Connecticut General Statutes 9-159s – Notice to conservators and guardians re residents’ voting opportunities and voting registration. Optional notice to person with power of attorney
(a) The administrator of an institution, as defined in subsection (a) of § 9-159q, a residential facility for persons with intellectual disability licensed pursuant to § 17a-227, or a community residence, as defined in § 19a-507a, shall use his or her best efforts to provide written notice pursuant to subsection (b) of this section to any conservator or guardian appointed to manage the affairs of a resident of such institution, facility or residence pursuant to sections 45a-644 to 45a-663, inclusive, or sections 45a-669 to 45a-683, inclusive, at least seven days prior to the date any voter registration or voting opportunity is presented to the resident with respect to a primary, referendum or election. As used in this section, “voter registration” or “voting opportunity” includes, but is not limited to, the solicitation or completion of: (1) An application for admission as an elector; or (2) an absentee ballot, regardless of whether supervised absentee ballot voting will take place at such institution. The administrator of such institution, facility or residence shall also use his or her best efforts to provide written notice to any such conservator or guardian at least seven days prior to the date when the resident may be brought to a polling place to vote in person. The notification provisions of this section shall not apply when a member of the resident’s immediate family provides the resident with an absentee ballot application or brings the resident to a polling place to vote.
Terms Used In Connecticut General Statutes 9-159s
- 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
- Elector: means any person possessing the qualifications prescribed by the Constitution and duly admitted to, and entitled to exercise, the privileges of an elector in a town. See Connecticut General Statutes 9-1
- Guardian: A person legally empowered and charged with the duty of taking care of and managing the property of another person who because of age, intellect, or health, is incapable of managing his (her) own affairs.
- intellectual disability: means a significant limitation in intellectual functioning existing concurrently with deficits in adaptive behavior that originated during the developmental period before eighteen years of age. See Connecticut General Statutes 1-1g
- Power of attorney: A written instrument which authorizes one person to act as another's agent or attorney. The power of attorney may be for a definite, specific act, or it may be general in nature. The terms of the written power of attorney may specify when it will expire. If not, the power of attorney usually expires when the person granting it dies. Source: OCC
- Probate: Proving a will
- Referendum: means (1) a question or proposal which is submitted to a vote of the electors or voters of a municipality at any regular or special state or municipal election, as defined in this section, (2) a question or proposal which is submitted to a vote of the electors or voters, as the case may be, of a municipality at a meeting of such electors or voters, which meeting is not an election, as defined in subsection (d) of this section, and is not a town meeting, or (3) a question or proposal which is submitted to a vote of the electors or voters, as the case may be, of a municipality at a meeting of such electors or voters pursuant to §. See Connecticut General Statutes 9-1
- Registrars: means the registrars of voters of the municipality. See Connecticut General Statutes 9-1
- Voter: means a person qualified to vote at town and district meetings under the provisions of §. See Connecticut General Statutes 9-1
- Voters: means those persons qualified to vote under the provisions of §. See Connecticut General Statutes 1-1
(b) Any such notice shall indicate that the resident is entitled to vote or register to vote unless the resident is determined incompetent to do so by a probate court, or unless the registrars of voters or their designees jointly conclude at a supervised voting session that the resident declines to vote the ballot or they are unable to determine how the resident desires to vote the ballot, as provided in subsection (g) of § 9-159q. The notice shall also specify that a resident who requires assistance to vote in accordance with § 9-264 by reason of blindness, disability or inability to read or write may receive assistance from a person of the resident’s choosing.
(c) The administrator of any such institution, facility or residence may also provide such notice to a person with a power of attorney for a resident of the institution, facility or residence.