Bill Text: CT SB00938 | 2011 | General Assembly | Introduced
Bill Title: An Act Concerning Technical And Minor Changes To Elections-related Statutes.
Spectrum: Committee Bill
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2011-02-10 - Public Hearing 02/14 [SB00938 Detail]
Download: Connecticut-2011-SB00938-Introduced.html
General Assembly |
Raised Bill No. 938 | ||
January Session, 2011 |
LCO No. 3130 | ||
*03130_______GAE* | |||
Referred to Committee on Government Administration and Elections |
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Introduced by: |
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(GAE) |
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AN ACT CONCERNING TECHNICAL AND MINOR CHANGES TO ELECTIONS-RELATED STATUTES.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Assembly convened:
Section 1. Section 9-1 of the general statutes is repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective from passage):
Except as otherwise provided, the following terms, as used in this title and sections 3-124, 7-5, 7-6, 7-7, 7-17, 7-20, 7-39, 7-157, 7-214, 7-275, 7-295, 7-343, 7-407, 8-1, 8-5, 8-19, 10-219, 11-36, 13a-11, 30-10, 30-11, 45a-18, 45a-19 and 51-95 [shall] have the following meanings:
(a) ["Ballot label"] "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;
(b) "Board for admission of electors" means the board as composed under subsection (a) of section 9-15a;
(c) "Clerical error" means any error in the registry list or enrollment list due to a mistake or an omission on the part of the printer or a mistake or omission made by the registrars or their assistants;
(d) "Election" means any electors' meeting at which the electors choose public officials by use of voting [machines] tabulators or by paper ballots as provided in [sections 9-271 and] section 9-272;
(e) "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;
(f) Repealed by P.A. 77-298, S. 14;
(g) "Municipal clerk" means the clerk of a municipality;
(h) "Municipal election" means the regularly recurring election held in a municipality at which the electors of the municipality choose public officials of such municipality;
(i) "Municipality" means any city, borough or town within the state;
(j) "Official ballot" means the official ballot to be used at an election, or the official [paper] ballot to be used thereat in accordance with the provisions of [sections 9-271 and] section 9-272;
(k) "Population" means the population according to the last-completed United States census;
(l) "Presidential electors" means persons elected to cast their ballots for President and Vice President of the United States;
(m) "Print" means methods of duplication of words by mechanical process, but shall not include typewriting;
(n) "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 section 7-7 or pursuant to charter or special act;
(o) "Regular election" means any state or municipal election;
(p) "Registrars" means the registrars of voters of the municipality;
(q) "Registry list" means the list of electors of any municipality certified by the registrars;
(r) "Special election" means any election not a regular election;
(s) "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;
(t) "State officers" means the Governor, Lieutenant Governor, Secretary of the State, Treasurer, Comptroller and Attorney General;
(u) "Voter" means a person qualified to vote at town and district meetings under the provisions of section 7-6;
(v) "Voting district" means any municipality, or any political subdivision thereof, having not more than one polling place in a regular election;
(w) "Voting tabulator" means a machine, including, but not limited to, a device which operates by electronic means, for the registering and recording of votes cast at elections, primaries and referenda;
(x) "Write-in ballot" means a vote cast for any person whose name does not appear on the official ballot as a candidate for the office for which [his] the person's name is written in;
(y) "The last session for admission of electors prior to an election" means the day which is the seventh day prior to an election.
Sec. 2. Section 9-4 of the general statutes is repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective from passage):
The Secretary of the State, in addition to other duties imposed by law, shall, as such commissioner, (1) advise local election officials in connection with proper methods of conducting elections and referenda as defined in subsection (n) of section 9-1, as amended by this act, and, upon request of a municipal official, matters arising under chapter 99; (2) prepare regulations and instructions for the conduct of elections, as designated by law; (3) provide local election officials with a sufficient number of copies of election laws pamphlets and materials necessary to the conduct of elections; (4) distribute all materials concerning proposed laws or amendments required by law to be submitted to the electors; (5) recommend to local election officials the form of registration cards and blanks; (6) determine, in the manner provided by law, the forms for the preparation of voting [machines] tabulators, for the recording of the vote and the conduct of the election and certification of election returns; (7) prepare the ballot title or statement to be placed on the ballot for any proposed law or amendment to the Constitution to be submitted to the electors of the state; (8) certify to the several boards the form of official ballots for state and municipal offices; (9) provide the form and manner of filing notification of vacancies, nomination and subsequent appointment to fill such vacancies; (10) prescribe, provide and distribute absentee voting forms for use by the municipal clerks; (11) examine and approve nominating petitions filed under section 9-453o; and (12) distribute corrupt practices forms and provide instructions for completing and filing the same.
Sec. 3. Subdivision (1) of subsection (a) of section 9-7b of the general statutes is repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective from passage):
(1) To make investigations on its own initiative or with respect to statements filed with the commission by the Secretary of the State or any town clerk, or upon written complaint under oath by any individual, with respect to alleged violations of any provision of the general statutes relating to any election or referendum, any primary held pursuant to section 9-423, 9-425 or 9-464 or any primary held pursuant to a special act, and to hold hearings when the commission deems necessary to investigate violations of any provisions of the general statutes relating to any such election, primary or referendum, and for the purpose of such hearings the commission may administer oaths, examine witnesses and receive oral and documentary evidence, and shall have the power to subpoena witnesses under procedural rules the commission shall adopt, to compel their attendance and to require the production for examination of any books and papers which the commission deems relevant to any matter under investigation or in question. In connection with its investigation of any alleged violation of any provision of chapter 145, or of any provision of section 9-359 or section 9-359a, the commission shall also have the power to subpoena any municipal clerk and to require the production for examination of any absentee ballot, inner and outer envelope from which any such ballot has been removed, depository envelope containing any such ballot or inner or outer envelope as provided in sections 9-150a and 9-150b, as amended by this act, and any other record, form or document as provided in section 9-150b, as amended by this act, in connection with the election, primary or referendum to which the investigation relates. In case of a refusal to comply with any subpoena issued pursuant to this subsection or to testify with respect to any matter upon which that person may be lawfully interrogated, the superior court for the judicial district of Hartford, on application of the commission, may issue an order requiring such person to comply with such subpoena and to testify; failure to obey any such order of the court may be punished by the court as a contempt thereof. In any matter under investigation which concerns the operation or inspection of or outcome recorded on any voting [machine] tabulator, the commission may issue an order to the municipal clerk to impound such [machine] tabulator until the investigation is completed.
Sec. 4. Subsection (a) of section 9-135a of the general statutes is repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective from passage):
(a) Each absentee ballot shall be arranged to resemble the appropriate ballot [label] and sample ballot [label] as prescribed by law, and shall include, as applicable, the offices, party designations, names of candidates and questions to be voted upon and spaces for write-in votes. A replica of the state seal shall be printed on the ballot. The size, type, form, instructions, specifications for paper and printing and other specifications shall be prescribed by the Secretary of the State. [The Secretary of the State shall provide a ballot facsimile to each municipal clerk for use in preparing the ballot form.]
Sec. 5. Subsection (a) of section 9-135b of the general statutes is repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective from passage):
(a) Immediately after the deadline for certification of all candidates whose names are to appear on the ballot, [label,] and in sufficient time to begin issuing absentee ballots on the day prescribed by law, the municipal clerk shall prepare the absentee ballots and have them printed.
Sec. 6. Subsections (b) and (c) of section 9-150b of the general statutes are repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective from passage):
(b) If the absentee ballots were counted at the polls, when all counting is complete the moderator shall publicly declare the result of such count as provided in section 9-309, as amended by this act, and add such count to the results from the voting [machines] tabulators recorded on the moderator's return. Such return shall show separately the [machine] tabulator vote and the absentee vote and the totals thereof.
(c) If the absentee ballots were counted at a central location, when all counting is complete the moderator shall publicly declare the result of such count. [He] The moderator shall then deliver to the head moderator the central counting moderator's returns, together with all other information required by law or by the Secretary of the State's instructions. The head moderator shall add the results from the voting [machines] tabulators, recorded on the moderator's return for each polling place, to the absentee count recorded on the central counting moderator's return for the corresponding voting district, in the manner prescribed by the Secretary of the State. The returns so completed shall show separately the [machine] tabulator vote and the absentee vote and the totals thereof.
Sec. 7. Section 9-150d of the general statutes is repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective from passage):
A voting [machine] tabulator approved by the Secretary of the State under section 9-242, as amended by this act, may be used to count absentee ballots in any municipality at an election, primary or referendum, provided the registrars of voters of the municipality approve the use of such [machine] tabulator and the Secretary of the State prescribes specifications for (1) the security, testing, set-up, operation and canvassing of the [machine] tabulator, (2) such absentee ballots, and (3) the training of election officials in the use of the [machine] tabulator.
Sec. 8. Subsections (a) and (b) of section 9-168a of the general statutes are repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective from passage):
(a) Any provision of the general statutes to the contrary notwithstanding, in any municipality in which, at any election, or primary, as a result of the assembly, senatorial or congressional district lines in effect, there is a voting district or a part of a voting district which differs geographically from the district lines as constituted in a municipal election year, the registrars of voters may either provide a suitable polling place therein or may, in lieu thereof, with the approval of the legislative body of the municipality, provide separate voting [machines] tabulators in the polling place of another voting district in [said] such municipality for use by such electors. The registrars of voters shall determine which polling place officials are necessary for such separate [machines] tabulators and shall provide the procedure to ensure that the electors use the proper voting [machine] tabulator, which procedure may include the registrars of voters prescribing and providing receipts.
(b) Any provision of the general statutes to the contrary notwithstanding, in any municipality in which, at any election or primary, as a result of the assembly, senatorial or congressional district lines in effect, there is a voting district with less than one thousand five hundred electors who vote for a combination of officers that no other electors of the town vote for, the registrars of voters may either provide a suitable polling place therein or may, in lieu thereof, provide separate voting [machines] tabulators in the polling place of another voting district in [said] such municipality for use by such electors. If the registrars of voters provide separate voting [machines] tabulators in the polling place of another voting district, they shall determine which polling place officials are necessary for the district containing less than one thousand five hundred electors and shall provide the procedure to ensure that the electors use the proper voting [machines] tabulator, which procedure may include the registrars of voters prescribing and providing receipts.
Sec. 9. Section 9-188 of the general statutes is repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective from passage):
Unless otherwise provided by law each town shall, at its regular municipal election, elect a first selectman, who shall be town agent unless otherwise provided by law, and two other selectmen or, in the case of any town having a population of ten thousand or more, not more than six other selectmen. The selectmen so elected shall constitute the board of selectmen for such town. Unless otherwise provided by special act, charter or ordinance the votes cast, including any valid write-in votes, for an unsuccessful candidate for first selectman shall be counted as votes for him as a member of such board, provided no elector may be a candidate for both the office of first selectman and that of selectman by virtue of nomination by a major or minor party or a nominating petition or registration of write-in candidacy, or any combination thereof. The provisions of section 9-167a shall apply to the election of selectmen, except that when the total membership of such board is five, the maximum number who may be members of the same political party shall be three, and provided that for the purpose of determining minority representation, the total membership of such board shall be deemed to include the first selectman, unless otherwise provided by special act or charter. Unless otherwise provided by special act, charter or ordinance, an elector shall not vote for more candidates for the office of selectman than a political party can elect pursuant to section 9-167a, provided that the number of such candidates that an elector can vote for shall be deemed to include the first selectman. If the electors fail to elect a first selectman at any election by reason of an equality of votes, such election for the office of first selectman and the election for selectmen shall stand adjourned and such adjourned election shall be held as provided in section 9-332. The [ballot labels] ballots used in such adjourned election shall contain only the names of the candidates for the offices of first selectman and selectman which appeared on the ballot [label] used in the election at which the tie vote resulted for the office of first selectman.
