CHAPTER 147
VOTING METHODS
Table of Contents
Sec. 9-241. Examination and approval of machines by secretary. Subsequent alteration made by voting machine companies. Use of hole-punch voting machines prohibited. Regulations.
Sec. 9-242. Voting machine and direct re:CHY:cording electronic voting machine construction requirements.
Sec. 9-242b. Procedures for use of direct re:CHY:cording electronic voting machines.
Sec. 9-242c. Voting Technology Standards Board.
Sec. 9-249. Instruction of election officials.
PART I
VOTING MACHINES
Sec. 9-241. Examination and approval of machines by secretary. Subsequent
alteration made by voting machine companies. Use of hole-punch voting machines
prohibited. Regulations. Any person owning or holding an interest in any voting machine, as defined in subsection (w) of section 9-1, may apply to the Secretary of the
State to examine such machine and report on its accuracy and efficiency. The Secretary
of the State shall examine the machine and determine whether, in the Secretary's opinion,
the kind of machine so examined (1) meets the requirements of section 9-242, (2) can
be used at elections, primaries and referenda held pursuant to this title, and (3) in the case
of an electronic voting machine examined by the Secretary after the Voting Technology
Standards Board submits the report required under section 9-242c, complies with the
standards adopted by said board under section 9-242c. If the Secretary of the State
determines that the machine can be so used, such machine may be adopted for such use.
No machine not so approved shall be so used. Each application shall be accompanied
by a fee of one hundred dollars and the Secretary of the State shall not approve any
machine until such fee and the expenses incurred by the Secretary in making the examination have been paid by the person making such application. Any voting machine
company that has had its voting machine approved and that subsequently alters such
machine in any way shall provide the Secretary of the State with notice of such alterations, including a description thereof and a statement of the purpose of such alterations.
If any such alterations appear to materially affect the accuracy, appearance or efficiency
of the machine, or modify the machine so that it can no longer be used at elections,
primaries or referenda held pursuant to this title, at the discretion of the Secretary of the
State, the company shall submit such alterations for inspection and approval, at its own
expense, before such altered machines may be used. The Secretary of the State may
adopt regulations, in accordance with the provisions of chapter 54, concerning examination and approval of voting machines under this section. No voting machine that records
votes by means of holes punched in designated voting response locations may be approved or used at any election, primary or referendum held pursuant to this title.
(1949 Rev., S. 1190; 1953, S. 718d; P.A. 73-304; P.A. 84-319, S. 33, 49; P.A. 93-384, S. 7, 28; P.A. 03-7, S. 2; P.A.
05-235, S. 14.)
History: P.A. 73-304 provided for notice to secretary of the state by any voting machine company of alterations to
already approved machines under certain conditions; P.A. 84-319 amended section to reflect changes made in sections 9-241a and 9-242; P.A. 93-384 authorized the secretary of the state to adopt regulations re examination and approval of
machines, effective June 29, 1993; P.A. 03-7 prohibited use of voting machines that record votes by means of holes punched
in designated locations and made technical changes, effective April 29, 2003; P.A. 05-235 inserted Subdiv. (1) and (2)
designators, added Subdiv. (3) re compliance of electronic voting machines with standards adopted by Voting Technology
Standards Board and made technical changes.
Sec. 9-242. Voting machine and direct re:CHY:cording electronic voting machine
construction requirements. (a) A voting machine approved by the Secretary of the
State shall be so constructed as to provide facilities for voting for the candidates of at
least nine different parties or organizations. It shall permit voting in absolute secrecy.
It shall be provided with a lock by means of which any illegal movement of the voting
or registering mechanism is absolutely prevented. Such machine shall be so constructed
that an elector cannot vote for a candidate or on a proposition for whom or on which
he is not lawfully entitled to vote.
(b) It shall be so constructed as to prevent an elector from voting for more than one
person for the same office, except when he is lawfully entitled to vote for more than
one person for that office, and it shall afford him an opportunity to vote for only as many
persons for that office as he is by law entitled to vote for, at the same time preventing
his voting for the same person twice. It shall be so constructed that all votes cast will
be registered or recorded by the machine.
