(a)(1) Except as provided in subsection (b) of this section, application for an absentee ballot shall be made to the clerk of the municipality in which the applicant is eligible to vote or has applied for such eligibility. Any person who assists another person in the completion of an application shall, in the space provided, sign the application and print or type his name, residence address and telephone number. Such signature shall be made under the penalties of false statement in absentee balloting. The municipal clerk shall not invalidate the application solely because it does not contain the name of a person who assisted the applicant in the completion of the application. The municipal clerk shall not distribute with an absentee ballot application any material which promotes the success or defeat of any candidate or referendum question. The municipal clerk shall maintain a log of all absentee ballot applications provided under this subsection, including the name and address of each person to whom applications are provided and the number of applications provided to each such person. Each absentee ballot application provided by the municipal clerk shall be consecutively numbered and be stamped or marked with the name of the municipality issuing the application. The application shall be signed by the applicant under the penalties of false statement in absentee balloting on (A) the form prescribed by the Secretary of the State pursuant to § 9-139a, (B) a form provided by any federal department or agency if applicable pursuant to § 9-153a, or (C) any of the special forms of application prescribed pursuant to § 9-150c, 9-153a, 9-153b, 9-153d, 9-153e, 9-153f or 9-158d, if applicable. Any such absentee ballot applicant who is unable to write may cause the application to be completed by an authorized agent who shall, in the spaces provided for the date and signature, write the date and name of the absentee ballot applicant followed by the word “by” and his own signature. If the ballot is to be mailed to the applicant, the applicant shall list the bona fide personal mailing address of the applicant in the appropriate space on the application.

(2) A municipal clerk may transmit an application to a person under this subsection by facsimile machine or other electronic means, if so requested by the applicant. If a municipal clerk has a facsimile machine or other electronic means, an applicant may return a completed application to the clerk by such a machine or device, provided the applicant shall also mail the original of the completed application to the clerk, either separately or with the absentee ballot that is issued to the applicant. If the clerk does not receive such original application by the close of the polls on the day of the election, primary or referendum, the absentee ballot shall not be counted.

(b) On and after July 1, 2021:

(1) Application for an absentee ballot may also be made to the Secretary of the State through an online system established and maintained by the Secretary for such purpose if an applicant’s signature is in a database described in subsection (b) of § 9-19k, or the system described in § 9-4c, and such signature may be imported into such online application system.

(2) In order for an application for an absentee ballot to be submitted through the online system described in subdivision (1) of this subsection, the applicant’s signature shall be obtained from a database described in subsection (b) of § 9-19k, or the system described in § 9-4c, and the applicant shall, on an online form prescribed by the Secretary, (A) type his or her name, (B) indicate the municipality in which such applicant is eligible to vote or has applied for such eligibility, and (C) mark a box associated with the following statement:

“By clicking on the box below, I swear or affirm all of the following under penalty of false statement in absentee balloting:

1. I am the person whose name is provided on this form, and I desire to apply for an absentee ballot.

2. I am eligible to vote in the municipality provided on this form or have applied for such eligibility.

3. I authorize the Department of Motor Vehicles or other Connecticut state agency to transmit to the Connecticut Secretary of the State my signature that is on file with such agency and understand that such signature will be used by the Secretary on this online application for an absentee ballot as if I had signed this form personally.”

(3) Not later than twenty-four hours after receipt of any submitted application for an absentee ballot through the online system described in subdivision (1) of this subsection, the Secretary shall transmit such application to the clerk of the municipality indicated in such application.

(c) The municipal clerk shall check the name of each absentee ballot applicant against the last-completed registry list and any updated registry lists on file in the municipal clerk’s office. If the name of such applicant does not appear on any of such lists, the clerk shall send such applicant a notice, in a form prescribed by the Secretary of the State, to the effect that (1) the applicant’s name did not appear on the list of electors of the municipality at the time the application was processed, and (2) unless the applicant is admitted or restored as an elector of the municipality by the applicable cutoff dates an absentee ballot will not be mailed to him. Such notice shall not be so mailed if, prior to the mailing of the notice, the registrars provide the clerk with reliable information showing the absentee ballot applicant to be an elector of the municipality.

(d) An absentee voting set shall consist of an absentee ballot, inner and outer envelopes for its return, instructions for its use, and if applicable, explanatory texts concerning ballot questions, as provided for in sections 2-30a and 9-369b. No other material shall be included with an absentee voting set issued to an applicant except as provided in sections 9-153e and 9-153f or where necessary to correct an error or omission as provided in § 9-153c.

