Title 9, Title 9: Elections

Sec. 9-245. Filing of reports. The reports of the registrars of voters, provided for under section 9-246, and the report provided for under subsection (c) of section 9-244, shall be filed with the municipal clerk and shall be kept by the municipal clerk for at least sixty days af…

Sec. 9-246. Duties of registrars re condition of tabulators. Repairs made on election day. Required reports. (a) The registrar or registrars shall file a written report of the condition of each tabulator certifying that (1) they have prepared the tabulators, (2) all the counters …

Sec. 9-247. Preparation of tabulators. The registrars of voters shall, before the day of the election, cause test ballots to be inserted in each tabulator to ensure that each tabulator is prepared and read and cause each other voting system approved by the Secretary of the State …

Sec. 9-247a. Candidates, immediate family members and associated business entities prohibited from transporting, preparing, repairing or maintaining voting tabulator. Exception. No candidate, as defined in section 9-601, member of the immediate family, as defined in section 1-79,…

Sec. 9-248. Furnishing of supplies. When a voting tabulator is purchased or leased or otherwise provided for use in any municipality, the Secretary of the State shall prepare or approve samples of the following printed matter and supplies and shall furnish one of each to the offi…

Sec. 9-249. Instruction of election officials. (a) Before each election, the registrars of voters and the certified head moderator shall instruct the election officials. Any provision of the general statutes or of any special act to the contrary notwithstanding, election official…

Sec. 9-249a. Order of parties on ballots. (a) The names of the parties shall be arranged on the ballots in the following order: (1) The party whose candidate for Governor polled the highest number of votes in the last-preceding election; (2) Other parties who had candidates for G…

Sec. 9-249b. Arrangement of ballots when more than nine party designations and petitioning candidate rows. (a) If, after applying the provisions of sections 9-249a and 9-453r, the number of party designations and petitioning candidate rows on the ballot exceeds nine, the Secretar…

Sec. 9-250. Form of ballots. Ballots shall be printed in plain clear type and on material of such size as will fit the tabulator, and shall be furnished by the registrar of voters. The size and style of the type used to print the name of a political party on a ballot shall be ide…

Sec. 9-250a. Blank space where party fails to nominate. When a political party has failed to nominate a candidate for any office for which it is entitled to make such nomination, the space on the ballot in which the name of the party's candidate would appear shall be left blank. …

Sec. 9-251. Order of office on ballots. In the preparation of ballots for use at a state election, precedence shall be given to the offices to be voted for at such election in the following descending order: Presidential electors, Governor and Lieutenant Governor, United States s…

Sec. 9-253. Order of names of party nominees for multiple-opening office determined by lot. Order when candidate nominated by more than one party. When a major or minor party is entitled to nominate two or more candidates for a particular office, the order of the names of its can…

Sec. 9-254. List of municipal offices to be filled. Each municipal clerk shall, not later than the one hundred eightieth day prior to the day of any regular municipal election, file with the Secretary of the State, on a form approved by said Secretary, a list of the offices to be…

Sec. 9-255. Sample ballots. The registrars of voters shall provide for all polling places using voting tabulators at least two sample ballots that shall contain the offices, party designations, names of candidates, write-in slots and questions to be voted upon. On each such sampl…

Sec. 9-255a. Certification re number of ballots ordered. (a) The registrars of voters and municipal clerk from each municipality shall jointly certify, in writing, to the Secretary of the State the number of ballots for each polling place in the municipality that have been ordere…

Sec. 9-256. Filing of sample ballot with Secretary. The registrars of voters of each municipality shall, not less than ten days prior to the commencement of the period of early voting at an election, file with the Secretary of the State a sample ballot identical with those to be …

Sec. 9-257. Location of voting tabulator and stationing of officials. The room in which the election is held shall be separated from the part of the room to be occupied by the election officials and the voting tabulator shall be placed, if possible, at least three feet from any w…

Sec. 9-258. Election officials; additional lines of electors. (a) For municipalities with more than one voting district, the election officials of each polling place shall be electors of the state and shall consist of (1) one moderator, (2) at least one but not more than two offi…

Sec. 9-258a. Two shifts of election officials. Notwithstanding any provision of the general statutes, special acts or its charter, in each municipality the registrars of voters, or assistant registrar of voters, as the case may be may establish, except for unofficial checkers and…

Sec. 9-259. Duties of election officials before polls open; moderator's return certificates. (a) The moderator of the election in each municipality, voting district or ward shall appear at the office of the registrar of voters not later than eight o'clock p.m. of the day before t…

Sec. 9-260. Instruction by means of demonstrator device. A demonstrator device shall be provided inside the polling place for the instruction of electors. Any such demonstrator device shall instruct electors on the proper method to cast their vote, including the proper method to …

Sec. 9-261. Process of voting. (a) In each primary, election or referendum, when an elector has entered the polling place, the elector shall announce the elector's street address, if any, and the elector's name to the official checker or checkers in a tone sufficiently loud and c…

Sec. 9-261a. Preparation of polling place form of identification by committee prohibited. No committee, as defined in section 9-601, shall prepare any form of identification for the purpose of being presented to the checkers at the polling place pursuant to section 9-261. (P.A. 9…

Sec. 9-261b. Privacy sleeve. The registrars of voters shall either ensure that each ballot clerk offer every elector a privacy sleeve into which the ballot can be inserted and fully shielded from view or, in the alternative, place such privacy sleeve in every voting booth for the…

