Connecticut General Statutes 9-159r – Mandatory supervised absentee voting at institutions. Procedure. Exception for certain elections, primaries and referenda held in 2020 and 2021
(a) Notwithstanding any provision of the general statutes to the contrary, if twenty or more of the patients in any institution in the state are electors, absentee ballots voted by such electors shall be voted under the supervision of the registrars of voters or their designees of the town in which the institution is located, in accordance with the provisions of this section. As used in this section, “institution” has the same meaning as provided in § 9-159q.
Terms Used In Connecticut General Statutes 9-159r
- Ballot: means paper or other material containing the names of the candidates or a statement of a proposed constitutional amendment or other question or proposition to be voted on. See Connecticut General Statutes 9-1
- Election: means any electors' meeting at which the electors choose public officials by use of voting tabulators or by paper ballots as provided in §. See Connecticut General Statutes 9-1
- Municipality: means any city, borough or town within the state. See Connecticut General Statutes 9-1
- Registrars: means the registrars of voters of the municipality. See Connecticut General Statutes 9-1
- State election: means the election held in the state on the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November in the even-numbered years in accordance with the provisions of the Constitution of Connecticut. See Connecticut General Statutes 9-1
- Voters: means those persons qualified to vote under the provisions of §. See Connecticut General Statutes 1-1
(b) Application for an absentee ballot for any such patient shall be made to the clerk of the town in which such patient is eligible to vote. The application procedure set forth in § 9-140 shall apply, except that the clerk shall deliver the absentee voting set for any such application to the clerk of the town in which the institution is located, who shall deliver all such voting sets he receives to the registrars of such town, on the date when the supervision of absentee balloting is to occur. The ballots and envelopes shall be prepared for delivery to the applicant as provided in sections 9-137 to 9-140a, inclusive. The registrars or their designees shall furnish the town clerk a written receipt for such ballots. The registrars of the town in which an institution is located and the administrator of the institution shall mutually agree on a date and time for such supervision of absentee balloting, which shall be not later than the last business day before the election or primary.
(c) The supervision of absentee balloting under this section shall be carried out in accordance with the provisions of subsections (g), (h), (i) and (k) of § 9-159q.
(d) Notwithstanding the provisions of subsections (a) to (c), inclusive, of this section, for the state election in 2020, and any election or primary held on or after June 23, 2021, but prior to November 3, 2021, the Secretary of the State may waive any requirement under said subsections, provided the Secretary (1) waives such requirement in recognition of the public health and civil preparedness emergency declared by the Governor on March 10, 2020, and has consulted with the Commissioner of Public Health or said commissioner’s designee regarding such waiver, (2) has given written notice to the town clerk and registrars of voters in each municipality, and (3) has submitted a report, in accordance with § 11-4a, to the joint standing committee of the General Assembly having cognizance of matters relating to elections advising of such waiver and specifying alternative actions to be taken to provide opportunities for absentee voting by electors described in this section.