m. on the
day before an election or primary which have not been delivered earlier
must be delivered at 8:00 a.m., instead of between 10:00 a.m. and noon,
on the day of an election or primary. Ballots for a referendum must still
be delivered by noon on the day of the referendum, as required by
existing law.
By law, ballots received after 11:00 a.m. on the day before an election
contest and before 6:00 p.m. on the day of the contest must be delivered
by 6:00 p.m. Any remaining ballots received by the clerk before the close 2025HB-07228-R000693-BA.DOCX
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of the polls must be delivered when the polls close. The bill eliminates
the option for absentee ballots to be delivered at a time agreed upon by
the clerk and registrars (that must be before the polls close) instead of
these statutory deadlines.
Unless absentee ballots are to be counted in the respective polling
places, current law also requires that when sorted ballots are delivered,
the clerk must include with the ballots a duplicate official checklist. The
bill instead specifies that it must be an up-to-date copy of the checklist.
Deadline to Withdraw a Submitted Absentee Ballot (§ 5)
By law, electors who submit an absentee ballot must visit the town
clerk’s office to request withdrawal if they later determine they can vote
in person. The bill moves up this deadline from 10:00 a.m. on the
election, primary, or referendum day to 5:00 p.m. on the fourth day
before it, the same time municipalities may begin pre-counting
procedures (see below).
Early Voting and SDR Ballot Delivery (§ 7)
The bill requires early voting and same-day election registration
(SDR) ballots received by the clerk before the day of an election or
primary to be delivered to the registrars by 8:00 a.m. on the day of the
contest, instead of 10:00 a.m. as under current law.
Reporting for Duty (§§ 6 & 7)
Under current law, absentee ballot counters must report for duty at
the time designated by the registrars of voters, and ballot counters for
early voting and SDR ballots must report by 10:00 a.m. The bill instead
requires these counters to report to their designated location by 8:00 a.m.
on the day of the contest.
§§ 1-3 — PRE-COUNTING OF ABSENTEE BALLOTS
Location (§ 2)
If a municipality uses the pre-counting procedures, it must be done
at a central location designated by the registrars in writing to their
respective town clerks at least 10 days before the election, primary, or
referendum. As under current law, the location must be published in 2025HB-07228-R000693-BA.DOCX
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the election warning, which must be published from 5 to 15 days before
the election.
The bill requires the registrars of voters and the town clerk to jointly
certify this decision to the secretary of the state, in writing, at least 10
days before the election, primary, or referendum. The certification must
include the (1) name, street address, and relevant contact information
for the designated location and (2) name and address of each appointed
absentee ballot counter. The secretary must approve or disapprove the
certification within two days of receiving it. She also may require the
appointment of one or more additional ballot counters.
By law, municipalities must count absentee ballots at a central
location unless the registrars of voters agree to count them in each
polling place. The bill specifies that any ballots delivered to the
registrars on the day of an election, primary, or referendum (i.e. those
not delivered for pre-counting procedures) may still be counted in the
polling places.
Pre-Counting Procedures (§§ 1 & 3)
By law, absentee ballot sets consist of an outer envelope, which
contains information about the elector (e.g., name and address), and an
inner envelope, which has the elector’s marked ballot and a statement
signed by the elector under penalty of false statement in absentee
balloting. Current law sets out numerous absentee ballot counting steps,
which absentee ballot counters or moderators generally complete
beginning on election day.
Under the bill, the pre-counting may begin as early as 5:00 p.m. on
the fourth day before the contest (that is the earliest town clerks may
release completed absentee ballots to registrars of voters as provided
above). For municipalities that opt to use pre-counting procedures, the
bill authorizes them to complete the following steps for absentee ballots
not already marked as rejected:
1. remove the inner envelopes from the outer envelopes;
2. report to the moderator separately the total number of absentee, 2025HB-07228-R000693-BA.DOCX
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presidential, and overseas ballots received; and
3. reject ballots for which the inner envelope statement is
improperly executed.
Under the bill, once the above steps are completed, the absentee
ballots must be counted beginning on the election, primary, or
referendum day in accordance with existing law. Relatedly, the bill
eliminates a requirement that absentee ballots only be counted at a
single time each day.
Securing the Absentee Ballots Until Election Day
The bill requires that absentee ballots be secured throughout the
entire pre-counting process until they are counted. Specifically, the
ballots must be secured according to (1) instructions from the secretary
of the state and (2) existing statutory requirements on securing absentee
ballots and related materials. Under the bill, the secretary must issue
these instructions at least 10 days before an election, primary, or
referendum.