(c) Notwithstanding the provisions of subsection (b) of this section, the Secretary
of the State may approve a voting machine which requires the elector in the polls to
place his ballot into the re:CHY:cording device and which meets the voluntary performance
and test standards for voting systems adopted by (1) the Federal Election Commission
on January 25, 1990, as amended from time to time, or (2) the Election Assistance
Commission pursuant to the Help America Vote Act of 2002, P.L. 107-252, 42 USC
15481-85, as amended from time to time, whichever standards are most current at the
time of the Secretary of the State's approval, and regulations which the Secretary of the
State may adopt in accordance with the provisions of chapter 54, provided the voting
machine shall (A) warn the elector of overvotes, (B) not record overvotes, and (C) not
record more than one vote of an elector for the same person for an office.
(d) Any direct re:CHY:cording electronic voting machine approved by the Secretary of
the State for an election or primary held on or after July 1, 2005, shall be so constructed
as to:
(1) (A) Contemporaneously produce an individual, permanent, paper record containing all of the elector's selections of ballot preferences for candidates and questions
or proposals, if any, prior to the elector's casting a ballot, as set forth in this subsection,
and (B) produce at any time after the close of the polls a voting machine generated,
individual, permanent, paper record of each such elector's selections of ballot preferences for candidates and questions or proposals, if any. Both the contemporaneously
produced paper record and the voting machine generated paper record of each elector's
selections of ballot preferences shall include a voting machine generated unique identifier that can be matched against each other and which preserves the secrecy of the
elector's ballot as set forth in subdivision (4) of this subsection;
(2) Provide each elector with an opportunity to verify that the contemporaneously
produced, individual, permanent, paper record accurately conforms to such elector's
selection of ballot preferences, as reflected on the electronic summary screen, and to
hear, if desired, an audio description of such electronic summary screen, for the purpose
of having an opportunity to make any corrections or changes prior to casting the ballot.
If an elector makes corrections or changes prior to casting the ballot, the voting machine
shall void such contemporaneously produced paper record, contemporaneously produce
another paper record containing such corrections or changes and provide the elector
with another opportunity to verify ballot preferences in accordance with the provisions
of this subdivision. As used in this section, "electronic summary screen" means a screen
generated by a direct re:CHY:cording electronic voting machine that displays a summary of
an elector's selections of ballot preferences for candidates and questions or proposals,
if any, at an election or primary;
(3) Provide that a ballot shall be deemed cast on the voting machine at the time that
an elector's contemporaneously produced, individual, permanent, voter-verified paper
record, containing all of the elector's final selections of ballot preferences, is (A) deposited inside a receptacle designed to store all such paper records produced by such voting
machine on the day of the election or primary, and (B) the elector's selection of ballot
preferences is simultaneously electronically recorded inside the voting machine for the
purpose of (i) being electronically tabulated immediately after the polls are closed on
the day of the election or primary, and (ii) producing, on such other day as required
under section 9-242b, a voting machine generated, individual, permanent, paper record
of each such elector's selections of ballot preferences for candidates and questions or
proposals, if any;
(4) Except as otherwise provided in subdivision (1) of section 9-242b, secure the
secrecy of each such elector's ballot by making it impossible for any other individual
to identify the elector in relationship to such elector's selection of ballot preferences at
the time that the elector (A) selects ballot preferences; (B) verifies the accuracy of
the electronic summary screen by comparing it to the contemporaneously produced,
individual, permanent, paper record or the audio description of such electronic summary
screen, prior to casting a ballot; (C) makes corrections or changes by reselecting ballot
preferences and verifies the accuracy of such preferences in accordance with the provisions of subdivision (2) of this subsection prior to casting a ballot; and (D) casts the
ballot; and at the time that all electors' ballots are canvassed, recanvassed or otherwise
tallied to produce a final count of the vote for candidates and questions or proposals, if
any, whether through the electronic vote tabulation process or through the manual count
process of each elector's contemporaneously produced, individual, permanent, voter-verified paper record, as set forth in section 9-242b; and
(5) (A) Be accessible to blind or visually impaired persons by providing each elector, if desired by the elector, an audio description of the contemporaneously produced
individual, permanent, paper record containing all of the elector's selections of ballot
preferences, in addition to an audio description of the electronic summary screen and
comply with such additional standards of accessibility included in regulations that the
Secretary of the State may adopt in accordance with the provisions of chapter 54.
