Title 9, Title 9: Elections

Sec. 9-368. Arrest of accused. Upon the written complaint of any three electors of a town in which a violation of any law relating to elections has occurred to any judge of the superior court for the judicial district within which the offense has been committed, supported by oath…

Secs. 9-368a and 9-368b. Transferred to Chapter 141, Secs. 9-7a and 9-7b, respectively.

Sec. 9-368c. Misrepresentation of contents of a petition. (a) No person shall intentionally misrepresent the contents of a petition circulated under this title. (b) Any person who violates any provision of this section shall be guilty of a class D felony. (P.A. 87-530; P.A. 23-22…

Sec. 9-368i. Definitions. Construction of certain words and phrases. (a) As used in this section and sections 9-368j to 9-368q, inclusive: (1) “Alternative method of election” means a method of electing candidates to the legislative body of a municipality other than an at-large m…

Sec. 9-368j. Prohibition against impairment of right to vote for protected class members. Prohibition against impairment of ability or opportunity to participate in political process as a result of vote dilution of protected class members. Judicial considerations in actions filed…

Sec. 9-368k. State-wide database. Office of the Secretary to manage. Data, information and estimates to be maintained. Rebuttable presumption that data, information and estimates are valid. (a) The Secretary of the State shall establish a state-wide database of information necess…

Sec. 9-368l. Language assistance in voting and elections to be provided in municipalities. Regulations. Filing of court actions by aggrieved parties. (a) The Secretary of the State shall designate one or more languages, other than English, for which assistance in voting and elect…

Sec. 9-368m. Preclearance of covered policies enacted or implemented by covered jurisdictions. Determination of covered jurisdictions. Grant or denial of preclearance by Secretary or Superior Court. (a) In accordance with the provisions of this section, the enactment or implement…

Sec. 9-368n. Prohibition against intimidations, deception or obstruction that interferes with right to vote. Filing of court action by aggrieved party. (a) Notwithstanding the provisions of chapter 151, a person, whether acting under color of law or otherwise, shall not engage in…

Sec. 9-368o. Construction of laws in favor of protecting voting rights. Any provision of the general statutes, regulation adopted thereunder, special act, charter, home rule ordinance or other state or municipal enactment relating to the right to vote shall be construed liberally…

Sec. 9-368p. Powers and duties of State Elections Enforcement Commission and of Commission on Human Rights and Opportunities not affected. Nothing in the provisions of sections 9-368i to 9-368o, inclusive, shall be construed to affect the powers and duties of (1) the State Electi…

Sec. 9-368q. Awarding of attorney's fees and litigation costs. In any action to enforce the provisions of sections 9-368i to 9-368o, inclusive, the court may award reasonable attorneys' fees and litigation costs, including, but not limited to, expert witness fees and expenses, to…

Sec. 9-369. Procedure for holding referendum. Whenever at any regular or special state or municipal election any vote for approval or disapproval of any constitutional amendment or any question or proposal is taken pursuant to the Constitution, the general statutes or any special…

Sec. 9-369a. Submission of local questions at election. Whenever by law it is provided that a question may be submitted to a vote of the electors of a municipality at an election, as that term is defined in section 9-1: (a) The electors of the municipality entitled to vote by abs…

Sec. 9-369b. Local questions and proposals. Preparation, printing and dissemination of explanatory texts and other materials. Use of community notification systems. Expenditure of state and municipal funds to influence vote prohibited; exceptions. Civil penalty. Summaries of argu…

Sec. 9-369c. Absentee ballots for referendum voting. (a) Whenever a referendum, as defined in subdivision (2) or (3) of subsection (n) of section 9-1, is to be held on any question or proposal, the question or proposal shall be submitted to the municipal clerk in the form in whic…

Sec. 9-369d. Submission of local question to voters who are not electors. Vote by electors and voters held in conjunction with an election. (a) Whenever by law a question may be submitted to voters who are not electors of a municipality, the municipality may submit the question t…

Sec. 9-370. Submission of local questions at elections. Any provision of any special act to the contrary notwithstanding, no local question approved for submission to the electors of a municipality within the period of sixty days prior to an election as defined in section 9-1 may…

Sec. 9-370a. Recanvass on close question vote. In the case of an election or referendum wherein the difference between the “Yes” and “No” vote on a question was less than one-half of one per cent of the total number of votes cast for the question but not more than two thousand vo…

Sec. 9-371. Report of referendum result to secretary. Whenever any town, city or borough has conducted a referendum in accordance with the provisions of any special act, or on the question of the acceptance of such act, or on the question of the adoption of any home rule charter …

Sec. 9-371a. Nonbinding referendum re selection of legislative body. Notwithstanding the provisions of the general statutes or any public act, special act or charter, a municipality may conduct a nonbinding referendum for the purpose of soliciting elector input concerning the man…

Sec. 9-371b. Rulings by election officials re referendum. Complaints to Superior Court. Time limitation. Notice to Secretary of the State and State Elections Enforcement Commission. Hearing. Orders. Any person (1) claiming to have been aggrieved by any ruling of any election offi…

Sec. 9-371c. Annual report from municipalities that adopt budgets by referendum pursuant to charter. Not later than January 15, 2024, and annually thereafter, the chief executive officer of each municipality that, pursuant to its municipal charter, conducts referenda for the purp…

