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General Assembly Substitute Bill No. 7229
January Session, 2025
AN ACT CONCERNING ACCESSIBILITY TO ABSENTEE BALLOTS
FOR ELECTORS IN STATE CUSTODY.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General
Assembly convened:
Section 1. Section 9-139a of the general statutes is repealed and the 1
following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective January 1, 2026): 2
(a) The Secretary of the State shall prescribe and furnish the following 3
materials to municipal clerks: The absentee ballot facsimile, the 4
application for absentee ballot authorized for use at each election or 5
primary, the inner envelope, the outer envelope provided for the return 6
of the ballot to the municipal clerk, the instructions for the use of the 7
absentee ballot and the envelope for mailing of such forms by the clerk 8
to the absentee ballot applicant. 9
(b) The application for absentee ballot shall be in the form of a 10
statement signed under the penalties of false statement in absentee 11
balloting. Each application shall contain (1) spaces for the signature 12
under the penalties of false statement in absentee balloting of any person 13
who assists the applicant in the completion of an application together 14
with the information required in section 9-140, as amended by this act, 15
(2) spaces for the signature and the printed or typed name of the 16
applicant, and (3) a clear and conspicuous notation of the year for which 17
such application's use is authorized. 18 Substitute Bill No. 7229
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(c) The Secretary of the State shall prescribe and furnish to the 19
Department of Correction an application for absentee ballot form for use 20
within Department of Correction facilities. Such form shall contain 21
spaces for all information required under subsection (b) of this section. 22
Each such form shall be consecutively numbered and shall indicate that 23
such form is only for use by an absentee ballot applicant who is 24
incarcerated in a Department of Correction facility and that such 25
applicant is required to provide in the appropriate space on such form 26
a mailing address at the Department of Correction facility in order for 27
an absentee ballot to be mailed to such applicant. 28
[(c)] (d) The instructions for the use of the absentee ballot shall be in 29
plain language and shall include the steps to be taken if a vote is to be 30
cancelled or changed, and shall also contain a simple and concise 31
restatement of the provisions of subsection (l) of section 9-150a and 32
section 9-159o concerning rejection of ballots marked in such manner as 33
to identify the voters casting them, and withdrawal of ballots by persons 34
who find they are able to vote at the polls. 35
[(d)] (e) A sufficient supply of such instructions and envelopes shall 36
be printed to supply the number which the municipal clerk requests or 37
the Secretary of the State deems sufficient. 38
Sec. 2. Subsection (g) of section 9-140 of the general statutes is 39
repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective January 40
1, 2026): 41
(g) On the first day of issuance of absentee voting sets the municipal 42
clerk shall mail an absentee voting set to each applicant whose 43
application was received by the clerk prior to that day. When the clerk 44
receives an application during the time period in which absentee voting 45
sets are to be issued he shall mail an absentee voting set to the applicant, 46
within twenty-four hours, unless the applicant submits his application 47
in person at the office of the clerk and asks to be given his absentee 48
voting set immediately, in which case the clerk shall comply with the 49
request. Any absentee voting set to be mailed to an applicant shall be 50 Substitute Bill No. 7229
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mailed to the bona fide personal mailing address shown on the 51
application. If an applicant has provided a mailing address at a 52
Department of Correction facility and such applicant is subsequently 53
transferred to another Department of Correction facility, the 54
Commissioner of Correction shall ensure delivery of the absentee voting 55
set to such applicant. Issuance of absentee voting sets shall also be 56
subject to the provisions of subsection (c) of this section, section 9-150c 57
and section 9-159q concerning persons designated to deliver or return 58
ballots in cases involving unforeseen illness or disability and supervised 59
voting at certain health care institutions. 60
Sec. 3. Subsection (k) of section 9-140 of the general statutes is 61
repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective January 62
1, 2026): 63
(k) (1) A person shall register with the [town] municipal clerk before 64
distributing five or more absentee ballot applications for an election, 65
primary or referendum, not including applications distributed to such 66
person's immediate family. Such requirement shall not apply to a person 67
who is the designee of an applicant or to any employee of the 68
Department of Correction who provides the application for absentee 69
ballot form prescribed under subsection (c) of section 9-139a, as 70
amended by this act, to incarcerated absentee ballot applicants. 71
(2) The municipal clerk shall reject the application of any absentee 72
ballot applicant made upon the form prescribed under subsection (c) of 73
section 9-139a, as amended by this act, if such form indicates any 74
address other than an address at a Department of Correction facility. 75
The municipal clerk shall maintain a log of all applications of 76
incarcerated absentee ballot applicants received by such municipal 77
clerk, which log shall indicate the name and address of each applicant, 78
the date of receipt of each application and the date such municipal clerk 79
mailed the absentee ballot to such applicant or the reason why such 80
application was rejected. 81
[(2)] (3) Any person who distributes absentee ballot applications shall 82 Substitute Bill No. 7229
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maintain a list of the names and addresses of prospective absentee ballot 83
applicants who receive such applications, and shall file such list with 84
the [town] municipal clerk prior to the date of the primary, election or 85
referendum for which the applications were so distributed, except that 86
such requirements shall not apply to any employee of the Department 87
of Correction who provides the application for absentee ballot form 88
prescribed under subsection (c) of section 9-139a, as amended by this 89
act, to incarcerated absentee ballot applicants. Any person who 90
distributes absentee ballot applications and receives an executed 91
application shall forthwith file the application with the [town] 92
municipal clerk. 93
Sec. 4. Section 9-14a of the general statutes is repealed and the 94
following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective January 1, 2026): 95
Any person in the custody of the state being held at a [community 96
correctional center or a correctional institution] Department of 97
Correction facility, whose voting rights have not been denied, shall be 98
deemed to be absent from the town or city of which [he] such person is 99
an inhabitant for purposes of voting, notwithstanding that such [center 100
or institution] facility may be situated within such town or city. 101
This act shall take effect as follows and shall amend the following
sections:
Section 1 January 1, 2026 9-139a
Sec. 2 January 1, 2026 9-140(g)
Sec. 3 January 1, 2026 9-140(k)
Sec. 4 January 1, 2026 9-14a
GAE Joint Favorable Subst.