(B) Notwithstanding the provisions of subparagraph (A) of this subdivision, on or
before June 30, 2007, the Secretary of the State may approve an electronic voting machine that does not comply with the provisions of said subparagraph if (i) the Secretary
determines that there are no electronic voting machines available for purchase or lease
at the time of such approval that are capable of complying with said subparagraph (A),
(ii) the electronic voting machine complies with the provisions of subdivisions (1) to (4),
inclusive, of this subsection, and (iii) the person applying to the Secretary for approval of
the electronic voting machine agrees to include a provision in any contract for the sale
or lease of such voting machines that requires such person, upon notification by the
Secretary that modifications to such machines that would bring the machines into compliance said subparagraph (A) are available, to (I) so modify any electronic voting machines previously sold or leased under such contract in order to comply with said subparagraph (A), and (II) provide that any electronic voting machines sold or leased after
receipt of such notice comply with said subparagraph (A). No voting machine approved
under this subparagraph shall be used on or after July 1, 2007, unless it has been modified
to comply with the provisions of subparagraph (A) of this subdivision.
(1949 Rev., S. 1191; 1953, S. 719d; 1957, P.A. 561, S. 4; 1967, P.A. 893; P.A. 84-319, S. 35, 49; P.A. 87-382, S. 22,
55; P.A. 93-384, S. 17; P.A. 05-188, S. 7; 05-235, S. 29.)
History: 1967 act provided that voting machines be so constructed that an elector, at his option, may vote for an individual
either after operating the straight ticket device or without first operating such device, deleted provision for machines to
have bells connected with straight ticket device so as to ring when such device is operated and deleted provision concerning
capability of adjustment for use in primaries to permit voting for individuals without first operating a straight ticket device;
P.A. 84-319 required approved machines to provide facilities for voting for at least nine parties' candidates, rather than
seven, and eliminated requirement that curtain levers have bell attached; P.A. 87-382 repealed provisions re straight ticket
device; P.A. 93-384 divided existing section into Subsecs., moved requirement that voting machine be provided with a
lock from Subsec. (b) to Subsec. (a) and added Subsec. (c) re approval of machine which requires elector to place ballot
into re:CHY:cording device; P.A. 05-188 amended Subsec. (c) by adding new Subdiv. (2) re compliance with standards adopted
by the Election Assistance Commission pursuant to the Help America Vote Act and making conforming and technical
changes, and added Subsec. (d) re construction requirements for direct re:CHY:cording electronic voting machines, effective
July 1, 2005; P.A. 05-235 amended Subsec. (d)(5)(A) by adding requirement that direct re:CHY:cording electronic voting machines comply with standards of accessibility included in regulations that Secretary of the State may adopt, and amended
Subsec. (d)(5)(B) by applying existing provisions "on or before June 30, 2007," and prohibiting a voting machine approved
under Subsec. (d)(5)(B) from being used on or after July 1, 2007, unless modified to comply with Subsec. (d)(5)(A),
effective July 8, 2005.
Sec. 9-242b. Procedures for use of direct re:CHY:cording electronic voting machines. The following procedures shall apply to any election or primary in which one
or more direct re:CHY:cording electronic voting machines are used:
(1) Any elector who requires assistance by reason of blindness, disability, or inability to read or write shall have the right to request assistance inside the voting booth by
a person of the elector's choice in accordance with 42 USC 1973aa-6, as amended from
time to time, or section 9-264.