Sec. 9-372. Definitions. The following terms, as used in this chapter, chapter 157 and sections 9-51 to 9-67, inclusive, 9-169e, 9-217, 9-236 and 9-361, shall have the following meanings: (1) “Caucus” means any meeting, at a designated hour and place, or at designated hours and p…

Sec. 9-373. Nominations to public office. All nominees for state, district and municipal office, all members of town committees and all delegates to conventions, shall be chosen as provided in this chapter. (June, 1955, S. 578d, 579d; November, 1955, S. N54; 1958 Rev., S. 9-69; 1…

Sec. 9-373a. Registration of write-in candidates. Any person desiring to be a write-in candidate for any state, district or municipal office to be filled at any regular election shall register his candidacy with the Secretary of the State on a form prescribed by the Secretary. Th…

Sec. 9-373b. Cross endorsement of a candidate. A candidate for an office appearing on a ballot for a state election, as defined in section 9-1, may appear on the ballot as a candidate for more than one major or minor party, as defined in section 9-372, for the same office, provid…

Sec. 9-374. Party rules to be filed. No authority of the state or any political subdivision thereof having jurisdiction over the conduct of any primary shall permit the name of a party-endorsed candidate for an office or position to be printed on the official ballot to be used at…

Sec. 9-375. Amendment of party rules. The local party rules, governing a political party in any municipality, may be amended by one of the three following methods: (1) By a caucus of its enrolled party members, (2) by a convention of delegates chosen by its enrolled party members…

Sec. 9-375a. Amendment of party rules in 1972. Section 9-375a is repealed. (1972, P.A. 63, S. 1; P.A. 79-363, S. 37, 38.)

Sec. 9-375b. Amendment of party rules following a census. Notwithstanding the provisions of sections 9-374 and 9-375, during the second calendar year following the year in which the decennial census of the United States is taken, (1) any amendments of the state rules of a particu…

Sec. 9-376. Postponement of primary day. (a)(1) If the day fixed for any primary falls on a Sunday or a legal holiday or on a day on which the tenets of a religion forbid secular activity, the primary shall be held on the next succeeding day other than a Sunday or a legal or such…

Sec. 9-377. Write-in spaces on ballots prohibited. At a primary votes may be cast and counted only for duly qualified candidates at such primary whose names appear on the ballot on primary day. No write-in spaces shall appear on the ballots used at a primary. (June, 1955, S. 609d…

Sec. 9-378. Nominations without party designation excepted. In any municipality which, under the provisions of a special act, nominates one or more candidates for municipal office without party designation by nominating petitions or in nonpartisan primaries in addition to the nom…

Secs. 9-378a to 9-378l. Reserved for future use. PART II PARTIES ENTITLED TO PLACE ON BALLOT

Sec. 9-379. Eligibility for placing on ballot. No name of any candidate shall be printed on any official ballot at any election except the name of a candidate nominated by a major or minor party unless a nominating petition for such candidate is approved by the Secretary of the S…

Sec. 9-380. Newly-created offices. In the case of an office created after the last-preceding election, no name of any candidate for such office shall be printed on the official ballot except the name of a candidate nominated by a political party or organization whose candidate fo…

Sec. 9-381. Nomination procedure. The provisions of sections 9-382 to 9-450, inclusive, shall apply to the nomination by a major party of any candidate for an elective office, including an office established after the last-preceding election, and to the selection in any municipal…

Sec. 9-381a. Election procedures applicable to primaries unless otherwise provided. Except as otherwise provided by statute, the provisions of the general statutes concerning procedures relating to regular elections shall apply as nearly as may be, in the manner prescribed by the…

Sec. 9-382. Party-endorsed candidates; state or district office. The state or district convention, as the case may be, shall, in a manner conforming with applicable law and with the rules of the party calling such convention, choose a candidate for nomination to each of the state…

Sec. 9-383. Time and place of convention. The time and place of meeting of a state or district convention shall be fixed by the state central committee or other authority of the party holding such convention, in accordance with the rules of such party; provided each such conventi…

Sec. 9-384. Calls for conventions. Each convention shall originate by call of the chairman of the state central committee or other authority of the party holding such convention, in accordance with the rules of such party. (June, 1955, S. 580d; November, 1955, S. N56; 1958 Rev., …

Sec. 9-384a. Calls for 1974 party conventions. Section 9-384a is repealed. (P.A. 74-25, S. 11, 13; P.A. 79-363, S. 37, 38.)

Sec. 9-385. Roll-call vote or polling by delegation at convention. Whenever one-fifth or more of the accredited delegates to, and present and voting at, any state or district convention, called for the purpose of choosing candidates for nomination for any elective office, upon mo…

Sec. 9-385a. Voting by delegation at state convention. The delegates to the state convention of each party elected from each town shall select a chairman of such delegation and file the name and address of such chairman with the secretary of the state central committee of such pa…

Sec. 9-386. Tie vote on endorsement. If a vote taken under sections 9-382 to 9-450, inclusive, on the selection of any party-endorsed candidate for state or district office results in a tie, such tie vote shall be dissolved in the manner prescribed in the applicable state or dist…