§§ 3 & 4 — ABSENTEE BALLOT REJ ECTION NOTIFICATIONS
By law, if a voter registers to vote by mail and does not meet federal
identification requirements at the time of registration, the voter must
give sufficient identification the first time they seek to vote absentee. If
a voter fails to do so, the absentee ballot cannot be counted. Acceptable
forms of identification include certain documents with the voter’s name
and address (such as bank statements or utility bills) or valid photo
identification with the voter’s name and address.
If an absentee ballot was rejected due to insufficient identification or
for failing to include the signed statement on the inner envelope as
discussed above, the bill requires registrars of voters to use best efforts
to notify applicants that (1) their ballot was rejected and (2) they may
still be able to vote in person. This includes ballots that are pre-counted
and rejected under the bill’s provisions. (The bill does not define best
efforts.) 2025HB-07228-R000693-BA.DOCX
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§§ 8-10 — PETITION FORMS
Under existing law, the secretary of the state must include spaces for
certain information on the petition form for candidates seeking a major
party’s nomination for state, district, and municipal offices as well as for
town committee members. State law requires candidates to get a certain
number of signatures to qualify. The bill requires the secretary to also
include space on the form for the date each signature was obtained.
The bill also requires that the secretary, rather than the registrars of
voters, supply the petition forms for nominations for district or
municipal offices, including town committee members. In doing so, she
must fulfill the duties in connection to these forms previously fulfilled
by the registrar (e.g., she must make them available 77 days before a
primary, type or print the candidate’s information on the petition form,
and provide a certain number of petition pages to indigent candidates).
The bill also makes conforming changes.
§ 11 — TEMPORARY CANVASS INTERRUPTION S
After the polls close, moderators are required to produce and
announce the election results produced by the tabulators for each
candidate and question on the ballot. These results must be recorded,
and the moderator must make a preliminary list of the tabulator results
and transmit it to the secretary of the state. Current law does not
explicitly allow an interruption of this process until the list is
transmitted.
The bill specifies an interruption may occur before the list is
transmitted due to (1) a power loss, (2) a fire or fire alarm, (3) voting
machine malfunctions, (4) a weather or other natural disaster, (5) the
need to remove and replace an election or primary official, (6) disorder
in and around the polling place or early voting location, or (7) an
emergency declaration by the governor or president. (In practice,
temporary interruptions do occur before the list is transmitted, as many
municipalities may start this process on election night, but complete it
the day following the election. The bill appears to prohibit temporary
interruptions from occurring except for the above reasons.) 2025HB-07228-R000693-BA.DOCX
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Under existing law and the bill, during a temporary interruption,
certain procedures must be followed to secure the tabulators and the
ballots, such as returning the tabulator keys to the registrars, sealing the
tabulators against voting or tampering, sealing certain election
documentation, and storing all tabulators and envelopes in a designated
location.
§§ 12 & 13 — RECANVASS PROCEDURES
Under current law, within three days of an election, a moderator
must initiate a recanvass (i.e. a recount) if it appears there are
discrepancies in the returns of a voting district. The bill requires that the
returns of all voting tabulators and absentee and write-in ballots be
recanvassed, not just the returns within the voting district where the
discrepancy occurred.
Additionally, during any recanvass, the law permits a moderator to
order the removal of a person if disorder arises that interferes with the
recanvass and the person refuses to submit to the moderator’s lawful
authority. This currently includes if the person is attempting to
communicate with a recanvass official other than the moderator.
The bill expands the reasons for possible removal to include
attempting to communicate with the moderator. However, the bill
permits one party representative from each political party with a
nominated candidate in the election to communicate directly with the
moderator during the recanvass.
§ 14 — TEST OF ELECTION MANAGEMENT SYSTEM
At least 30 days before a primary or election, the bill requires the
secretary of the state to (1) conduct a test of the election management
system that will be used and (2) demonstrate the system’s use to
registrars, including entering early voting results after the polls close.
The bill requires at least one registrar from each municipality to attend
the test and demonstration.
§ 15 — POSTER FOR DETERMIN ING CORRECT VOTING DISTRICT
Beginning in 2026, for municipalities with multiple voting districts, 2025HB-07228-R000693-BA.DOCX
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the bill requires registrars to display a poster at early voting locations
during early voting periods explaining how electors can look up their
proper voting district in the online voter registration system. The bill
specifies that the poster’s purpose is to ensure a voter is provided a
ballot from the correct district.
BACKGROUND
Related Bills
sSB 1535, favorably reported by the Government Administration and
Elections (GAE) Committee, makes various changes to the state’s early
voting procedures, including the designation of early voting and SDR
locations.
sHB 7229, favorably reported by the GAE Committee, creates
absentee balloting procedures for incarcerated voters.
sHB 7241, favorably reported by the GAE Committee, authorizes no-
excuse absentee voting.
COMMITTEE ACTION
Government Administration and Elections Committee
Joint Favorable Substitute
Yea 13 Nay 6 (03/26/2025)