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OLR Bill Analysis
sHB 7229
AN ACT CONCERNING ACCESSIBILITY TO ABSENTEE BALLOTS
FOR ELECTORS IN STATE CUSTODY.
SUMMARY
This bill simplifies the process for people in state custody to vote by
absentee ballot, if they retain their voting rights while in custody.
Generally, if a person is convicted of a felony, the person forfeits the
right to vote for the duration of his or her incarceration. However,
certain people may still be eligible to vote while incarcerated, such as
those (1) serving a sentence for a misdemeanor or (2) confined in a
community residence (such as a halfway house).
Under existing law, in order to apply for and cast an absentee ballot,
a voter must be unable to appear at his or her designated polling place
on election day due to, among other reasons, absence from their city or
town during all voting hours. Current law specifies that an eligible voter
being held in state custody at a community correctional center or a
correctional institution is deemed absent from their town, even if the
center or institution is in the voter’s town. The bill explicitly extends this
to eligible voters in state custody being held in any Department of
Correction (DOC) facility.
This bill requires the secretary of the state to create absentee ballot
application forms for use by eligible voters within DOC facilities and
provide these forms to DOC. It also creates procedures for distributing
and processing these applications. (Currently, incarcerated voters must
apply in writing to the municipal clerk for an absentee ballot.)
The bill also makes technical and conforming changes.
EFFECTIVE DATE: January 1, 2026 2025HB-07229-R000694-BA.DOCX
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ABSENTEE BALLOT FORM REQUIREMENTS
The bill specifies that the ballot application the secretary creates must
include spaces for the following information:
1. the applicant’s signature and printed or typed name;
2. the signature of any person who assisted the applicant in
completing the application as well as their printed or typed
name, residential address, and telephone number; and
3. a mailing address within a DOC facility.
The form must be signed by the applicant and, if applicable, any
assistant under the penalty of false statement in absentee balloting. By
law, false statement in absentee balloting is a class D felony, punishable
by up to five years in prison, up to a $5,000 fine, or both (CGS § 9-359a).
These forms must be consecutively numbered, clearly and
conspicuously note the year the application is authorized for, and
indicate they are only for the use of an applicant incarcerated in a DOC
facility. Further, the bill specifies that the applicant must provide a
mailing address within a DOC facility in order to receive an absentee
ballot.
The bill’s requirements for the DOC-specific form are similar to those
for absentee ballots under existing law.
PROCESSING APPLICATI ONS
Under existing law, absentee ballots and ballot applications must
generally be submitted to the municipal clerk where the applicant is
eligible to vote. Under the bill, any DOC employee who distributes
applications must promptly file completed absentee ballot applications
he or she receives with the municipal clerk. The same filing requirement
applies under existing law to others who distribute ballots and receive
completed ones.
The clerk must maintain a log of applications received from
incarcerated applicants, including, for each, (1) the applicant’s name 2025HB-07229-R000694-BA.DOCX
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and address; (2) the date the application was received; and (3) as
applicable, the date the clerk mailed the ballot or the reason for rejecting
the application. The bill requires municipal clerks to reject any
application made on the DOC-specific form that indicates an address
other than a DOC facility.
If an applicant included a DOC facility mailing address but is
subsequently transferred to another DOC facility, the correction
commissioner must ensure the absentee ballot’s delivery to the
applicant.
CORRECTION EMPLOYEE EXEMPTIONS
Under existing law, a person distributing absentee ballot applications
generally must comply with certain requirements. The bill exempts
DOC employees from the following requirements when providing
incarcerated voters with applications:
1. registering with the municipal clerk before distributing five or
more applications for an election, primary, or referendum to
individuals other than their immediate family; and
2. maintaining and filing with the municipal clerk a list of names
and addresses of any individuals to which they distribute
applications.
COMMITTEE ACTION
Government Administration and Elections Committee
Joint Favorable Substitute
Yea 14 Nay 5 (03/26/2025)