AN ACT CONCERNING CERTAIN REVISIONS TO ELECTIONS RELATED STATUTES.

This bill makes changes affecting voter registry lists, the conduct of elections, voting equipment, election officials, and post-election procedures. It eliminates most obsolete processing deadlines and duplication requirements for voter registry lists

Concerning the conduct of elections, the bill, among other things (1) extends the use of provisional ballots to state and municipal elections and primaries and eliminates challenged ballots, (2) allows active duty members of the military to apply for absentee ballots in January of an election year, (3) expands the use of paper ballots when voting tabulators are not used, and (4) codifies existing regulations that protect voter privacy at the polling place.

With respect to election officials, the bill (1) expands the secretary of the state's authority regarding the storage and audit of voting tabulators, (2) establishes four-year terms of office for registrars of voters, and (3) removes several election-related duties from town clerks and transfers them to registrars of voters, among other things.

It also establishes a deadline by which town clerks must file a notice of a primary for municipal office candidates and town committee members. They must do so within three days of receiving the notice from the registrars (§ 30). It eliminates the requirement that town clerks submit to the secretary of the state a list of offices that will be filled at regular state elections, but retains the requirement for municipal elections (§ 24).

The bill makes changes affecting recanvass and audit procedures, including specifying that a district that is subject to a recanvass may not also be subject to an audit. It limits to three the number of districts per municipality that may be selected in the random drawing and included in the audit.

The bill makes several technical changes to reflect the change from lever voting machines to optical scan voting tabulators. Primarily, it changes “machine” to “tabulator” and “ballot labels” to “ballots. ” It eliminates obsolete references to “voting tabulator technicians” and “machine mechanics” (see BACKGROUND). It deletes references specific to the characteristics of the lever voting machine. For example, it eliminates references to pointers and counters, a requirement for voters with disabilities to be provided a paper ballot when the lever machine cannot be adjusted to allow the voters to reach all necessary parts, and a requirement for moderators to place duplicate certificates of voter checklists in the voting machine.

The bill also deletes statutes rendered obsolete by the change in voting technology.

Lastly, it makes a technical change by eliminating the obsolete Voting Technology Standards Board, which was established to develop standards for electronic voting systems used in this state, and a requirement for the secretary of the state to comply with the standards adopted by the board when determining whether to approve an electronic voting machine for use in this state. Instead, the bill requires the secretary to comply with applicable standards for electronic voting tabulators. The board was required to terminate after submitting a report on voting standards to the Government Administration and Elections Committee, governor, and secretary of the state. The report was due by January 16, 2006.

*House Amendment “A” adds the provisions on paper ballots and the secretary of the state's authority concerning audits, transfers responsibilities from town clerks to registrars of voters, makes technical and conforming changes to reflect the change in the state's voting system, and deletes obsolete statutes, also reflective of this change.

The bill makes several changes affecting the completion, distribution, and retention of the preliminary, final, and supplementary voter registry lists as a result of the centralized voter registration system (CVRS). Primarily, it eliminates most (1) deadlines associated with completing these lists because they are updated on an ongoing basis and (2) printing, copying, and availability and distribution requirements.

1. eliminates the deadline by which the preliminary registry list must be complete and instead requires it to be available to the public in or outside the registrars' office on an ongoing basis;

2. requires the registrars, upon request, to give any candidate, not just one for legislative office, a copy of the preliminary or final list for each voting district in which the candidate is running for office;

3. eliminates the requirement for registrars to notice and hold sessions to correct the preliminary list before primaries and elections, and instead requires them to be available and post their office hours before all elections to make corrections;

4. extends the deadlines by which the registrars must file the final and supplementary (i. e. , updated) lists with town clerks from the second Friday, and three days, respectively, before a regular election, to the preceding day;

5. removes the requirement that the registrars compile a list of changes to the active and inactive registry lists on a monthly basis;

6. requires the registrars to print the complete and corrected enrollment list only upon request, rather than requiring them to make several copies; and

7. requires the registrars to maintain each final registry list for two years on paper or electronically.

The bill establishes a firm deadline by which registrars of voters must update the CVRS after each election or primary, indicating whether each eligible voter voted and if so, whether in person or by absentee ballot. Under the bill, they must do so no later than 60 days after the election or primary rather than “promptly” afterward, as they must under current law.

The bill amends the process for restoring an elector's name to the voter registry list. In most cases it requires (1) electors to submit a voter registration card, rather than a written request, to restore their names and (2) registrars to restore omitted names to the supplementary, rather than the active, list.

By law, the registrars of voters must restore the name of a voter that has been omitted to the active list if the omission results from clerical error. Under current law, they must also restore the name to the active list if:

1. it appears the elector was formerly on the active registry list or registered in the town and the individual submits a written request, signed under penalty of false statement, stating he or she is eligible to vote in that town or

2. on Election Day, an elector whose name appears on the inactive list submits a written request, signed under penalty of false statement, stating he or she is still a bona fide town resident.