Sec. 10. Section 9-224 of the general statutes is repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective from passage):
If any special election is called to fill a vacancy in any office on the same day as a regular election, the names of the candidates for such office shall be placed on the same [voting machine] ballot as the names of the candidates to be voted for at such regular election, and except as otherwise specifically provided by statute, the provisions of the statutes governing regular elections shall apply to such special election.
Sec. 11. Subsection (b) of section 9-229 of the general statutes is repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective from passage):
(b) The Secretary of the State shall (1) request registrars of voters to volunteer to serve as instructors for moderators and alternate moderators, (2) select registrars from among such volunteers to serve as such instructors, (3) establish a curriculum for instructional sessions for moderators and alternate moderators, (4) establish the number of such instructional sessions, provided at least one such instructional session shall be held in each congressional district in each calendar year, (5) train the instructors for such sessions, and (6) certify moderators and alternate moderators. The curriculum for such instructional sessions shall include, without limitation, procedures for counting and recording absentee ballots, "hands on" training in the use of voting [machines] tabulators, and the duties of a moderator in the conduct of a primary and election. The secretary may employ assistants on a temporary basis within existing budgetary resources for the purpose of implementing the provisions of this section. Such assistants shall not be subject to the provisions of chapter 67. The instructors shall conduct instructional sessions for moderators and alternate moderators in accordance with their training by the Secretary of the State and the curriculum for such sessions. Any elector may attend one or more of such instructional sessions. Each instructor shall provide the Secretary of the State with the name and address of each person who completes such a session.
Sec. 12. Section 9-234 of the general statutes is repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective from passage):
Each registrar shall be present during the taking of the vote at any regular or special state or municipal election in [his] the registrar's town or district. The assistants in their respective districts shall, when requested by either registrar, be present at the taking of any such vote and discharge the duties of registrars. Each registrar shall appoint some suitable person to check the list in each district, unless the municipality has established two shifts for election officials under the provisions of section 9-258a, in which case each such registrar shall appoint one such person for each district for each shift. Each such person, who is so appointed checker, shall check the name of each elector [thereon] on such list when [he] the elector offers [his] the elector's vote, and no voting [machine] tabulator tender shall permit any vote to be cast upon the voting [machine] tabulator until the name has been so checked.
Sec. 13. Subsection (b) of section 9-235 of the general statutes is repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective from passage):
(b) Except for rows of candidates entitled to unofficial checkers under subsection (a) of this section, each group of three or more electors whose names appear in one single row on the [voting machine] ballot [label] in a voting district, may designate not more than two electors of the town in which the voting district is located, to serve as unofficial checkers on behalf of the candidates whose names appear in such row. Such candidates shall submit a list of the names of such designees to the registrars of voters at least forty-eight hours prior to the election. The registrars shall verify that each such designee is an elector of the town and shall appoint not more than two such designees to serve each such row of candidates. The registrars shall, at the request of such a group of three or more electors, change such designations at any time before the closing of the polls on the day of an election.
Sec. 14. Section 9-235d of the general statutes is repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective from passage):
(a) Notwithstanding any provision of sections 9-233, 9-235 and 9-258 to the contrary, a United States citizen who is sixteen or seventeen years of age and a bona fide resident of a town may be (1) appointed as a challenger or unofficial checker in an election, or (2) appointed as a checker, translator or voting [machine] tabulator tender in an election after (A) attending poll worker training, and (B) receiving the written permission of a parent, guardian or the principal of the school that the citizen attends if the citizen is a secondary school student and the citizen is to be appointed to work on a day when such school is in session.
(b) Notwithstanding any provision of section 9-436 or 9-436a to the contrary, a United States citizen who is sixteen or seventeen years of age and a bona fide resident of a town or political subdivision holding a primary may be (1) appointed as a challenger or candidate checker in the primary, or (2) appointed as a checker, translator or voting [machine] tabulator tender in a primary after (A) attending poll worker training, and (B) receiving the written permission of a parent, guardian or the principal of the school that the citizen attends if the citizen is a secondary school student and the citizen is to be appointed to work on a day when such school is in session.
Sec. 15. Section 9-236a of the general statutes is repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective from passage):
Any town, on its own initiative or upon a request by the Secretary of the State, and with the approval of the legislative body of the town or, in the case of a town in which the legislative body is a town meeting, the board of selectmen, may require a spare voting [machine] tabulator or ballot box to be provided inside any polling place or in a room adjacent to the polling place, for the educational use of students from kindergarten to grade twelve, inclusive. Upon such approval, the registrars shall establish procedures for the use of the [machine] tabulator or ballot box, including, but not limited to: (1) Location and preparation of the [machine] tabulator or ballot box, (2) duties of [machine] tabulator or ballot box tenders, and (3) canvassing the returns. Any such machine shall be in addition to the demonstrator or spare voting [machine] tabulator required by section 9-260. Ballots completed by students under this section shall be unofficial, and polling place officials shall not be required to handle or count such ballots. Each student who will be using such [machine] tabulator or ballot box inside a polling place or a room adjacent to the polling place shall be accompanied by an adult. The supervisor of such students for the purposes of this section shall submit the names of all adults who will be working with such students to the registrars at least forty-eight hours before the election.
Sec. 16. Section 9-238 of the general statutes is repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective from passage):
(a) Except as provided in [sections 9-271 and] section 9-272, voting [machines] tabulators shall be used at all elections held in any municipality, or in any part thereof, for voting and registering and counting votes cast at such elections for officers, and upon all questions or amendments submitted at such elections. The board of selectmen of each town, the common council of each city and the warden and burgesses of each borough shall purchase or lease, or otherwise provide, for use at elections in each such municipality a number of voting tabulators approved by the Secretary of the State. Different voting tabulators may be provided for different voting districts in the same municipality. Notwithstanding any provision of this subsection to the contrary, the registrars of voters of a municipality may determine the number of voting tabulators that shall be provided for use at any special election in such municipality, provided the registrars shall provide at least one voting tabulator in the municipality or, in a municipality divided into voting districts, at least one voting tabulator in each such district.
(b) Upon the purchase or lease of a voting tabulator for use in any municipality, the officials of such municipality purchasing or leasing the same shall forthwith send notification in writing to the Secretary of the State of the name or make of such tabulator, the name of the person who manufactured the same, the name of the person from whom it was purchased or leased and the date on which it was purchased or leased. No voting tabulator shall be used in an election which, in the opinion of the Secretary of the State, does not conform to the requirements of law, is unsuitable for use in such election or does not comply with the voluntary performance and test standards for voting systems adopted by the Election Assistance Commission pursuant to the Help America Vote Act, P.L. 107-252, 43 USC 15481. When in any municipality the use of a voting tabulator at elections is discontinued because of its age or condition or because it is sold, or for any other reason, such officials shall send written notification to the Secretary of the discontinuance of such tabulator, of the time of and reason for such discontinuance and of the information required in connection with notification of original purchasing or leasing.
Sec. 17. Section 9-238a of the general statutes is repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective from passage):
During the first week of February in each year, the town clerk of each town shall notify the Secretary of the State, on a form provided by said secretary, of the total number of [names on the active registry list and on each enrollment list and the total number of unaffiliated electors, in such town, and of the total number of] voting [machines therein] tabulators in such town and, in towns divided into voting districts, in addition, the same information for each voting district. If the number of [machines] tabulators listed in such notification is less than the number required under section 9-238, as amended by this act, the town clerk shall include in such notification an explanation of the discrepancy. Each such clerk shall also file a duplicate copy of such notification with the officials who are required to provide voting [machines] tabulators in [his] the clerk's municipality under section 9-238, as amended by this act.
Sec. 18. Section 9-239 of the general statutes is repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective from passage):
The fiscal authority in each municipality shall authorize payment of the bill incurred for the purchase or lease or other method of acquisition of an adequate number of voting [machines] tabulators incurred by the officials responsible for providing the same under the provisions of section 9-238, as amended by this act.
Sec. 19. Section 9-240 of the general statutes is repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective from passage):
The board of selectmen in each town, unless otherwise provided by law, shall provide or may authorize the registrars to provide a suitable room or rooms and voting [machine] booths for holding all elections. The interior of the booths shall be secure from outside observation. [Said] Such board shall provide for each polling place, in accordance with the requirements of section 9-238, as amended by this act, one or more voting [machines] tabulators in complete working order, and shall preserve and keep them in repair and have the custody of the voting [machines] tabulators, and the care and custody of the furniture and equipment of the polling place, when not in use at an election.
Sec. 20. Section 9-240a of the general statutes is repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective from passage):
Not more than two hundred ten days nor less than thirty days prior to each regular election for state officers, each voting [machine] tabulator to be used in the next succeeding regular election, including each additional [machines] tabulator required under section 9-238, as amended by this act, shall be examined by the company which manufactured the same or its successor or, with the approval of the Secretary of the State, by persons skilled in the mechanics and operation of [said machines] such tabulator, for the purpose of determining that such [machine] tabulator is in sound operable condition for use in such election. Arrangements for such examination shall be made by the officials responsible for providing voting [machines] tabulators under section 9-238, as amended by this act. The company or person making such examination shall file a report with respect to each [machine] tabulator with the Secretary of the State and with [said] such officials, indicating whether or not such [machine] tabulator is in sound operable condition. When, as a result of any such examination, a [machine] tabulator is found not to be in sound operable condition, [said] such officials shall have such machine repaired, or shall provide a voting [machine] tabulator in sound operable condition to replace the [machine] tabulator found inoperable. The cost for such examination in each town shall be paid by such town. Failure to cause the examination of a voting [machine] tabulator, as herein required, shall not, of itself, prevent the use of such [machine] tabulator in any election.
Sec. 21. Subsection (a) of section 9-241 of the general statutes is repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective from passage):
(a) Any person owning or holding an interest in any voting [machine] tabulator, as defined in subsection (w) of section 9-1, may apply to the Secretary of the State to examine such [machine] tabulator and report on its accuracy and efficiency. The Secretary of the State shall examine the [machine] tabulator and determine whether, in the Secretary's opinion, the kind of [machine] tabulator so examined (1) meets the requirements of section 9-242, as amended by this act, (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] complies with applicable standards for electronic voting tabulators. If the Secretary of the State determines that the [machine] tabulator can be so used, such [machine] tabulator may be adopted for such use. No [machine] tabulator 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] tabulator 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] tabulator company that has had its voting [machine] tabulator approved and that subsequently alters such [machine] tabulator 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] tabulator, or modify the [machine] tabulator 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] tabulators 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] tabulators under this section. No voting [machine] tabulator 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.
Sec. 22. Section 9-242 of the general statutes is repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective from passage):
(a) A voting [machine] tabulator 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] tabulator shall be so constructed that an elector cannot vote for a candidate or on a proposition for whom or on which [he] the elector 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] the elector is lawfully entitled to vote for more than one person for that office, and it shall afford [him] the elector an opportunity to vote for only as many persons for that office as [he] the elector is by law entitled to vote for, at the same time preventing [his] the elector from 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] tabulator which requires the elector in the polls to place [his] the elector's ballot into the recording 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] tabulator 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 recording electronic voting [machine] tabulator 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] tabulator 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] tabulator generated paper record of each elector's selections of ballot preferences shall include a voting [machine] tabulator 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] tabulator 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 recording electronic voting [machine] tabulator 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] tabulator 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] tabulator 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] tabulator 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, as amended by this act, a voting [machine] tabulator 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, as amended by this act, 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, as amended by this act; 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] tabulator that does not comply with the provisions of said subparagraph if (i) the Secretary determines that there are no electronic voting [machines] tabulators 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] tabulator 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] tabulator agrees to include a provision in any contract for the sale or lease of such voting [machines] tabulators that requires such person, upon notification by the Secretary that modifications to such [machines] tabulators that would bring the [machines] tabulators into compliance with said subparagraph (A) are available, to (I) so modify any electronic voting [machines] tabulators previously sold or leased under such contract in order to comply with said subparagraph (A), and (II) provide that any electronic voting [machines] tabulators sold or leased after receipt of such notice comply with said subparagraph (A). No voting [machine] tabulator 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.