(2) A canvass of the votes shall take place inside the polling place immediately
following the close of the polls on the day of the election or primary in accordance
with the requirements of chapter 148. With respect to direct re:CHY:cording electronic voting
machines, any such canvass shall be an electronic vote tabulation of all of the votes
cast on each such voting machine for each candidate and question or proposal, and the
moderator shall attach a printout of such electronic vote tabulation to the tally sheets.
The moderator shall then add together all of the votes recorded on each voting machine
in use at the polling place, whether or not such voting machines were direct re:CHY:cording
electronic voting machines, to produce a cumulative count within the polling place of
all candidates and any questions or proposals appearing on the ballot in the election or
primary. Any member of the public shall have a right to be present in the polling place
to observe the canvass of the votes beginning as soon as the polls are declared closed
by the moderator and continuing throughout the canvass of the votes of each voting
machine until the final canvass of all of the votes cast on all of the voting machines in
use in the polling place are added together for each candidate and question or proposal
and publicly announced and declared by the moderator.
(3) If a recanvass of the votes is required pursuant to chapter 148, the recanvass
officials shall, in addition to the other requirements of said chapter, conduct a manual
tally of the individual, permanent, voter-verified, paper records contemporaneously produced by each direct re:CHY:cording electronic voting machine used within the geographical
jurisdiction that is subject to such recanvass. The manual tally conducted for the recanvass shall be limited to the particular candidates and questions or proposals that are
subject to recanvass. If the manual tabulation of such contemporaneously produced
paper records does not reconcile with the electronic vote tabulation of a particular direct
re:CHY:cording electronic voting machine or machines, such contemporaneously produced
paper records shall be considered the true and correct record of each elector's vote on
such electronic voting machine or machines and shall be used as the official record for
purposes of declaring the official election results or for purposes of any subsequent
recanvass, tally or election contest conducted pursuant to chapters 148 to 153, inclusive.
If any of the contemporaneously produced individual, permanent, voter-verified paper
records are found to have been damaged in such manner as they are unable to be manually
tallied with respect to the ballot positions that are the subject of the recanvass, each such
damaged record shall be matched against the voting machine generated, individual,
permanent, paper record produced by the voting machine bearing the identical machine-generated unique identifier as the damaged record and, in such instance, shall be substituted as the official record for purposes of determining the final election results or for
purposes of any subsequent recanvass, tally or election contest.
(4) Notwithstanding the provisions of section 9-311, the Secretary of the State may
order a discrepancy recanvass under said section of the returns of an election or a primary
for a district office, a state office or the office of elector of President and Vice-President
of the United States, if the Secretary has reason to believe that discrepancies may have
occurred that could affect the outcome of the election or primary. Any such discrepancy
recanvass may be conducted of the returns in any or all voting districts in (A) the district
in which an election or primary is held, in the case of an election or primary for a district
office, or (B) the state, in the case of an election or primary for a state office or the
office of elector of President and Vice-President of the United States or a presidential
preference primary, whichever is applicable. As used in this subdivision, "district office"
and "state office" have the same meanings as provided in section 9-372.
(5) Not later than five business days after each election in which a direct re:CHY:cording
electronic voting machine is used, the registrars of voters or their designees, representing
at least two political parties, shall conduct a manual audit of the votes recorded on at
least (A) two direct re:CHY:cording electronic voting machines used in each assembly district,
or (B) a number of direct re:CHY:cording electronic voting machines equal to fifty per cent
of the number of voting districts in the municipality, whichever is less. Not later than
five business days after a primary in which a direct re:CHY:cording electronic voting machine
is used, the registrar of voters of the party holding the primary shall conduct such a
manual audit by designating two or more individuals, one of whom may be the registrar,
representing at least two candidates in the primary. The machines audited under this
subdivision shall be selected in a random drawing that is announced in advance to the
public and is open to the public. All direct re:CHY:cording electronic voting machines used
within an assembly district shall have an equal chance of being selected for the audit.