Under the bill, the registrars must restore the name to the supplemental list when the omission does not appear to be clerical in nature or when the name is on the inactive list. In those cases, the elector must submit a new voter registration application.

The law, unchanged by the bill, gives registrars the option to restore a name to the active registry on Election Day if both registrars consent.

The bill (1) authorizes provisional ballots for use in state and municipal elections and primaries under the same circumstances as they are currently authorized for use in federal elections and primaries (2) requires them in place of challenged ballots.

By law, the secretary of the state prescribes the provisional ballot format. The bill authorizes these ballots to have the same format as absentee (i. e. , regular) rather than overseas ballots. It eliminates the requirement for the secretary to provide them to towns. Under the bill, towns print provisional ballots as they currently print regular and absentee ballots.

The bill allows an individual to apply for and receive a provisional ballot to vote for candidates for state or municipal office when he or she:

1. appears at the polling place claiming to be eligible to vote but his or her name does not appear on the official registry list and the registrars determine that it cannot be immediately restored or transferred from another polling place,

2. is the subject of a challenge and the moderator decides he or she is not eligible to vote, or

3. registered by mail without the necessary identification and appears at a polling place or applies for an absentee ballot for the first time after registering without proper identification.

The bill eliminates challenged ballots, and the procedures for casting and counting them, replacing them with provisional ballots. However, it maintains the right of (1) individuals to challenge voters and (2) challenged voters to request a ballot and vote.

Instructions. Current law requires the secretary to prescribe, and town clerks to provide, certain information for polling places during an election for federal office. The bill transfers the clerks' responsibility to the registrars of voters and covers primaries and elections for municipal and state offices. The information must include instructions on how to cast a provisional ballot, as well as instructions for mail-in registrants and first-time voters and information concerning voting rights.

Counting Procedure. The bill removes the registrars' option to count absentee ballots several times throughout the day of a primary, election, or referendum. To reflect the switch to the new optical scan voting machines, it instead provides that they be counted once after the polls close, at a time the registrars designate, and according to the procedure the law specifies. Registrars may nonetheless check absentee ballots (by making a notation on the official checklist used at the primary, election, or referendum) at various times throughout the day.

Military Voters. The bill allows certain members of the military and their families to apply for blank absentee ballots earlier than they may currently do so. Blank absentee ballots show only the contested offices and voters fill in the name of the candidates they vote for. It requires town clerks to make absentee blank ballots available on the first business day in January of an election year to armed forces members (i. e. , those in active service) and their dependent family members living with them. Under current law, the blank ballots are available 90 days before the election.

The bill expands the use of paper ballots when voting tabulators are not used. Under the bill, these ballots (which are different from those used with voting tabulators) may be used when the number of candidates to be voted on, an insufficient number of tabulators, or some other reason makes the use of tabulators impractical at an election, primary, or referendum. Under current law, paper ballots (1) may be used only at a general election for the above-stated reasons, (2) may not be used at a primary, and (3) may be used at a referendum only if there is insufficient space for the question on the voting machine. The bill requires that the procedure for securing and counting paper ballots comply as nearly as possible with the procedure for counting absentee ballots. It eliminates obsolete provisions under current law on formatting, handling, storing, casting, and counting paper ballots. It also eliminates the penalties for violations.

When a candidate is cross-endorsed in a race where political parties may make more than one nomination for the same office (e. g. , a board of education), the bill eliminates a requirement that the candidate's name appear in the same column for each party. The law, unchanged by the bill, requires registrars of voters to determine by lot the order of names as they will appear on the ballot. Under the bill, when a candidate is cross-endorsed, the order of his or her name on each party row is determined by lot.

The bill eliminates the requirement that ballots be printed in black ink and on clear white material (i. e. , paper) (see BACKGROUND). It requires town clerks to consult with the registrars of voters when they print ballots for use in a primary or election.

The bill authorizes write-in votes for candidates running in an election when political parties can nominate more than one candidate for a particular office. Current law prohibits write-in votes for these major and minor party candidates and petitioning candidates under all circumstances. The bill allows write-ins to be counted and recorded if it can be determined to whom they should be attributed.

The bill makes several changes based on the new voting equipment, including requiring registrars to furnish voting booths, rather than lever voting machines, based on the number of electors in the district. Specifically, for a primary they must provide one voting booth for every 500 electors (or fraction thereof), rather than one voting machine for every 2,400 electors (or fraction thereof).

The bill prohibits business entities of which candidates are members from having contact with voting tabulators. Specifically, it prohibits them from transporting, preparing, repairing, or maintaining a tabulator.