Sec. 23. Section 9-242b of the general statutes is repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective from passage):
The following procedures shall apply to any election or primary in which one or more direct recording electronic voting [machines] tabulators 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, as amended by this act.
(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 recording electronic voting [machines] tabulators, any such canvass shall be an electronic vote tabulation of all of the votes cast on each such voting [machine] tabulator 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] tabulator in use at the polling place, whether or not such voting [machines] tabulators were direct recording electronic voting [machines] tabulators, 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] tabulator until the final canvass of all of the votes cast on all of the voting [machines] tabulators 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 recording electronic voting [machine] tabulator 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 recording electronic voting [machine] tabulator or [machines] tabulators, such contemporaneously produced paper records shall be considered the true and correct record of each elector's vote on such electronic voting [machine] tabulator or [machines] tabulators 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] tabulator generated, individual, permanent, paper record produced by the voting [machine] tabulator bearing the identical [machine-generated] tabulator-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 recording electronic voting [machine] tabulator 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 recording electronic voting [machines] tabulators used in each assembly district, or (B) a number of direct recording electronic voting [machines] tabulators 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 recording electronic voting [machine] tabulator 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] tabulators 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 recording electronic voting [machines] tabulators 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] tabulator 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] tabulator 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] tabulator. 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] tabulator, 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] tabulator generated, individual, permanent, paper record produced by the voting [machine] tabulator bearing the identical [machine] tabulator 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] tabulator malfunction as may be necessary for the purpose of reviewing whether or not to decertify the voting [machine] tabulator or [machines] tabulators 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 recording electronic voting [machine] tabulator 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] tabulator may be kept locked for a period longer than that prescribed by sections 9-266, 9-310 and 9-447, as amended by this act, 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] tabulators to be conducted by such persons as the court or said commission may designate.
Sec. 24. Section 9-245 of the general statutes is repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective from passage):
The reports of the [mechanics] registrars of voters, provided for under section 9-246, and the report provided for under subsection (c) of section 9-244, shall be filed with the municipal clerk and shall be kept by the municipal clerk for at least sixty days after the election for which the [machines] tabulators were so prepared.
Sec. 25. Section 9-248 of the general statutes is repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective from passage):
When a voting [machine] tabulator is purchased or leased or otherwise provided for use in any municipality, the Secretary of the State shall prepare or approve samples of the following printed matter and supplies and shall furnish one of each to the officials of such municipality who have so provided such [machine] tabulator in accordance with the provisions of section 9-238, as amended by this act: (1) Directions for testing and preparing the voting [machines] tabulators for the election; (2) one certificate on which the [mechanic] registrars of voters can certify that [he has] they have properly tested and prepared the [machine] tabulator for the election; (3) one certificate on which some person other than the [mechanic] registrars of voters who prepared the [machine] tabulator can certify that the [machine] tabulator has been examined and found to have been properly prepared for the election; (4) one certificate on which can be certified that party watchers have witnessed the testing and preparing of the [machines] tabulators; (5) one certificate that the [machines] tabulators have been delivered to polling places in good order; (6) one card for each polling place, stating the penalty for tampering with or injuring a voting [machine] tabulator; (7) two seals for sealing the [machine] tabulator; [(8) one envelope in which the keys to the machine can be sealed and delivered to the election officials, such envelope to have printed or written thereon the designation and location of the voting district in which the machine is to be used, the number of the machine, the number shown on the protective counter thereof after the machine has been prepared for the election and the number or other designation on such seal as the machine is sealed with, such envelope to have attached to it a detachable receipt for the delivery of the keys to the voting machine to the election officials; (9) one envelope in which the keys to the voting machine can be returned by the election officials after the election; (10) one card stating the name and telephone number and address of the mechanic on the day of the election; and (11)] and (8) a report of an inspection of the [machines] tabulators by the moderator, registrars and checkers, which inspection shall be made before the opening of the polls. The [municipal clerk] registrars of voters shall, for each election, prepare and furnish said supplies for each voting [machine] tabulator, in conformity with said samples. The [municipal clerk] registrars of voters shall also prepare and furnish to the election officials tally and return blanks [containing the names of all candidates for office on the official ballots,] in such manner as may be directed by the Secretary of the State, except that all blanks furnished by said secretary throughout the state shall be uniform in their printing.
Sec. 26. Subsection (a) of section 9-249 of the general statutes is repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective from passage):
(a) Before each election, the registrars of voters [,] and 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, as amended by this act. The registrars [,] and certified moderator [and certified mechanic] shall instruct each election official who is to serve in a voting district in which a voting [machine] tabulator is to be used in the use of the [machine] tabulator and [his] the election official's 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.
Sec. 27. Subsection (a) of section 9-249a of the general statutes is repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective from passage):
(a) The names of the parties shall be arranged on the [machines] ballots in the following order:
(1) The party whose candidate for Governor polled the highest number of votes in the last-preceding election;
(2) Other parties who had candidates for Governor in the last-preceding election, in descending order, according to the number of votes polled for each such candidate;
(3) Minor parties who had no candidate for Governor in the last-preceding election;
(4) Petitioning candidates with party designation whose names are contained in petitions approved pursuant to section 9-453o; and
(5) Petitioning candidates with no party designation whose names are contained in petitions approved pursuant to section 9-453o.
Sec. 28. Subsection (a) of section 9-249b of the general statutes is repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective from passage):
(a) If, after applying the provisions of sections 9-249a, as amended by this act, and 9-453r, as amended by this act, the number of party designations and petitioning candidate rows on the ballot exceeds nine, the Secretary of the State may authorize (1) two or more party designations and petitioning candidates to appear on the same row of the [voting machines] ballot, beginning with the ninth row on the [voting machines] ballot and, if necessary, then moving up one or more rows, (2) that an office take two or more columns on the [voting machines] ballot, and (3) that the party designation, or an abbreviation of it, be repeated on the ballot.
Sec. 29. Section 9-250a of the general statutes is repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective from passage):
When a political party has failed to nominate a candidate for any office for which it is entitled to make such nomination, the space on the ballot [label] in which the name of the party's candidate would appear shall be left blank.
Sec. 30. Section 9-251 of the general statutes is repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective from passage):
In the preparation of [ballot labels] ballots for use at a state election precedence shall be given to the offices to be voted for at such election in the following descending order: Presidential electors, Governor and Lieutenant Governor, United States senator, representative in Congress, state senator, state representative, Secretary of the State, Treasurer, Comptroller, Attorney General and judge of probate. In the preparation of [ballot labels] ballots for use at a municipal election, unless otherwise provided by law, the order of the offices shall be as prescribed by the Secretary of the State, which order, so far as practicable, shall be uniform throughout the state.
Sec. 31. Section 9-255 of the general statutes is repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective from passage):
The board of selectmen or the municipal clerk shall provide for all polling places using voting [machines] tabulators at least three sample [ballot labels which shall be arranged in the form of a diagram showing the entire front of the voting machine as it will appear after the official ballot labels are arranged for voting on election day or that portion thereof which will] ballots that shall contain the offices, party designations, names of candidates, write-in slots and questions to be voted upon. On each such sample ballot [label] shall be printed instructions as to the use of the voting [machine] tabulator, which instructions shall be approved by the Secretary of the State. Such sample [ballot labels] ballots shall be so posted inside the polling place as to be visible to those within the polling place during the whole day of election. At least one of such sample [ballot labels] ballots shall be so posted as to be visible to an elector being instructed on the [demonstrator or spare voting machine] use of the voting tabulator under section 9-260.
Sec. 32. Section 9-256 of the general statutes is repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective from passage):
The clerk of each municipality shall, not less than ten days prior to an election, file with the Secretary of the State a sample ballot [label] identical with those to be provided for each polling place under section 9-255, as amended by this act. The Secretary of the State shall examine the sample ballot [label] required to be filed under this section, and if such sample ballot [label] contains an error, the Secretary of the State shall order the municipal clerk to reprint a corrected sample ballot [label] or to take other such action as the secretary may deem appropriate.
Sec. 33. Section 9-264 of the general statutes is repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective from passage):
[(a)] An elector who requires assistance to vote, by reason of blindness, disability or inability to write or to read the ballot, may be given assistance by a person of the elector's choice, other than (1) the elector's employer, (2) an agent of such employer, or (3) an officer or agent of the elector's union. The person assisting the elector may accompany the elector into the voting [machine] booth. Such person shall register such elector's vote upon the [machine] ballot as such elector directs. Any person accompanying an elector into the voting [machine] booth who deceives any elector in registering [his] the elector's vote under this section or seeks to influence any elector while in the act of voting, or who registers any vote for any elector or on any question other than as requested by such elector, or who gives information to any person as to what person or persons such elector voted for, or how [he] such elector voted on any question, shall be fined not more than one thousand dollars or imprisoned not more than five years or both.
[(b) Paper ballots provided by the municipal clerk to the moderator pursuant to section 9-259 shall be made available for electors with disabilities in polling places in which a voting machine cannot be adjusted to allow all necessary parts to be reached from a chair. Such paper ballots shall be used at the option of the elector with disabilities. The elector shall announce the elector's name to the checkers who shall cross the elector's name off the registry list and add it with the elector's address to the end of the official checklist where it shall be designated "paper ballot for persons with disabilities" or "PBD" and serially numbered. After the elector has so announced the elector's name, the moderator shall deliver to the elector an absentee ballot and a serially-numbered envelope. The elector shall forthwith mark the ballot in the presence of the moderator in such manner that the moderator shall not know how the ballot is marked. The elector shall fold the ballot in the presence of the moderator so as to conceal the markings and deposit and seal it in the serially-numbered envelope. The elector shall deliver the envelope to the moderator who shall place it in a specially-designated depository envelope. The paper ballots thus received shall be counted at the next scheduled absentee ballot count in the same manner as other absentee ballots. Such ballots so counted shall be preserved by placing them in the depository envelopes with the regular absentee ballots, and such serially-numbered envelopes shall be placed in the depository envelopes with the regular absentee ballot envelopes.]
Sec. 34. Section 9-267 of the general statutes is repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective from passage):
If, at any time during the performance of his duties, any moderator, challenger, voting [machine] tabulator tender or checker is, from any cause, found incompetent, the registrars may remove him and appoint a competent person in his stead.
Sec. 35. Section 9-307 of the general statutes is repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective from passage):
Immediately after the polls are closed, the official checkers, appointed under the provisions of section 9-234, as amended by this act, shall make and deliver to the moderator a certificate, in duplicate, stating the whole number of names on the registry list or enrollment list including, if applicable, unaffiliated electors authorized under section 9-431 to vote in the primary, and the number checked as having voted in that election or primary. For the purpose of computing the whole number of names on the registry list, the lists of persons who have applied for presidential or overseas ballots prepared in accordance with section 9-158h shall be included. Thereupon the registrars or assistant registrars, as the case may be, acting at the respective polls, shall write and sign with ink, on the list or lists so used and checked, a certificate of the whole number of names registered thereon eligible to vote in the election or primary and the number checked as having voted in that election or primary, and deposit it in the office of the municipal clerk of their town on or before the following day. The municipal clerk shall carefully preserve the same on file, with the marks on it without alteration, for public inspection, and shall immediately enter a certified copy of such certificate on the town records. Subject to the provisions of section 7-109, the municipal clerk may destroy any voting check list four years after the date upon which it was used. The moderator shall place one of the duplicate certificates which [he] the moderator received from the official checkers [in the voting machine together with] with the voted ballots from the polling place and the moderator's return provided for in sections 9-259 and 9-310 and shall then lock the [machine] tabulator as provided in section 9-310, and [he] the moderator shall deposit the other of such duplicate certificates in the office of the municipal clerk on or before the following day.