The Secretary of the State shall determine and publicly announce the method of conducting the random drawing, before the election. The manual audit shall consist of a manual
tabulation of the contemporaneously produced, individual, permanent, voter-verified,
paper records produced by each voting machine subject to the audit and a comparison
of such count, with respect to all candidates and any questions or proposals appearing
on the ballot, with the electronic vote tabulation reported for such voting machine on
the day of the election or primary. Such audit shall not be required if a recanvass has
been, or will be, conducted on the voting machine. Such manual audit shall be noticed
in advance and be open to public observation. A reconciliation sheet, on a form prescribed by the Secretary of the State, that reports and compares the manual and electronic
vote tabulations of each candidate and question or proposal on each such voting machine,
along with any discrepancies, shall be prepared by the audit officials, signed and forthwith filed with the town clerk of the municipality and the Secretary of the State. If any
contemporaneously produced, individual, permanent, voter-verified, paper record is
found to have been damaged, the same procedures described in subdivision (3) of this
section for substituting such record with the voting machine generated, individual, permanent, paper record produced by the voting machine bearing the identical machine
generated unique identifier as the damaged record shall apply and be utilized by the
audit officials to complete the reconciliation. The reconciliation sheet shall be open to
public inspection and may be used as prima facie evidence of a discrepancy in any
contest arising pursuant to chapter 149. If the audit officials are unable to reconcile the
manual count with the electronic vote tabulation and discrepancies, the Secretary of the
State shall conduct such further investigation of the voting machine malfunction as may
be necessary for the purpose of reviewing whether or not to decertify the voting machine
or machines and may order a recanvass in accordance with the provisions of subdivision
(4) of this section.
(6) The individual, permanent, voter-verified, paper records contemporaneously
produced by any direct re:CHY:cording electronic voting machine in use at an election or
primary held on or after July 1, 2005, shall be carefully preserved and returned in their
designated receptacle in accordance with the requirements of section 9-266, 9-302 or
9-310, whichever is applicable, and may not be opened or destroyed, except during
recanvass or manual audit as set forth in this section, for one hundred eighty days following an election or primary that does not include a federal office, pursuant to section 9-310, or for twenty-two months following an election or primary involving a federal
office, pursuant to 42 USC 1974, as amended from time to time.
(7) Nothing in this section shall preclude any candidate or elector from seeking
additional remedies pursuant to chapter 149.
(8) After an election or primary, any voting machine may be kept locked for a period
longer than that prescribed by sections 9-266, 9-310 and 9-447, if such an extended
period is ordered by either a court of competent jurisdiction or the State Elections Enforcement Commission. Either the court or said commission may order an audit of such
voting machines to be conducted by such persons as the court or said commission may
designate.
(P.A. 05-188, S. 8; 05-235, S. 30.)
History: P.A. 05-188 effective July 1, 2005; P.A. 05-235 amended Subdiv. (5) by inserting Subpara. (A) designator
and adding Subpara. (B) re alternative determination of number of voting machines to be audited, effective July 8, 2005.
Sec. 9-242c. Voting Technology Standards Board. (a) There is established the
Voting Technology Standards Board. The board shall consist of:
(1) The Secretary of the State, or the Secretary's designee;
(2) The executive director of the State Elections Enforcement Commission, or the
executive director's designee;
(3) The chairpersons and ranking members of the joint standing committee of the
General Assembly having cognizance of matters relating to elections;
(4) Two persons who are members of different political parties, appointed by the
president of the Registrars of Voters Association of Connecticut;
(5) Two persons who are members of different political parties, appointed by the
president of the Connecticut Town Clerks Association, Inc.;
(6) A member of the faculty or an employee of The University of Connecticut,
having expertise in computer architecture, appointed by the Governor; and
(7) One person representing a nonpartisan organization for governmental accountability, appointed by the Governor.
(b) All appointments to the Voting Technology Standards Board shall be made not
later than thirty days after July 8, 2005. Any vacancy shall be filled by the appointing
authority. The board shall elect a chairperson and a vice-chairperson from among its
members.