Sec. 9-261c. Electronic devices used to check names of electors. The Secretary of the State shall review, in consultation and coordination with The University of Connecticut, electronic devices that could assist official checkers in checking the names of electors pursuant to sect…

Sec. 9-262. Duties of election officials during voting hours. During the entire period of an election, at least one of the election officials shall be stationed approximately three to four feet from the voting tabulator to regulate the submission of the elector's ballot. The elec…

Sec. 9-263. Use of paper ballots when voting machine damaged. Section 9-263 is repealed, effective October 1, 2007. (1949 Rev., S. 1206; 1953, S. 739d; 1957, P.A. 561, S. 18; 1959, P.A. 487, S. 5; P.A. 80-339, S. 2; P.A. 95-185, S. 2; P.A. 00-79, S. 2; P.A. 04-113, S. 7; P.A. 07-…

Sec. 9-264. Assistance to elector who is blind, has disability or is unable to write or to read the ballot. An elector who requires assistance to vote, by reason of blindness, disability or inability to write or to read the ballot, may be given assistance by a person of the elect…

Sec. 9-265. Write-in votes. (a) A write-in vote for an office, cast for a person who has registered as a write-in candidate for the office pursuant to subsection (b) of section 9-175 or section 9-373a, shall be counted and recorded. Except as otherwise provided in this section, a…

Sec. 9-266. Keys to be kept. Storage of voting tabulator. When the voting tabulator has been locked at the close of an election, the moderator shall return the keys for the tabulator to the registrars of voters with the official returns. Except as provided in section 9-309 or 9-3…

Sec. 9-267. Removal of officials. If, at any time during the performance of his or her duties, any moderator, assistant registrar of voters, official checker, ballot clerk or voting tabulator tender is, from any cause, found incompetent, the registrars of voters may remove him or…

Sec. 9-268. Duties of selectmen imposed on other officials. Whenever the duties imposed by this part upon selectmen are imposed by the charter of any municipality upon any other officer or officers, the term “selectmen”, as used herein, shall be construed to apply to such other o…

Sec. 9-269. Borough election officials. In the case of a borough election, the duties and privileges of the various town and city officials specified in this part shall be exercised by the corresponding borough officials. (1949 Rev., S. 1192; 1953, S. 745d.) PART II PAPER BALLOTS…

Secs. 9-270 and 9-271. Votes by paper ballots. Referenda by paper ballots. Sections 9-270 and 9-271 are repealed, effective May 24, 2011. (1949 Rev., S. 1193; 1951, S. 259b; 1953, S. 746d, 747d; P.A. 11-20, S. 39.)

Sec. 9-272. Conditions under which use of voting tabulators may be discontinued. If, owing to the number of candidates to be voted upon, owing to inability to obtain a sufficient number of voting tabulators or, if it is found impracticable to use voting tabulators at any election…

Secs. 9-273 to 9-276. Preparation of ballots. Secretary may prescribe forms. Secret ballot. Form for printing ballots. Sections 9-273 to 9-276, inclusive, are repealed, effective May 24, 2011. (1949 Rev., S. 1035, 1039, 1042, 1063; 1953, S. 749d–752d; 1963, P.A. 223, S. 1; P.A. 8…

Secs. 9-277 and 9-278. Straight and split ticket sections. Form of straight ticket section. Sections 9-277 and 9-278 are repealed. (1949 Rev., S. 1036, 1037, 1042; 1953, S. 753d, 754d; 1963, P.A. 223, S. 2; P.A. 87-382, S. 54, 55.)

Secs. 9-279 to 9-306. Form of ballot. Sample ballots. Insertion on ballot on death of nominee. Ballot to resolve tie vote. Secretary to transmit ballots. Clerks to obtain ballots if not received two days before election. Packaging of ballots, method of opening. Ballot box sealing…

Sec. 9-307. Certificate of check lists. Immediately after the polls are closed, the official checker or checkers, appointed under the provisions of section 9-234, shall make and deliver to the moderator a certificate stating the whole number of names on the registry list or enrol…

Sec. 9-308. Canvass of returns. Immediately on the close of the polls, the election officials shall proceed to canvass the returns as provided in section 9-309 and shall not stop for any purpose until the canvass is completed, except as provided in said section. The room in which…

Sec. 9-309. Procedure for announcing results. Temporary interruption of canvass after transmission of preliminary totals to Secretary of the State. Security of tabulators and other materials. Upon the close of the polls, the moderator, in the presence of the other election offici…

Sec. 9-310. Sealing of tabulator by moderator. As soon as the count is completed and the moderator's return required under the provisions of section 9-259 has been executed, the moderator shall place the sealed tabulator in the tabulator bag, and so seal the bag, and the tabulato…

Sec. 9-311. Recanvass in case of discrepancy. Authority of moderator to prevent or suppress disorder. (a) If, within three days after an election, it appears to the moderator that there is a discrepancy in the returns of any voting district, such moderator shall forthwith within …

Sec. 9-311a. Recanvass on close vote. For purposes of this section, state, district and municipal offices shall be as defined in section 9-372 except that the office of presidential elector shall be deemed a state office. Forthwith after a regular or special election for municipa…

Sec. 9-311b. Recanvass on tie vote. If the electors fail to elect a candidate for any office by reason of an equality of votes at any election, there shall be a recanvass of the returns for such office unless, prior to the time of such recanvass, all but one of the candidates so …

Sec. 9-311c. Secretary of the State to develop recanvass procedures instructional training video. Requirement for recanvass officials to view. The Secretary of the State shall develop an instructional training video on recanvass procedures, based on the most recent Recanvass Proc…