Sec. 36. Section 9-308 of the general statutes is repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective from passage):
Immediately on the close of the polls, the election officials shall proceed to canvass the returns as provided in section 9-309, as amended by this act, and shall not stop for any purpose until the canvass is completed. The room in which such canvass is made shall be clearly lighted and such canvass shall be made in plain view of the public. No person or persons, during the canvass, shall close or cause to be closed the main entrance to the room in which such canvass is conducted, in such manner as to prevent ingress or egress thereby, but, during such canvass, no person other than the election officials shall be permitted to be on the side of the guard rail where the voting [machine] tabulator is located.
Sec. 37. Section 9-309 of the general statutes is repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective from passage):
As soon as the polls are closed, the moderator, in the presence of the other election officials, shall immediately lock the voting [machine] tabulator against voting and immediately [open the counting compartments, giving a full view of all the counter numbers to all the election officials present] cause the vote totals for all candidates and questions to be produced. The moderator shall, in the order of the offices as their titles are arranged on the [machine] ballot, read and announce in distinct tones the result as shown, [by the counter numbers,] giving the number indicated [by each counter] and indicating the candidate to whom such [counter] total belongs, and shall read the votes recorded for each office on the [voting machine ballot label] ballot. [He] The moderator shall also, in the same manner, announce the vote on each constitutional amendment, proposition or other question voted on. The vote so announced by the moderator shall be taken down by each checker and recorded on the tally sheets. Each checker shall record the number of votes received for each candidate on the [voting machine ballot label] ballot and also the number received by each person for whom write-in ballots were cast. The [counter compartment of the voting machine] result totals shall remain [open] in full public view until the statement of canvass and all other reports have been fully completed and signed by the moderator, checkers and registrars, or assistant registrars, as the case may be. The result of the votes cast shall be publicly announced by the moderator, who shall read the name of each candidate, with the designating number and letter [of his counter and the machine vote registered on such counter] on the ballot and the absentee vote as furnished the moderator by the absentee ballot counters; also the vote cast for and against each question submitted. While such announcement is being made, ample opportunity shall be given to any person lawfully present to compare the results so announced with the [counter dials of the machine] result totals provided by the tabulator and any necessary corrections shall then and there be made by the moderator, checkers and registrars or assistant registrars, after which the [doors] compartments of the voting [machine] tabulator shall be closed and locked. In canvassing, recording and announcing the result, the election officials shall be guided by any instructions furnished by the Secretary of the State. [If the machine is equipped with a device for printing totals of candidate and question counters, and the device has been made operational at the instruction of both registrars of voters, the doors concealing the counters shall not be opened. The printed record produced by the machine shall be the official return, and the results of the votes as shown thereon shall be proclaimed in the same manner as herein provided and ample opportunity shall be given to any person lawfully present to inspect such printed records. If the moderator finds that the printed record is not clear, the doors concealing the counters shall be opened and counting shall proceed as with a machine which does not have such a device.]
Sec. 38. Section 9-311a of the general statutes is repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective from passage):
For purposes of this section, state, district and municipal offices shall be as defined in section 9-372, as amended by this act, except that the office of presidential elector shall be deemed a state office. Forthwith after a regular or special election for municipal office, or forthwith upon tabulation of the vote for state and district offices by the Secretary of the State, when at any such election the plurality of an elected candidate for an office over the vote for a defeated candidate receiving the next highest number of votes was either (1) less than a vote equivalent to one-half of one per cent of the total number of votes cast for the office but not more than two thousand votes, or (2) less than twenty votes, there shall be a recanvass of the returns of the voting [machine] tabulator or voting [machines] tabulators and absentee ballots used in such election for such office unless such defeated candidate or defeated candidates, as the case may be, for such office file a written statement waiving this right to such canvass with the municipal clerk in the case of a municipal office, or with the Secretary of the State in the case of a state or district office. In the case of state and district offices, the Secretary of the State upon tabulation of the votes for such offices shall notify the town clerks in the state or district, as the case may be, of the state and district offices which qualify for an automatic recanvass and shall also notify each candidate for any such office. When a recanvass is to be held the municipal clerk shall promptly notify the moderator, as defined in section 9-311, who shall proceed forthwith to cause a recanvass of such returns of the office in question in the same manner as is provided in said section 9-311. In addition to the notice required under section 9-311, the moderator shall before such recanvass is made give notice in writing of the time when, and place where, such recanvass is to be made to each candidate for a municipal office which qualifies for an automatic recanvass under this section. Nothing in this section shall preclude the right to judicial proceedings on behalf of a candidate under any provision of chapter 149. For the purposes of this section, "the total number of votes cast for the office" means in the case of multiple openings for the same office, the total number of electors checked as having voted in the state, district, municipality or political subdivision, as the case may be. When a recanvass of the returns for an office for which there are multiple openings is required by the provisions of this section, the returns for all candidates for all openings for the office shall be recanvassed. No one other than a recanvass official shall take part in the recanvass. If any irregularity in the recanvass procedure is noted by a candidate, [he] the candidate shall be permitted to present evidence of such irregularity in any contest relating to the election.
Sec. 39. Section 9-323 of the general statutes is repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective from passage):
Any elector or candidate who claims [that he is] to be aggrieved by any ruling of any election official in connection with any election for presidential electors and for a senator in Congress and for representative in Congress or any of them, held in [his] such elector's or candidate's town, or that there was a mistake in the count of the votes cast at such election for candidates for such electors, senator in Congress and representative in Congress, or any of them, at any voting district in [his] such elector's or candidate's town, or any candidate for such an office who claims [that he is] to be aggrieved by a violation of any provision of section 9-355, 9-357 to 9-361, inclusive, 9-364, 9-364a or 9-365 in the casting of absentee ballots at such election, may bring [his] such elector's or candidate's complaint to any judge of the Supreme Court, in which [he] such elector or candidate shall set out the claimed errors of such election official, the claimed errors in the count or the claimed violations of said sections. In any action brought pursuant to the provisions of this section, the complainant shall file a certification attached to the complaint indicating that a copy of the complaint has been sent by first-class mail or delivered to the State Elections Enforcement Commission. If such complaint is made prior to such election, such judge shall proceed expeditiously to render judgment on the complaint and shall cause notice of the hearing to be given to the Secretary of the State and the State Elections Enforcement Commission. If such complaint is made subsequent to the election, it shall be brought not later than fourteen days after the election or, if such complaint is brought in response to the manual tabulation of paper ballots authorized pursuant to section 9-320f, as amended by this act, such complaint shall be brought not later than seven days after the close of any such manual tabulation, and in either such circumstance, the judge shall forthwith order a hearing to be had upon such complaint, upon a day not more than five or less than three days from the making of such order, and shall cause notice of not less than three or more than five days to be given to any candidate or candidates whose election may be affected by the decision upon such hearing, to such election official, to the Secretary of the State, to the State Elections Enforcement Commission and to any other party or parties whom such judge deems proper parties thereto, of the time and place for the hearing upon such complaint. Such judge, with two other judges of the Supreme Court to be designated by the Chief Court Administrator, shall, on the day fixed for such hearing and without unnecessary delay, proceed to hear the parties. If sufficient reason is shown, such judges may order any voting [machines] tabulators to be unlocked or any ballot boxes to be opened and a recount of the votes cast, including absentee ballots, to be made. Such judges shall thereupon, in the case they, or any two of them, find any error in the rulings of the election official, any mistake in the count of such votes or any violation of said sections, certify the result of their finding or decision, or the finding or decision of a majority of them, to the Secretary of the State before the first Monday after the second Wednesday in December. Such judges may order a new election or a change in the existing election schedule, provided such order complies with Section 302 of the Help America Vote Act, P.L. 107-252, as amended from time to time. Such certificate of such judges, or a majority of them, shall be final upon all questions relating to the rulings of such election officials, to the correctness of such count and, for the purposes of this section only, such claimed violations, and shall operate to correct the returns of the moderators or presiding officers so as to conform to such finding or decision.
Sec. 40. Section 9-324 of the general statutes is repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective from passage):
Any elector or candidate who claims that such elector or candidate is aggrieved by any ruling of any election official in connection with any election for Governor, Lieutenant Governor, Secretary of the State, State Treasurer, Attorney General, State Comptroller or judge of probate, held in such elector's or candidate's town, or that there has been a mistake in the count of the votes cast at such election for candidates for said offices or any of them, at any voting district in such elector's or candidate's town, or any candidate for such an office who claims that such candidate is aggrieved by a violation of any provision of section 9-355, 9-357 to 9-361, inclusive, 9-364, 9-364a or 9-365 in the casting of absentee ballots at such election or any candidate for the office of Governor, Lieutenant Governor, Secretary of the State, State Treasurer, Attorney General or State Comptroller, who claims that such candidate is aggrieved by a violation of any provision of sections 9-700 to 9-716, inclusive, may bring such elector's or candidate's complaint to any judge of the Superior Court, in which such elector or candidate shall set out the claimed errors of such election official, the claimed errors in the count or the claimed violations of said sections. In any action brought pursuant to the provisions of this section, the complainant shall send a copy of the complaint by first-class mail, or deliver a copy of the complaint by hand, to the State Elections Enforcement Commission. If such complaint is made prior to such election, such judge shall proceed expeditiously to render judgment on the complaint and shall cause notice of the hearing to be given to the Secretary of the State and the State Elections Enforcement Commission. If such complaint is made subsequent to the election, it shall be brought not later than fourteen days after the election or, if such complaint is brought in response to the manual tabulation of paper ballots authorized pursuant to section 9-320f, as amended by this act, such complaint shall be brought not later than seven days after the close of any such manual tabulation and, in either such circumstance, such judge shall forthwith order a hearing to be had upon such complaint, upon a day not more than five nor less than three days from the making of such order, and shall cause notice of not less than three nor more than five days to be given to any candidate or candidates whose election may be affected by the decision upon such hearing, to such election official, the Secretary of the State, the State Elections Enforcement Commission and to any other party or parties whom such judge deems proper parties thereto, of the time and place for the hearing upon such complaint. Such judge shall, on the day fixed for such hearing and without unnecessary delay, proceed to hear the parties. If sufficient reason is shown, such judge may order any voting [machines] tabulators to be unlocked or any ballot boxes to be opened and a recount of the votes cast, including absentee ballots, to be made. Such judge shall thereupon, in case such judge finds any error in the rulings of the election official, any mistake in the count of the votes or any violation of said sections, certify the result of such judge's finding or decision to the Secretary of the State before the fifteenth day of the next succeeding December. Such judge may order a new election or a change in the existing election schedule. Such certificate of such judge of such judge's finding or decision shall be final and conclusive upon all questions relating to errors in the rulings of such election officials, to the correctness of such count, and, for the purposes of this section only, such claimed violations, and shall operate to correct the returns of the moderators or presiding officers, so as to conform to such finding or decision, unless the same is appealed from as provided in section 9-325.