(e) Upon receipt of an application, the municipal clerk shall, unless a notice is mailed to the applicant pursuant to subsection (c) of this section, write the serial number of the outer envelope included in the absentee voting set to be issued to the applicant in the space provided for that purpose on the application form. Sets shall be issued to applicants in consecutive ascending numerical order of the envelope serial numbers, and the clerk shall keep a list of the numbers indicating beside each number the name of the applicant to whom that set was issued. The list shall be preserved as a public record as required by § 9-150b.

(f) Absentee voting sets shall be issued beginning on the thirty-first day before an election and the twenty-first day before a primary or, if such day is a Saturday, Sunday or legal holiday, beginning on the next preceding business day.

(g) (1) On the first day of issuance of absentee voting sets the municipal clerk shall mail an absentee voting set to each applicant whose application was received by the clerk prior to that day. When the clerk receives an application during the time period in which absentee voting sets are to be issued he shall mail an absentee voting set to the applicant, within twenty-four hours, unless the applicant submits his application in person at the office of the clerk and asks to be given his absentee voting set immediately, in which case the clerk shall comply with the request. Any absentee voting set to be mailed to an applicant shall be mailed to the bona fide personal mailing address shown on the application. Issuance of absentee voting sets shall also be subject to the provisions of subsection (c) of this section, § 9-150c and § 9-159q concerning persons designated to deliver or return ballots in cases involving unforeseen illness or disability and supervised voting at certain health care institutions.

(2) Notwithstanding the provisions of subdivision (1) of this subsection, for the state election in 2020, and any election, primary or referendum held on or after June 23, 2021, but prior to November 3, 2021, each absentee voting set required to be mailed to an applicant under said subdivision (A) shall be mailed by the municipal clerk within forty-eight hours after the application for such absentee voting set is received by the clerk, or (B) may be mailed by a third-party mailing vendor approved and selected by the Secretary of the State for use by the municipal clerk for such purpose, provided any contract between the Secretary of the State and any such vendor shall require that such vendor mail each absentee voting set within seventy-two hours after the application for such absentee voting set is received by such vendor from the clerk.

(h) No absentee ballot shall be issued on the day of an election or primary, or after the opening of the polls on the day of a referendum, except in cases involving unforeseen illness or disability or presidential or overseas ballots as provided in § 9-150c and sections 9-158a to 9-158m, inclusive.

(i) The municipal clerk shall file executed applications in alphabetical order according to the applicants’ surnames. Such applications shall be preserved as a public record as required by § 9-150b.

(j) No person shall pay or give any compensation to another and no person shall accept any compensation solely for (1) distributing absentee ballot applications obtained from a municipal clerk or the Secretary of the State or (2) assisting any person in the execution of an absentee ballot.

(k) (1) A person shall register with the town clerk before distributing five or more absentee ballot applications for an election, primary or referendum, not including applications distributed to such person’s immediate family. Such requirement shall not apply to a person who is the designee of an applicant.

(2) Any person who distributes absentee ballot applications shall maintain a list of the names and addresses of prospective absentee ballot applicants who receive such applications, and shall file such list with the town clerk prior to the date of the primary, election or referendum for which the applications were so distributed. Any person who distributes absentee ballot applications and receives an executed application shall forthwith file the application with the town clerk.

(l) No candidate, party or political committee, or agent of such candidate or committee shall mail unsolicited applications for absentee ballots to any person, unless such mailing includes: (1) A written explanation of the eligibility requirements for voting by absentee ballot as prescribed in subsection (a) of § 9-135, and (2) a written warning that voting or attempting to vote by absentee ballot without meeting one or more of such eligibility requirements subjects the elector or applicant to potential civil and criminal penalties. As used in this subsection, “agent” means any person authorized to act on behalf of another person.

(m) The Secretary of the State shall conspicuously post on the Secretary of the State’s web site, adjacent to the absentee ballot application form available for downloading, a notice that the application may be downloaded by a person only for (1) the person’s own use, (2) the use of a member of the person’s immediate family, or (3) the use of a designee of the applicant. The notice shall also contain an advisory statement concerning the requirements of subsection (k) of this section.

(n) The State Elections Enforcement Commission, in consultation with the Secretary of the State, shall prepare a summary of the requirements and prohibitions of the absentee voting laws, which shall be posted on said agencies’ web sites. Candidates and political party chairpersons shall provide such summary to campaign and party employees and volunteers.

(o) As used in this section, (1) “immediate family” has the same meaning as provided in subsection (a) of § 9-140b, and (2) “designee” has the same meaning as provided in subsection (b) of § 9-140b.