It also requires that a demonstrator device, rather than a spare machine, be available in each polling place for instructing electors on the proper way to cast their vote.

The bill specifies that the secretary of the state, or her designee, must be allowed access to each polling place during a municipal, state, or federal election or primary to review it for compliance with state and federal law. If the secretary is a candidate in that election, only her designee must be allowed access.

The bill requires the registrars to notify the secretary of the state no later than 31 days before each municipal, state, or federal election or primary of the polling places that the town will use. The notice must provide the name, address, and corresponding federal, state, and municipal districts associated with each polling place.

The bill codifies several voter privacy arrangements currently in regulation. To prevent anyone from seeing how an elector is voting, the bill requires registrars of voters to ensure that:

1. voting booths are in plain view of all election officials and electors, with at least three feet between booths, and situated so that no person outside the booth can determine how someone is voting;

2. voting tabulators are at least (a) three feet from any wall, partition, or guardrail and (b) four feet from the checkers' table;

3. a guardrail or other marking device surrounds the tabulator from a distance of at least three feet; and

4. each ballot clerk (a) offers each elector a privacy sleeve into which he or she can insert his or her ballot or (b) places a privacy sleeve into each voting booth.

This bill gives the secretary of the state the same powers as the State Elections Enforcement Commission (SEEC) and court regarding the storage and audit of voting tabulators. By law, SEEC and courts may order tabulators locked for longer than the required statutory periods (i. e. , 14 days after a primary or election and sealed for 180 days after a recount). They may also order that tabulators be audited and designate the auditors.

The bill changes the required number of primary day poll workers. It gives the registrar of voters discretion to appoint one or two official checkers, instead of requiring two, and gives them the same authority concerning ballot clerks. They already have this discretion with respect to general elections.

The bill establishes four-year terms of office for all registrars of voters. Under the bill, the office will be on the ballot at the November 2012 presidential election, and every four years thereafter. Registrars who are in office on January 3, 2011 will serve only until January 7, 2013, regardless of whether they work in a town that currently has two- or four-year terms.

The bill eliminates a requirement that registrars who are at the polling place during polling hours (1) be available by telephone and notify all registrars of voters' offices in the state of their phone number, (2) be connected to the CVRS, and (3) have all voter-card files in the polling place for reference. It instead specifies that either the registrars or their designees must be in their office.

The bill requires registrars of voters, instead of town clerks, to prepare and furnish (1) the supplies prepared or approved by the secretary of the state for newly purchased or leased tabulators that will be used at an election and (2) blank tally and moderator's return forms to election officials.

The bill establishes earlier deadlines for certain procedures associated with the petitioning process. Specifically, it requires:

1. nominating petitions to be filed with the appropriate town clerk or the secretary of the state by 4: 00 p. m. on the 110^th, rather than the 90^th, day before a regular election and

2. party endorsements for candidates petitioning under a minor party or reserved party designation to be filed with the secretary of the state by 4: 00 p. m. on the 62^nd, rather than the 55^th, day before the election.

The bill changes the period of time during which political parties may fill vacancies for nominated candidates before an election. Under current law, a primary may be held if a candidate dies, withdraws, or becomes disqualified to hold office 25 days or more before the election. The bill extends this period to 39 days before an election. The bill requires vacancy nominations to be certified with the secretary of the state or town clerk by the 35^th, rather than the 21^st, day before the election. The law requires state and district office candidates, including all candidates for state senator or state representative, to file with the secretary of the state. Other municipal office candidates file with their town clerk. The bill specifies that candidates for judge of probate file with the secretary of the state.

The bill removes the authority of parties to fill vacancies that occur because a candidate dies between 24 days and 24 hours before an election. It instead prohibits parties from filling a vacancy that occurs within 38 days before the election because a nominee has died. The bill does not specify what happens when a candidate withdraws or becomes disqualified within this period.

By law, election officials must recanvass an election when there is a discrepancy, close vote, or tie vote. After each election and primary, the registrars of voters must randomly select districts to audit manually.

The bill establishes a deadline by which moderators notify the secretary of the state of a recanvass. It requires them to do so no later than 24 hours after determining one is needed. It transfers most responsibilities town clerks have with respect to a recanvass to the registrars of voters, including maintaining possession of the voting tabulator keys. It also allows the moderator to use as many other recanvass officials as necessary, other than the checkers, absentee ballot counters, and registrars who serve under current law.

By law, registrars of voters must conduct a manual audit of at least 10% of the voting districts in the state, district, or municipality, whichever is applicable, selected through a random drawing. The registrars must give advance notice of the audit, which must be open to the public.