(c) The Voting Technology Standards Board shall adopt standards for electronic
voting technology that will ensure the integrity of the state's voting systems. Said standards shall address: (1) Accuracy; (2) protecting voter anonymity; (3) maintaining secret
ballots, except where a voter requests assistance; (4) preventing a voter from voting
more than once on any ballot question and from casting more votes for any office than
there are persons to be elected to such office; (5) the equivalent of write-in votes; (6)
reliable backup power sources so that a system is not subject to power failures; (7)
handicapped accessibility; (8) simple ballot layout that will not be confusing to voters;
(9) ease of navigation of multiple-screen ballots; (10) enabling voters to check and
correct votes; (11) creating voter-verified paper trails; (12) adequate security precautions
if individual voting systems are to be networked or if voting results will be communicated
via the Internet; (13) the need for encryption; (14) adequate protection from computer
viruses; and (15) any other standards necessary to protect the integrity of the voting
systems.
(d) Not later than January 16, 2006, the Voting Technology Standards Board shall
submit a report containing the standards for electronic voting technology adopted under
subsection (c) of this section to the joint standing committee of the General Assembly
having cognizance of matters relating to elections, the Governor and the Secretary of
the State, in accordance with the provisions of section 11-4a. The board shall terminate
on the date that it submits such standards.
(P.A. 05-235, S. 13.)
History: P.A. 05-235 effective July 8, 2005.
Sec. 9-249. Instruction of election officials. (a) Before each election, the municipal clerk, registrars of voters, certified moderator and certified mechanic shall instruct
the election officials. Any provision of the general statutes or of any special act to the
contrary notwithstanding, election officials shall be appointed at least twenty days before
the election except as provided in section 9-229. The clerk, registrars, certified moderator
and certified mechanic shall instruct each election official who is to serve in a voting
district in which a voting machine is to be used in the use of the machine and his duties
in connection therewith, and for the purpose of giving such instruction, such instructors
shall call such meeting or meetings of the election officials as are necessary. Such instructors shall, without delay, file a report in the office of the municipal clerk and with
the Secretary of the State, (1) stating that they have instructed the election officials
named in the report and the time and place where such instruction was given, and (2)
containing a signed statement from each such election official acknowledging that the
official has received such instruction.
(b) The election officials of such voting districts shall attend the elections training
program developed under subdivision (1) of subsection (c) of section 9-192a and any
other meeting or meetings as are called for the purpose of receiving such instructions
concerning their duties as are necessary for the proper conduct of the election.
(c) Each election official who qualifies for and serves in the election shall be paid
not less than one dollar for the time spent in receiving such instruction, in the same
manner and at the same time as the official is paid for the official's services on election day.
(d) No election official shall serve in any election unless the official has received
such instruction and is fully qualified to perform the official's duties in connection with
the election, but this shall not prevent the appointment of an election official to fill a
vacancy in an emergency.
(1949 Rev., S. 1202; 1953, S. 726d; 1957, P.A. 561, S. 11; 1959, P.A. 551; 1963, P.A. 318, S. 3; P.A. 77-245, S. 6;
P.A. 81-467, S. 5, 8; P.A. 05-235, S. 21.)
History: 1959 act placed responsibility for instructing election officials in municipal clerk, registrars, and mechanic
rather than in board of selectmen; 1963 act eliminated the requirement of giving a certificate to qualified election officials
and provided for filing a report re the instructions in the town clerk's office; P.A. 77-245 changed "town clerk" to "municipal
clerk"; P.A. 81-467 added reference to "certified" moderators and mechanics and required that election officials be appointed at least twenty, rather than ten, days before election except as provided in Sec. 9-229; P.A. 05-235 divided section
into subsecs. (a) to (d), amended Subsec. (a) to require instructors to file report with Secretary of the State and to require
that report contain signed statements from election officials acknowledging receipt of instruction, amended Subsec. (b) to
require election officials to attend training program developed under Sec. 9-192a(c)(1), made technical changes in Subsec.
(c) and amended Subsec. (d) by substituting "unless the official" for "at which a voting machine is used unless he" and
making technical changes, effective July 1, 2005.