Sec. 41. Section 9-328 of the general statutes is repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective from passage):
Any elector or candidate claiming to have been aggrieved by any ruling of any election official in connection with an election for any municipal office or a primary for justice of the peace, or any elector or candidate claiming that there has been a mistake in the count of votes cast for any such office at such election or primary, or any candidate in such an election or primary claiming [that he is] to be aggrieved by a violation of any provision of sections 9-355, 9-357 to 9-361, inclusive, 9-364, 9-364a or 9-365 in the casting of absentee ballots at such election or primary, may bring a complaint to any judge of the Superior Court for relief therefrom. In any action brought pursuant to the provisions of this section, the complainant shall send a copy of the complaint by first-class mail, or deliver a copy of the complaint by hand, to the State Elections Enforcement Commission. If such complaint is made prior to such election or primary, such judge shall proceed expeditiously to render judgment on the complaint and shall cause notice of the hearing to be given to the Secretary of the State and the State Elections Enforcement Commission. If such complaint is made subsequent to such election or primary, it shall be brought not later than fourteen days after such election or primary, except that if such complaint is brought in response to the manual tabulation of paper ballots, authorized pursuant to section 9-320f, as amended by this act, such complaint shall be brought not later than seven days after the close of any such manual tabulation, to any judge of the Superior Court, in which [he] the complainant shall set out the claimed errors of the election official, the claimed errors in the count or the claimed violations of said sections. Such judge shall forthwith order a hearing to be had upon such complaint, upon a day not more than five nor less than three days from the making of such order, and shall cause notice of not less than three nor more than five days to be given to any candidate or candidates whose election or nomination may be affected by the decision upon such hearing, to such election official, the Secretary of the State, the State Elections Enforcement Commission and to any other party or parties whom such judge deems proper parties thereto, of the time and place for the hearing upon such complaint. Such judge shall, on the day fixed for such hearing and without unnecessary delay, proceed to hear the parties. If sufficient reason is shown, [he] such judge may order any voting [machines] tabulators to be unlocked or any ballot boxes to be opened and a recount of the votes cast, including absentee ballots, to be made. Such judge shall thereupon, if [he] such judge finds any error in the rulings of the election official or any mistake in the count of the votes, certify the result of [his] such judge's finding or decision to the Secretary of the State before the tenth day succeeding the conclusion of the hearing. Such judge may order a new election or primary or a change in the existing election schedule. Such certificate of such judge of [his] such judge's finding or decision shall be final and conclusive upon all questions relating to errors in the ruling of such election officials, to the correctness of such count, and, for the purposes of this section only, such claimed violations, and shall operate to correct the returns of the moderators or presiding officers, so as to conform to such finding or decision, except that this section shall not affect the right of appeal to the Supreme Court and it shall not prevent such judge from reserving such questions of law for the advice of the Supreme Court as provided in section 9-325. Such judge may, if necessary, issue [his] a writ of mandamus, requiring the adverse party and those under [him] such judge to deliver to the complainant the appurtenances of such office, and shall cause [his] such judge's finding and decree to be entered on the records of the Superior Court in the proper judicial district.
Sec. 42. Subsection (b) of section 9-329a of the general statutes is repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective from passage):
(b) Such judge shall forthwith order a hearing to be held upon such complaint upon a day not more than five nor less than three days after the making of such order, and shall cause notice of not less than three days to be given to any candidate or candidates in any way directly affected by the decision upon such hearing, to such election official, to the Secretary of the State, the State Elections Enforcement Commission and to any other person or persons, whom such judge deems proper parties thereto, of the time and place of the hearing upon such complaint. Such judge shall, on the day fixed for such hearing, and without delay, proceed to hear the parties and determine the result. If, after hearing, sufficient reason is shown, such judge may order any voting [machines] tabulators to be unlocked or any ballot boxes to be opened and a recount of the votes cast, including absentee ballots, to be made. Such judge shall thereupon, if [he] such judge finds any error in the ruling of the election official, any mistake in the count of the votes or any violation of said sections, certify the result of his finding or decision to the Secretary of the State before the tenth day following the conclusion of the hearing. Such judge may (1) determine the result of such primary; (2) order a change in the existing primary schedule; or (3) order a new primary if [he] such judge finds that but for the error in the ruling of the election official, any mistake in the count of the votes or any violation of said sections, the result of such primary might have been different and [he] such judge is unable to determine the result of such primary.
Sec. 43. Section 9-329b of the general statutes is repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective from passage):
At any time prior to a primary held pursuant to sections 9-423, 9-425 and 9-464, or a special act or prior to any election, the Superior Court may issue an order removing a candidate from a ballot [label] where it is shown that said candidate is improperly on the ballot.
Sec. 44. Section 9-330 of the general statutes is repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective from passage):
Any judge having jurisdiction over any action brought under section 9-323, 9-324, 9-328, as amended by this act, or 9-329a, as amended by this act, shall have the power, if sufficient reason is shown, to order the examination and testing of any voting [machines] tabulators.
Sec. 45. Section 9-332 of the general statutes is repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective from passage):
If the electors fail to choose a candidate for any office by reason of an equality of votes at any election, and no provision is otherwise made by law for the election of a candidate to such office, such election shall stand adjourned for three weeks at the same hour at which the first election was held. [Ballot labels] Ballots of the same form and description as described in sections 9-250 to 9-256, inclusive, as amended by this act, except that such [ballot labels] ballots shall contain only the names of the candidates for whom the same are to be voted, shall be used in the election on such adjourned day, and the election shall be conducted in the same manner as on the first day, except that the votes shall be cast for such officer only. [Ballot labels] Ballots for such election shall be provided forthwith by the clerk of the municipality wherein such election stands adjourned, and such clerk shall furnish the Secretary of the State with an accurate list of all candidates to be voted for at such adjourned election. The clerk of the municipality wherein such election so stands adjourned shall, at least three days prior to the day of such adjourned election, give notice of the day, hours, place and purpose thereof by publishing such notice in a newspaper published in such municipality or having a circulation therein. No such election shall be held if prior to such election all but one of the candidates for such office die, withdraw their names or for any reason become disqualified to hold such office, and, in such event, the remaining candidate shall be deemed to be lawfully elected to such office. No withdrawal shall be valid until the candidate who has withdrawn has filed a letter of withdrawal signed by such candidate with the Secretary of the State or, in the case of a municipal office, until the candidate who has withdrawn has filed a letter of withdrawal signed by such candidate with the municipal clerk. When such an election is required to be held under the provisions of this section for any office other than a municipal office, and prior to such election all but one of the candidates for such office die, withdraw their names or for any reason become disqualified to hold such office, the Secretary of the State shall forthwith notify the clerk of each municipality wherein such election was to have been held of such fact, and shall forthwith direct each such clerk that such election shall not be held. In the case of a multiple opening office only the names of those candidates whose votes are equal shall be placed on the ballot [label] of the adjourned election.
Sec. 46. Section 9-352 of the general statutes is repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective from passage):
Any election official who, with intent to cause or permit any voting [machine] tabulator to fail to correctly register all votes cast thereon, tampers with or disarranges such [machine] tabulator in any way or any part or appliance thereof, or causes such [machine] tabulator to be used or consents to its being used for voting at any election with knowledge of the fact that the same is not in order, or not perfectly set and adjusted to correctly register all votes cast thereon, or who, for the purpose of defrauding or deceiving any elector or of causing it to be doubtful for what candidate or candidates or proposition any vote is cast, or causing it to appear upon such [machine] tabulator that votes cast for one candidate or proposition were cast for another candidate or proposition, removes, changes or mutilates any ballot [label on such machine or any part thereof,] shall be fined not more than one thousand dollars or imprisoned not more than five years, or both.
Sec. 47. Section 9-353 of the general statutes is repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective from passage):
Any election official who, at the close of the polls, purposely causes the vote registered on the [machine] tabulator to be incorrectly taken down as to any candidate or proposition voted on, or who knowingly causes to be made or signed any false statement, certificate or return of any kind, of such vote, or who knowingly consents to any such act, shall be fined not more than one thousand dollars or imprisoned not more than five years, or both.
Sec. 48. Section 9-354 of the general statutes is repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective from passage):
Any person who prints or causes to be printed upon any official ballot [label] the name of any person not a candidate of a party whose name is printed at the head of the column containing such nominees or who prints or causes to be printed any authorized ballot [label] in any manner other than that prescribed by the Secretary of the State shall be fined not less than one hundred dollars nor more than one thousand dollars or be imprisoned not more than five years or be both fined and imprisoned.
Sec. 49. Section 9-363 of the general statutes is repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective from passage):
Any person who, with intent to defraud any elector of [his] the elector's vote or cause any elector to lose [his] the elector's vote or any part thereof, gives in any way, or prints, writes or circulates, or causes to be written, printed or circulated, any improper, false, misleading or incorrect instructions or advice or suggestions as to the manner of voting on any [machine] tabulator, the following of which or any part of which would cause any elector to lose [his] the elector's vote or any part thereof, or would cause any elector to fail in whole or in part to register or record the same on the [machine] tabulator for the candidates of [his] the elector's choice, shall be fined not more than five hundred dollars or be imprisoned not more than five years or be both fined and imprisoned.
Sec. 50. Section 9-366 of the general statutes is repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective from passage):
Any person who induces or attempts to induce any elector to write, paste or otherwise place, on a write-in ballot voted on a voting [machine] tabulator at any election, any name, sign or device of any kind, as a distinguishing mark by which to indicate to another how such elector voted, or enters into or attempts to form any agreement or conspiracy with any person to induce or attempt to induce electors or any elector to so place any distinguishing mark on such ballot, or attempts to induce any elector to do anything with a view to enabling another person to see or know for what persons or any of them such elector votes on such [machine] tabulator, or enters into or attempts to form any agreement or conspiracy to induce any elector to do any act for the purpose of enabling another person or persons to see or know for what person or persons such elector votes, or attempts to induce any person to place himself in such position, or to do any other act for the purpose of enabling him to see or know for what candidates any elector other than himself votes on such [machine] tabulator, or himself attempts to get in such position to do any act so that he will be enabled to see or know how any elector other than himself votes on such [machine] tabulator, or does any act which invades or interferes with the secrecy of the voting or causes the same to be invaded or interfered with, shall be imprisoned not more than five years.
Sec. 51. Section 9-367 of the general statutes is repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective from passage):
Any person, not being an election official, who, during any election or before any election, [after a voting machine has had placed upon it the ballot label for such election,] tampers with [such machine] a voting tabulator, disarranges, defaces, injures or impairs the same in any manner, or mutilates, injures or destroys any ballot [label placed thereon or to be placed thereon,] or any other appliance used in connection with such [machine] tabulator, shall be imprisoned for not more than five years.
Sec. 52. Section 9-369 of the general statutes is repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective from passage):
Whenever at any regular or special state or municipal election any vote for approval or disapproval of any constitutional amendment or any question or proposal is taken pursuant to the Constitution, the general statutes or any special act, unless otherwise provided, such election shall be warned and held, the vote on such amendment, question or proposal cast and canvassed and the result determined and certified as nearly as may be in accordance with the provisions governing the election of officers in the state or in such municipality. The warning for such election shall state that a purpose of such election is to vote for the approval or disapproval of such amendment, question or proposal and shall state the section of the Constitution or of the general statutes or the special act under authority of which such vote is taken. The vote on such amendment, question or proposal shall be taken by a "Yes" and "No" vote on the voting [machine] tabulator, and the designation of such amendment, question or proposal on the [voting machine ballot label] ballot shall be "Shall (here insert the question or proposal, followed by a question mark)". Such ballot [label] shall be provided for use in accordance with the provisions of section 9-250. The municipal clerk shall number on the ballot [label] the questions to be voted upon according to the order in which they will appear thereon, provided amendments to the Constitution shall be numbered by the Secretary of the State in numerical order based upon the dates on which resolutions proposing such amendments were passed, precedence being given to the earliest passed unless otherwise provided by the resolutions proposing such amendments. Each elector shall vote "Yes" if in favor of the amendment, question or proposal or "No" if not in favor thereof. [The registrars of voters shall cause an adhesive label, three inches high by four inches wide, upon which shall be imprinted, in clearly discernible lettering, the words "Vote on the Questions" to be affixed to the upper left-hand corner of each such voting machine, directly opposite the spaces provided for the amendment, question or proposal. Such adhesive labels shall be provided by the Secretary of the State upon receipt of a written order therefor from the registrars of voters, which order shall specify the number of such labels required.] If, upon the official determination of the result of such vote, it appears that a majority of all the votes so cast are in approval of such amendment, question or proposal, such amendment, question or proposal shall, unless otherwise provided, take effect forthwith.
Sec. 53. Subsection (c) of section 9-369c of the general statutes is repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective from passage):
(c) Upon receipt of the written form of the question or proposal to be voted on at any such referendum, the municipal clerk shall immediately prepare and print absentee ballots for the referendum. The phrasing of the question or proposal on the absentee ballots shall be identical to the phrasing on the ballot [or ballot label] to be used for voting in person at the referendum.
Sec. 54. Subsection (b) of section 9-369d of the general statutes is repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective from passage):
(b) (1) The procedures set forth in this subsection shall only apply if a municipality so chooses and only upon approval of such procedure by its legislative body or in any town in which the legislative body is a town meeting, by the board of selectmen.