Exemption. The bill exempts a voting district from the manual audit if it also has an office that is subject to a recanvass, as long as the recanvass is conducted manually. It also exempts such a district from any expanded audit. An expanded audit occurs when (1) the University of Connecticut (UConn) reports that a system failed to record votes accurately and in the manner provided by law or (2) the registrars are unable to reconcile any discrepancies between their manual count and the electronic tabulation.

Deadline. The bill changes the deadline for conducting a manual audit, making it the same for every federal, state, and municipal election and primary. The bill requires the registrars to conduct each audit no later than 10 business days after the election or primary.

Under current law, they conduct the audit between the 15^th day after the election or primary and two days before the deadline for the canvass of votes, which differs by office as Table 1 shows.

Process. The bill limits to three the number of districts per municipality that may be selected in the random drawing and included in the audit. Under current law, there is no limit.

For federal and state elections, the bill authorizes the secretary of the state to audit additional offices. Under current law, the elective offices subject to the audit in the selected districts are:

1. in a presidential or gubernatorial election, all offices required to be audited by federal law, plus one additional office selected in a random drawing by the secretary of the state, but in no case fewer than three offices and

2. in a primary election, all offices required to be audited by federal law, plus one additional office, if any, but at least 20% of the offices on the ballot, selected in a random drawing by the town clerk.

Audit Report and Agreement with UConn. The bill specifies that the secretary of the state must have an agreement with UConn, as provided by law, for the state to continue using the university to analyze the audit results (see BACKGROUND).

By law, the registrars must compare their results to those reported by the machine, reporting on the total number of ballots counted, the total votes each candidate for the audited offices received, and the total number of votes broken down by whether the ballot was properly completed. The registrars must file their report with the secretary of the state.

Current law requires the secretary of the state to immediately forward the registrars' reports to UConn for analysis. The university must describe any discrepancies it finds in a written report to the secretary.

Compliance. The bill requires the registrars of voters to comply with any procedures the secretary of the state adopts to ensure the reliability and accuracy of voting tabulators, including those for shipping memory cards to her or her designee for review. If a municipality fails to comply, it may be subject to a full hand count of all the ballots from the election or primary, or required to conduct one, at its own expense. The secretary has the discretion to order a full hand count.

The bill eliminates statutory provisions rendered obsolete by the change in voting technology. For example, it eliminates a requirement for town clerks to notify the secretary of the state of the total number of voters in their town each February. Under prior law, the secretary would use this number to determine the number of voting machines each town needed. Under current regulations (Conn. Agencies Reg. § 9-242a-2), each town must provide a number of voting tabulators sufficient to provide a voting tabulator for each voting district for each primary and election and a sufficient number of spare voting tabulators when more than one party is holding a primary in a polling place.

The bill also eliminates a requirement for registrars of voters to appoint voting machine mechanics to prepare, adjust, and place voting machines that will be used before state elections and primaries and instead requires the registrars to perform “mechanic's” duties, including testing tabulators to ensure that they are prepared for use. The optical scan voting tabulators self-tests before it is used. If a tabulator jams or otherwise malfunctions, the tabulator tender notifies the appropriate election official who replaces it (Conn. Agencies Reg. §§ 9-242a-9 and -16).

The optical scan voting tabulator self-tests before it is used. If a tabulator jams or otherwise malfunctions, the tabulator tender notifies the appropriate election official who replaces it (Conn. Agencies Reg. §§ 9-242a-9 and -16). Voting tabulator technicians, formerly machine mechanics, do not repair the machines and, in practice, several towns do not have the position.

According to the Office of the Secretary of the State, it is the general practice to print regular ballots on white paper and absentee ballots on yellow paper. If there is a mistake on a ballot and it requires reprinting, the reprint will usually be on a different color. In addition, the office sometimes prints demonstration ballots in red ink.

PA 07-194 authorized the secretary of the state to enter into an agreement with UConn or a member of the Connecticut State University System, solely or with others, to develop standards, procedures, and oversight of post-election audits, among other things. The secretary currently has a contract with UConn for this service.

sSB 909, favorably reported by the Government Administration and Elections Committee on March 20, also repeals the Voting Technology Standards Board and updates terms to reflect the new voting technology.

sHB 5825, favorably reported by the Government Administration and Elections Committee on March 25, also authorizes provisional ballots for use in state and municipal elections and primaries under the same circumstances as the law authorizes for their use in federal elections and primaries.

On April 15, the House referred the bill (File 576) to the Judiciary Committee, which reported a substitute on April 21 eliminating a provision in the original bill that allowed Election Day poll workers in single-district towns, like those in multi-district towns, and primary day poll workers in all towns, to be state electors rather than requiring them to be town residents.

*Office*	*Canvass Deadline*	*CGS §*
Federal office	The last Wednesday of November	9-315
Statewide office	Within 30 days of the election	9-318
Legislator and judge of probate	During the month of November	9-319
Municipal office	Within 10 days after the election	9-320