(2) Voters who are not electors shall vote by separate voting [machine] tabulator or paper ballot, containing solely the question, at one separate location which may be a separate room in the location at which electors vote. Such separate location shall be treated as a separate voting district and polling place for such voters, except that the registrars of voters shall appoint a moderator who shall be the head moderator for the purpose of this question only, and such other officials as the registrars deem necessary. The moderator of such separate location shall add the results of the vote by electors on the question to the results of the vote by voters who are not electors, and shall file such results in the office of the municipal clerk. The moderator of such separate location shall be the moderator for the purposes of a recanvass of a close vote on such question under section 9-370a. The head moderator of the town shall indicate on the return of vote of such question filed with the Secretary of the State that such return does not include the return of vote of voters who are not electors.
Sec. 55. Section 9-371b of the general statutes is repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective from passage):
Any person (1) claiming to have been aggrieved by any ruling of any election official in connection with a referendum, (2) claiming that there has been a mistake in the count of votes cast for a referendum, or (3) claiming to be aggrieved by a violation of any provision of section 9-355, 9-357 to 9-361, inclusive, 9-364, 9-364a or 9-365 in the casting of absentee ballots at a referendum, may bring a complaint to any judge of the Superior Court for relief from such ruling, mistake or violation. In any action brought pursuant to the provisions of this section, the complainant shall send a copy of the complaint by first class mail, or deliver a copy of the complaint by hand, to the State Elections Enforcement Commission. If such complaint is made prior to such referendum, such judge shall proceed expeditiously to render judgment on the complaint and shall cause notice of the hearing to be given to the Secretary of the State and the State Elections Enforcement Commission. If such complaint is made subsequent to such referendum, it shall be brought within thirty days after such referendum to any judge of the Superior Court, in which the person shall set out the claimed errors of the election official, the claimed errors in the count or the claimed violations of said sections. Such judge shall forthwith order a hearing to be held upon such complaint, upon a day not more than five or less than three days from the making of such order, and shall cause notice of not less than three or more than five days to be given to any person who may be affected by the decision upon such hearing, to such election official, the Secretary of the State, the State Elections Enforcement Commission and to any other party or parties whom such judge deems proper parties to the hearing, of the time and place for the hearing upon such complaint. Such judge shall, on the day fixed for such hearing and without unnecessary delay, proceed to hear the parties. If sufficient reason is shown, such judge may order any voting [machines] tabulators to be unlocked or any ballot boxes to be opened and a recount of the votes cast, including absentee ballots, to be made. Such judge shall, if such judge finds any error in the rulings of the election official or any mistake in the count of the votes, certify the result of such judge's finding or decision to the Secretary of the State before the tenth day succeeding the conclusion of the hearing. Such judge may order a new referendum or a change in the existing referendum schedule. Such certificate of such judge's finding or decision shall be final and conclusive upon all questions relating to errors in the ruling of such election officials, to the correctness of such count, and, for the purposes of this section only, such claimed violations, and shall operate to correct the returns of the moderators or presiding officers, so as to conform to such finding or decision, except that this section shall not affect the right of appeal to the Supreme Court and it shall not prevent such judge from reserving such questions of law for the advice of the Supreme Court as provided in section 9-325. Such judge may, if necessary, issue a writ of mandamus, requiring the adverse party and those under such judge to deliver to the complainant the appurtenances of such office, and shall cause such judge's finding and decree to be entered on the records of the Superior Court in the proper judicial district.
Sec. 56. Subdivision (15) of section 9-372 of the general statutes is repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective from passage):
(15) "Votes cast for the same office at the last-preceding election" or "votes cast for all candidates for such office at the last-preceding election" means, in the case of multiple openings for the same office, the total number of electors checked as having voted at the last-preceding election at which such office appeared on the ballot. [label.]
Sec. 57. Section 9-377 of the general statutes is repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective from passage):
At a primary votes may be cast and counted only for duly qualified candidates at such primary whose names appear on the ballot label on primary day. [The write-in slides shall be covered on voting machines used at a primary, and no write-in spaces shall appear on the absentee ballots used at a primary] No write-in spaces shall appear on the ballots used at a primary.
Sec. 58. Subsection (a) of section 9-400 of the general statutes is repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective from passage):
(a) A candidacy for nomination by a political party to a state office may be filed by or on behalf of any person whose name appears upon the last-completed enrollment list of such party in any municipality within the state and who has either (1) received at least fifteen per cent of the votes of the convention delegates present and voting on any roll-call vote taken on the endorsement or proposed endorsement of a candidate for such state office, whether or not the party-endorsed candidate for such office received a unanimous vote on the last ballot, or (2) circulated a petition and obtained the signatures of at least two per cent of the enrolled members of such party in the state, in accordance with the provisions of sections 9-404a to 9-404c, inclusive. Candidacies described in subdivision (1) of this subsection shall be filed by submitting to the Secretary of the State not later than four o'clock p.m. on the fourteenth day following the close of the state convention, a certificate, signed by such candidate and attested by either (A) the chairman or presiding officer, or (B) the secretary of the convention, that such candidate received at least fifteen per cent of such votes, and that such candidate consents to be a candidate in a primary of such party for such state office. Such certificate shall specify the candidate's name as the candidate authorizes it to appear on the ballot, the candidate's full residence address and the title of the office for which the candidacy is being filed. A single such certificate or petition for state office may be filed on behalf of two or more candidates for different state offices who consent to have their names appear on a single row of the primary ballot [label] under subsection (b) of section 9-437, as amended by this act. Candidacies described in subdivision (2) of this subsection shall be filed by submitting said petition not later than four o'clock p.m. on the sixty-third day preceding the day of the primary for such office to the registrar of voters of the towns in which the respective petition pages were circulated. Each registrar shall file each page of such petition with the Secretary in accordance with the provisions of section 9-404c. A petition filed by or on behalf of a candidate for state office shall be invalid for such candidate if such candidate is certified as the party-endorsed candidate pursuant to section 9-388 or as receiving at least fifteen per cent of the convention vote for such office pursuant to this subsection. Except as provided in section 9-416a, upon the expiration of the time period for party endorsement and circulation and tabulation of petitions and signatures, if any, if one or more candidacies for such state office have been filed pursuant to the provisions of this section, the Secretary of the State shall notify all town clerks in accordance with the provisions of section 9-433, that a primary for such state office shall be held in each municipality in accordance with the provisions of section 9-415.
Sec. 59. Section 9-426 of the general statutes is repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective from passage):
If only one candidacy has been filed by a person other than a party-endorsed candidate for the nomination by a political party to a particular office and the candidate whose candidacy has been so filed thereafter, but prior to the opening of the polls at such primary, dies, withdraws [his] such candidate's name from nomination or for any reason becomes disqualified to hold the office for which [he] such person is a candidate, no primary shall be held for the nomination of such party to that office and the party-endorsed candidate for such office shall be deemed to have been lawfully chosen in the same manner and to the same extent as is provided in sections 9-382 to 9-450, inclusive, in the case where no candidacy other than a party-endorsed candidacy has been filed. If candidacies have been filed by only one group of persons other than party-endorsed candidates for election to a town committee, and the candidates whose candidacies have been so filed thereafter, but prior to the opening of the polls at such primary, die, withdraw their names from nomination or for any reason become disqualified to hold the positions for which they are candidates, so as to render the number of candidacies so filed less than twenty-five per cent of the number of town committee members to be elected by such party either in the municipality or in the political subdivision, as the case may be, no primary shall be held for those positions and the party-endorsed candidates for such positions shall be deemed to have been lawfully chosen in the same manner and to the same extent as is provided in sections 9-382 to 9-450, inclusive, in the case where no candidacies other than party-endorsed candidacies have been filed. If any person on a slate, prior to the opening of the polls at such primary, dies, withdraws [his] such person's name from nomination or for any reason becomes disqualified to hold the position for which [he] such person is a candidate, such partial slate shall appear on the ballot [label] at the primary and, if such partial slate wins, then the remaining members may fill the vacancy. If only one such slate other than a slate of party-endorsed candidates has been filed for election and prior to the opening of the polls at such primary each of the persons on such slate dies, withdraws or becomes disqualified, no primary shall be held for those positions and the party-endorsed candidates for those positions shall be deemed to have been lawfully chosen in the same manner and to the same extent as is provided in sections 9-382 to 9-450, inclusive, in the case where no candidacies other than party-endorsed candidacies have been filed.
Sec. 60. Section 9-434 of the general statutes is repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective from passage):
Upon the filing with the clerk of a municipality of the names of party-endorsed candidates pursuant to section 9-390 or upon the filing with such clerk of petitions for contesting candidates pursuant to section 9-412, such clerk shall verify and correct the names of such candidates in accordance with the registry list of such municipality, endorse the same as having been so verified and corrected and use the same in the preparation of the [ballot labels] ballots for the primary. The provisions of this section shall not apply to the municipal offices of state senator and state representative.
Sec. 61. Section 9-435 of the general statutes is repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective from passage):
Except as provided in sections 9-418 and 9-419, if in any municipality, within the time specified in section 9-405, a candidacy for nomination by a political party to any municipal office or for election as a town committee member is filed with the registrar, in conformity with the provisions of sections 9-405 to 9-412, inclusive, and section 9-414, by or on behalf of any person other than party-endorsed candidates, the registrar shall forthwith after the deadline for certification of party-endorsed candidates notify the clerk of such municipality that a primary is to be held by such party for the nomination of such party to such office or for the election by such party of town committee members, as the case may be. Such notice shall include a list of all the proposed candidates, those endorsed as well as those filing candidacies, together with their addresses and the titles of the offices or positions for which they are candidates. In the case of a primary for justices of the peace, such notice shall also contain the complete ballot [label] designation of each slate pursuant to subsection (h) of section 9-437, as amended by this act. The clerk of the municipality shall thereupon cause such notice to be published forthwith in a newspaper having a general circulation in such municipality, together with a statement of the date upon which the primary is to be held, the hours during which the polls shall be open and the location of the polls. [, and shall send a copy of such notice to the Secretary of the State and record the same.] The clerk of the municipality shall also file such notice with the Secretary of the State not later than three business days after receipt of such notice from the registrar of voters. The clerk shall forthwith publish any change in the proposed candidates, listing such changes.
Sec. 62. Section 9-436 of the general statutes is repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective from passage):
(a) Voting [machines] tabulators shall be used at each primary, provided, (1) if, because of the number of offices and positions to be voted upon at a primary, there is an insufficient number of vertical columns on any [machine] ballot to be used in a municipality, the vote in such municipality at such primary for such offices or positions as the Secretary of the State determines shall be taken by paper ballots, and (2) if, because of the number of candidates for any office or position to be voted upon at a primary, there is an insufficient number of horizontal rows with respect to such office or position on any [machine] ballot to be used in the municipality, the vote in such municipality at such primary for such office or position shall be taken by paper ballots. More than one voting [machine] tabulator may be used in any voting district if the registrar so prescribes. The registrar shall furnish a number of voting [machines] booths sufficient to provide a voting [machine] booth for each [twenty-four] five hundred or fraction of [twenty-four] five hundred electors eligible to vote at such primary in the municipality or voting district, as the case may be, and other necessary equipment. In each polling place in which a party has authorized unaffiliated electors, pursuant to section 9-431, to vote for some but not all offices to be contested at the primary, a separate voting [machine] tabulator shall be used for such unaffiliated electors and the registrar shall separately furnish one voting [machine] booth for each [twenty-four] five hundred or fraction of [twenty-four] five hundred enrolled party members and one voting [machine] booth for each [twenty-four] five hundred or fraction of [twenty-four] five hundred unaffiliated electors authorized to vote at such primary in such district. In determining such number of electors, enrolled party members or unaffiliated electors, the registrar shall not count the names on the enrollment or registry lists of seventy-five per cent of such electors, unaffiliated electors or enrolled party members who reside in institutions, as defined in section 9-159q. The registrar may provide more than the minimum number of voting [machines] booths required by this section.
[(b) The registrar shall appoint a suitable mechanic or mechanics to prepare, adjust and place the voting machines for use at the primary under the direction of the registrar. A voting machine mechanic shall be deemed a primary official but need not be an elector of any town.]
[(c)] (b) Each [machine] tabulator shall be so arranged that the elector may vote for as many persons for nomination or election to each office or position as there are persons to be nominated or elected, as the case may be, and no more, and so that the elector may vote for individual candidates; provided the vote for justices of the peace shall be by slate, as provided in section 9-443.
[(d)] (c) The registrar shall appoint from among the enrolled party members in the municipality or political subdivision holding the primary, as the case may be, to serve in each polling place, the primary polling place officials, who shall consist of one moderator, at least one, but not more than two official checkers, not more than two challengers if he deems it necessary, and at least one and not more than two ballot clerks and at least one but not more than two voting [machine] tabulator tenders for each [machine] tabulator in use at such primary and, in towns with two or more voting districts at least one and not more than two assistant registrars, provided (1) in the case of a political subdivision holding a primary, if no enrolled party member who resides in the political subdivision and who is a certified moderator consents to serve as a moderator, the registrar may appoint any enrolled party member who resides in the municipality and is a certified moderator to be moderator, (2) in the case of either a municipality or a political subdivision holding a primary, if no enrolled party member can be found or no such person consents to serve as a moderator, the registrar may appoint any elector who resides in the municipality and is a certified moderator to be moderator, (3) in the case of a political subdivision holding a primary, if an insufficient number of enrolled party members who reside in the political subdivision consent to serve as checkers, challengers, voting machine tenders or assistant registrars, the registrar may appoint any enrolled party member who resides in the municipality to be a checker, challenger, voting [machine] tabulator tender or assistant registrar, [and] (4) in the case of either a municipality or a political subdivision holding a primary, if a sufficient number of enrolled party members cannot be found or do not consent to serve in a position described in subdivision (3) of this subsection, the registrar may appoint any elector who resides in the municipality to any such position, and (5) in the case of either a municipality or a political subdivision holding more than one primary on the same day for different political parties, one certified moderator may serve as moderator for both primaries, if the registrars of voters so agree. If unaffiliated electors are authorized under section 9-431 to vote for some but not all of the offices to be contested at the primary, the registrar shall appoint two additional checkers to check the list of unaffiliated electors who are authorized to vote on the separate [machines] tabulators. If unaffiliated electors are authorized under section 9-431 to vote in the primary of either of two parties in the same polling place, whether for some or for all offices to be contested at the primary, each such registrar shall appoint two additional checkers to check the list of unaffiliated electors who are authorized to vote in either such primary.
[(e)] (d) The registrar shall designate one of the moderators so appointed by the registrar to be head moderator or shall appoint as head moderator an elector who is not also moderator of a polling place and who shall be deemed a primary official. The registrar may also appoint a deputy head moderator to assist the head moderator in the performance of his duties. A deputy head moderator shall also be deemed to be a primary official. Each registrar's appointments of primary polling place officials, except moderators of polling places, and of designees to conduct supervised voting of absentee ballots pursuant to sections 9-159q and 9-159r shall be divided equally, as nearly as may be, between designees of the party-endorsed candidates and designees of one or more of the contestants, provided, if a party-endorsed candidate is a member of a party other than the one holding the primary, such primary officials [, except voting machine mechanics,] shall be enrolled party members of the party holding the primary. Names of designees and alternate designees for such positions shall be submitted in writing by party-endorsed candidates and contestants to the registrar not later than ten days before the primary, except that names of designees and alternate designees for the position of moderator shall be so submitted not later than twenty-one days before the primary and, if such lists are not so presented, all such appointments shall be made by the registrar but in the above-mentioned proportion. The registrar shall notify all such candidates and contestants of their right to submit a list of designees under this section. Notwithstanding any other provision of this section, the registrar shall appoint as moderators only persons who are certified to serve as moderators or alternate moderators pursuant to section 9-229, as amended by this act, unless there is an insufficient number of such persons who are enrolled members of the registrar's party in the municipality or political subdivision holding the primary, in which case the registrar may appoint a new moderator in accordance with section 9-229, as amended by this act, but only to the extent of such insufficiency. Primary central counting moderators and absentee ballot counters shall also be deemed primary officials. No primary official shall perform services for any candidate at the primary on primary day.
[(f)] (e) If paper ballots are required for the vote on any office or position in a municipality, the clerk of the municipality, in consultation with the registrars of voters, shall print a paper ballot for use in such primary for nomination to such office or election to such position. The Secretary of the State shall prescribe the form of such paper ballot. The Secretary of the State may prescribe general rules for the use of paper ballots in any primary, including the duties of officials at the polls with regard to the same, the marking of the same and the counting of the same. The procedure to be followed when paper ballots are so used shall conform, as nearly as may be, to the procedure applicable to voting [machines] tabulators provided in this chapter and to the law governing the use of paper ballots in regular elections and such rules shall have the force and effect of law. Chapter 54 shall not apply to rules made pursuant to this section.
[(g)] (f) The provisions of section 9-258 concerning additional lines of electors at a polling place, and of section 9-258a concerning two shifts of officials at a polling place, shall apply to a primary. Except as otherwise provided in this chapter, the provisions of the general statutes relating to the use of voting [machines] tabulators at regular elections shall apply as nearly as may be to the use of voting [machines] tabulators at primaries.
Sec. 63. Section 9-437 of the general statutes is repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective from passage):
(a) At the top of each ballot [label] shall be printed the name of the party holding the primary, and each ballot [label] shall contain the names of all candidates to be voted upon at such primary, except the names of justices of the peace. The vertical columns shall be headed by the designation of the office or position and instructions as to the number for which an elector may vote for such office or position, in the same manner as a ballot [label] used in a regular election. The name of each candidate for town committee or municipal office, except for the municipal offices of state senator and state representative, shall appear on the ballot [label] as it appears on the registry list of such candidate's town of voting residence, except as provided in section 9-42a. The name of each candidate for state or district office or for the municipal offices of state senator or state representative shall appear on the ballot as it appears on the certificate or statement of consent filed under section 9-388, 9-391, 9-400, as amended by this act, or 9-409. On the first horizontal line, below the designation of the office or position in each column, shall be placed the name of the party-endorsed candidate for such office or position, such name to be marked with an asterisk; provided, where more than one person may be voted for for any office or position, the names of the party-endorsed candidates shall be arranged in alphabetical order from left to right under the appropriate office or position designation and shall continue, if necessary, from left to right on the next lower line or lines. In the case of no party endorsement there shall be inserted the designation "no party endorsement" at the head of the vertical column, immediately beneath the designation of the office or position. On the horizontal lines below the line for party-endorsed candidates shall be placed, in the appropriate columns, the names of all other candidates as hereinafter provided.
(b) (1) In the case of two or more such candidates for the same state or district office, precedence as to row shall be determined by the alphabetical order of the surnames of such candidates, except as provided under subdivision (2) of this subsection. (2) If a single certificate or a single petition has been filed under subsection (a) of section 9-400, as amended by this act, on behalf of two or more candidates and proposing one candidate for each state office to be contested at such primary, a single row shall be used for the names of such candidates and precedence as to row between such certificates and petitions shall be determined by the Secretary of the State by lot in a ceremony which shall be open to the public. The names of all other candidates for state office shall be placed in the appropriate columns in alphabetical order on the rows below the row or rows used for candidates whose names are contained in such a single certificate, certificates, single petition or petitions.
(c) Whenever the position of candidates or slates on the ballot [label] under the provisions of this section is affected by the time or order of filing of primary petitions, and the registrar of voters certifies in writing to the town clerk that (1) two or more of the petitions to which such provisions apply were filed simultaneously, or (2) [he] the registrar is unable to determine the time or order of filing of two or more such petitions, then for purposes of this section the order of filing of the petitions specified in the registrar's certification shall be determined by the town clerk by lot in a ceremony which shall be open to the public.
(d) In the case of candidates for municipal office, a single row shall be used for the candidates whose names are contained in one primary petition, provided such petition proposes at least two candidates and the full number of candidates for each office to be contested at such primary as the party may nominate or choose thereat, precedence as to row being given to the candidates whose names appear in the first such petition filed, and so on in descending order.
(e) The names of candidates for town committee members which are contained in one primary petition shall be placed in a separate row, precedence as to row being given to the candidates whose names appear in petitions in the order determined in accordance with this subsection. Petitions filed by nine o'clock a.m. on the first business day following the day on which petitions become available shall be given precedence as to row based on the number of valid signatures filed, in descending order from the greatest to the least. Petitions filed after nine o'clock a.m. on the first business day following the day on which petitions become available shall be given precedence as to row based on the order in which they are filed, if such petitions are filed during the regular business hours of the office of the registrars of voters or during any different hours for said office required under the general statutes. Such order of precedence shall be determined separately for petitions proposing the full number of candidates which the party may choose at the primary and for petitions proposing fewer than such full number of candidates, and provided further that petitions proposing such full number of candidates shall have precedence as to row over petitions proposing fewer than such full number of candidates.
(f) Within such row or rows for those whose names are contained in one primary petition, where more than one person may be voted for any municipal office or position, such names shall be arranged in alphabetical order from left to right under the appropriate municipal office or position designation. The names of all other candidates shall be placed in the appropriate columns in alphabetical order on the horizontal lines below the line or lines used for candidates whose names are contained in one primary petition, if any; provided where more than one person may be voted for for any office or position, such names shall be arranged in alphabetical order from left to right under the appropriate office or position designation and shall continue, if necessary, from left to right on the next lower line or lines.
(g) The name of each candidate shall appear on the ballot [label] in such position as is hereinbefore required, and such position shall be determined as of the final time for filing candidacies specified in section 9-400, as amended by this act, or 9-405. Vacancies in candidacies thereafter occurring shall not cause the position of any candidate's name on the ballot [label] to be changed to another position. The name of any candidate whose candidacy has been vacated shall not appear on the ballot. [label. The voting machine pointer over each position where no candidate's name appears shall be locked so that no vote can be cast for such position.] If such a vacancy results in the cancellation of a primary for any office, the office column or columns where the names of the candidates and the title of the office would have appeared if the primary for that office had not been cancelled shall be left blank. If a vacancy occurs in a party-endorsed candidacy and a person is chosen in accordance with section 9-426, as amended by this act, or 9-428 to fill the resulting vacancy in candidacy, the name of the person so chosen shall appear in the same position as that in which the name of the vacating candidate appeared. The municipal clerk shall have the ballot [label] prepared so that the name of any candidate who has vacated [his] such candidate's candidacy is deleted and so that the name of any candidate chosen to fill a vacancy in candidacy appears in the same position as that in which the vacated candidacy appeared. The municipal clerk may use blank or printed stickers, as the case may be, in preparing the [ballot labels] ballots if the [ballot labels] ballots were printed before the occurrence of the vacancy in candidacy or the selection of a candidate to fill a vacancy in candidacy. The order of the offices and positions shall be as prescribed by the Secretary of the State.
(h) The names of candidates for election as justices of the peace shall not appear on the ballot. [label.] A single vertical column shall be used for all the candidates for election to the office of justice the peace of a particular town. The vertical column used for justices of the peace shall be headed by the words "justices of the peace". On the first horizontal line in the vertical column used for justice of the peace shall be placed the words "party-endorsed slate". On the second and succeeding horizontal lines, in the order of the time of filing, shall be placed the words "challenge slate", preceded, in quotation marks, by the letter designating such line. The municipal clerk shall prepare a list of the names of all candidates on each slate for election as justices of the peace, including the complete ballot [label] designation of each such slate as provided in this subsection, which shall be posted in the polling places by each moderator for the inspection of the electors prior to voting.
(i) The names of candidates for nomination to any elective office or for election as members of a town committee, as the case may be, shall be separated from each other by a light line, but shall not be separated from each other on the ballot [label] by names of candidates for any other office or position or by columns used for any other office or position; and the column or columns used for each office or position shall be separated from the columns used for other offices or positions by a heavy line.
(j) All [ballot labels] ballots used at a primary shall be prepared by the clerk of the municipality in which such primary is held and shall be printed at the expense of the municipality. Each municipality shall provide for all polling places:
(1) At least forty-eight hours before the primary, such clerk shall have sample ballot labels for general distribution, which shall [be arranged in the form of a diagram showing the entire front of the voting machine as it will appear after the official ballot labels are arranged for voting on the day of the primary or that portion thereof that will] contain the offices or positions and names of candidates to be voted upon. Each such sample ballot [label] shall also include printed instructions approved by the Secretary of the State concerning the use of the voting [machine] tabulator and information concerning the date of the primary and the hours during which polling places will be open. Such clerk shall have available for distribution such number of sample [ballot labels] ballots as [he] such clerk deems advisable, but in no event less than three which shall be posted inside the polling place so as to be visible to those within the polling place during the whole day of the primary. At least one of such sample [ballot labels] ballots shall be posted so as to be visible to an elector being instructed on the demonstrator [or spare voting machine] device, pursuant to section 9-260. If paper ballots are used in any primary, such sample paper ballots shall be overprinted with the word "Sample";
(2) Instructions on how to cast a provisional ballot, as prescribed by the Secretary of the State;
(3) Instructions for mail-in registrants and first-time voters who register to vote by mail on or after January 1, 2003, as prescribed by the Secretary of the State;
(4) General information concerning voting rights under federal and Connecticut laws, including information on the right of an individual to cast a provisional ballot and instructions on how to contact the appropriate officials if such rights are alleged to have been violated, as prescribed by the Secretary of the State; and
(5) General information on federal and state laws concerning prohibitions on acts of fraud and misrepresentation, as prescribed by the Secretary of the State.
(k) When unaffiliated electors are authorized under section 9-431 to vote for some but not all offices to be contested at a primary, (1) separate voting [machines] tabulators shall be used for the unaffiliated electors in a voting district, (2) the ballot [label] shall indicate that it is a partial ballot for unaffiliated electors, (3) the ballot [label] shall contain only the offices and names of candidates for which such electors may vote, with blank columns left wherever necessary to assure that each candidate's position is the same as on the full ballot for such primary in the voting district, and (4) three sample [ballot labels] ballots showing such partial ballot shall also be posted inside the polling place so as to be visible to such unaffiliated electors.
Sec. 64. Section 9-440 of the general statutes is repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective from passage):
Upon the closing of the polls at any primary held under sections 9-382 to 9-450, inclusive, the moderator, in the presence of the other officials, shall immediately lock the voting [machines] tabulators against voting and shall then proceed to ascertain, record and announce the result in the manner provided by law for ascertaining, recording and announcing the result in regular elections. The election officials shall execute certificates and returns similar to those required in regular elections. The moderator in each town not divided into voting districts, and the head moderator in each town divided into voting districts, shall transmit the results of the vote for each office contested at any such primary in the same manner and within the same time as provided under section 9-314 in an election for such office. The late filing fee provided under section 9-314 shall apply to late filing of results of primaries for state or district office. In the case of primaries for state or district offices, the Secretary of the State shall forthwith cause to be tabulated the result of the votes cast in the several municipalities in which such primaries have been held and shall publicly declare the result thereof, and a certificate attesting thereto shall be entered in [his] the secretary's records.
Sec. 65. Section 9-445 of the general statutes is repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective from passage):
Forthwith after a primary for nomination to a municipal office or for election of members of a town committee, or forthwith upon tabulation of the vote for a state or district office by the Secretary of the State when the plurality of an elected or nominated candidate over the vote for a defeated candidate receiving the next highest number of votes was either (1) less than a vote equivalent to one-half of one per cent of the total number of votes cast at the primary for the office or position but not more than one thousand votes, or (2) less than twenty votes, there shall be a recanvass of the returns of the voting [machine or voting machines] tabulator or voting tabulators used in such primary for [said] such office or position unless within one day after the primary, in the case of nomination to a municipal office or for election of members of a town committee, or prior to the time the Secretary of the State notifies the town clerk of state and district offices which qualify for an automatic recanvass, the defeated candidate or defeated candidates, as the case may be, for such office or position file a written statement waiving the right to such recanvass with the municipal clerk in the case of a municipal office or town committee, or with the Secretary of the State in the case of a state or district office. In the case of a state or district office, the Secretary of the State, upon tabulation of the votes for such an office, shall notify the town clerks in the state or district, as the case may be, of the state and district offices which qualify for an automatic recanvass and shall also notify each candidate for any such office. When a recanvass is to be held, the municipal clerk shall promptly notify the moderator, as defined in section 9-311, who shall proceed forthwith to recanvass such returns of the office in question in the same manner as is provided for a recanvass in regular elections, except that the recanvass officials shall be divided equally, as nearly as may be, among the candidates for such office. In addition to the notice required under section 9-311, the moderator shall, before such recanvass is made, give notice in writing of the time and place of such recanvass to each candidate for a municipal office which qualifies for an automatic recanvass under this section. For purposes of this section, "the total number of votes cast at the primary for the office or position" means, in the case of multiple openings for the same office or position, the total number of electors checked as having voted in the primary in the state, district, municipality or political subdivision, as the case may be. When a recanvass of the returns for an office for which there are multiple openings is required by the provisions of this section, the returns for all candidates for all openings for the office shall be recanvassed. Nothing in this section shall preclude the right to judicial proceedings on behalf of such defeated candidate under any provision of this chapter.
Sec. 66. Section 9-446 of the general statutes is repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective from passage):
(a) If two or more candidates obtain the same number of votes at a primary held to nominate candidates for a state or district office, and a tie vote thereby occurs, any of such candidates, or the state chairman of the political party, may apply for a recanvass of the returns in the manner provided in section 9-445, as amended by this act. If no such application is made, or if any such recanvass results in a tie vote, such primary shall stand adjourned for three weeks at the same hour at which the first primary was held. [Ballot labels] Ballots of the same form and description as described in section 9-437, as amended by this act, shall be used in the primary on such adjourned day, and the primary shall be conducted in the same manner as on the first day, except that the votes shall be cast for such office only. [Ballot labels] Ballots for such primary shall be provided forthwith by the clerk of each municipality wherein such primary stands adjourned, and each such clerk shall furnish the Secretary of the State with an accurate list of all candidates to be voted for at such adjourned primary. The clerk of each municipality in the state or the district, whichever is applicable, wherein such primary so stands adjourned shall, at least three days prior to the day of such adjourned primary, give notice of the day, hours, place and purpose thereof by publishing such notice in a newspaper published in such municipality or having a circulation therein. No such primary shall be held if prior to such primary all but one of the candidates for such office die, withdraw their names or for any reason become disqualified to hold such office, and, in such event, the remaining candidate shall be deemed to be lawfully voted upon as the candidate for such office. No withdrawal shall be valid until the candidate who has withdrawn has filed a letter of withdrawal signed by such candidate with the Secretary of the State. When such a primary is required to be held under the provisions of this section and prior to such primary all but one of the candidates for such office die, withdraw their names or for any reason become disqualified to hold such office, the Secretary of the State shall forthwith notify the municipal clerk of such fact, and shall forthwith direct the clerk that such primary shall not be held. In the case of a multiple-opening office only the names of those candidates whose votes are equal shall be placed on the ballot [label] of the adjourned primary. If such second primary results in a tie vote, the Secretary of the State, in the presence of not fewer than three disinterested persons, and after notification to the candidates obtaining the same number of votes and the chairperson of the state central committee of the party holding the primary of the time when and the place where such tie vote is to be dissolved, shall dissolve such tie vote by lot. The Secretary of the State shall execute a certificate attesting to the result of the dissolution of such tie vote, and the person so certified or the slate so certified as having been chosen by lot shall be deemed to have received a plurality of the votes cast and shall be deemed to have been chosen as the nominee of such party to such office.
(b) If two or more candidates obtain the same number of votes at a primary held to nominate candidates for a municipal office or to elect members of a town committee, or if two or more slates of candidates obtain the same number of votes at a primary held for justices of the peace, and a tie vote thereby occurs, any of such candidates, or the town chairman of the political party, may apply for a recanvass of the returns in the manner provided in section 9-445, as amended by this act. If no such application is made, or if any such recanvass results in a tie vote, such primary shall stand adjourned for three weeks at the same hour at which the first primary was held. [Ballot labels] Ballots of the same form and description as described in section 9-437, as amended by this act, shall be used in the primary on such adjourned day, and the primary shall be conducted in the same manner as on the first day, except that the votes shall be cast for such office only. [Ballot labels] Ballots for such primary shall be provided forthwith by the clerk of the municipality wherein such primary stands adjourned, and such clerk shall furnish the Secretary of the State with an accurate list of all candidates to be voted for at such adjourned primary. The clerk of the municipality wherein such primary so stands adjourned shall, at least three days prior to the day of such adjourned primary, give notice of the day, hours, place and purpose thereof by publishing such notice in a newspaper published in such municipality or having a circulation therein. No such primary shall be held if prior to such primary all but one of the candidates for such office die, withdraw their names or for any reason become disqualified to hold such office, and, in such event, the remaining candidate shall be deemed to be lawfully voted upon as the candidate for such office. No withdrawal shall be valid until the candidate who has withdrawn has filed a letter of withdrawal signed by such candidate with the municipal clerk. When such a primary is required to be held under the provisions of this section and prior to such primary all but one of the candidates for such office die, withdraw their names or for any reason become disqualified to hold such office, the Secretary of the State shall forthwith notify the municipal clerk of such fact, and shall forthwith direct the clerk that such primary shall not be held. In the case of a multiple-opening office only the names of those candidates whose votes are equal shall be placed on the ballot [label] of the adjourned primary. If such second primary results in a tie vote, the registrar, in the presence of not fewer than three disinterested persons, and after notification to the candidates obtaining the same number of votes and the chairperson of the town committee of the party holding the primary of the time when and the place where such tie vote is to be dissolved, shall dissolve such tie vote by lot. The registrar shall execute a certificate attesting to the result of the dissolution of such tie vote, and the person so certified or the slate so certified as having been chosen by lot shall be deemed to have received a plurality of the votes cast and shall be deemed to have been chosen as the nominee of such party to such office.
Sec. 67. Section 9-447 of the general statutes is repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective from passage):
The voting [machines] tabulators used in any primary shall not be unlocked for a period of fourteen days from the date of the primary, unless otherwise ordered by any judge of the Superior Court [,] or by the State Elections Enforcement Commission. If a contest or investigation is pending, such [machines] tabulators shall not be unlocked for such longer period of time as may be ordered by any judge of the Superior Court, unless a recanvass has been applied for under the provisions of section 9-445, as amended by this act, or unless an order has been issued by the State Elections Enforcement Commission.
Sec. 68. Section 9-453d of the general statutes is repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective from passage):
Each petition shall be signed by a number of qualified electors equal to the lesser of (1) one per cent of the votes cast for the same office or offices at the last-preceding election, or the number of qualified electors prescribed by section 9-380 with regard to newly-created offices, or (2) seven thousand five hundred. "Qualified electors" means electors eligible to vote for all the candidates proposed by the petition. "Votes cast for the same office at the last-preceding election" means, in the case of multiple openings for the same office, the total number of electors checked as having voted at the last-preceding election at which such office appeared on the ballot. [label.]
Sec. 69. Subsection (b) of section 9-453r of the general statutes is repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective from passage):
(b) On the horizontal rows below the rows so used for candidates, if any, who are so entitled to a party designation on the [voting machines] ballot, shall be placed, in the appropriate office columns, the names of candidates contained in petitions approved pursuant to section 9-453o bearing no party designation. Such candidates shall not be entitled to separate rows. Precedence as to horizontal row between or among such candidates shall be determined, if necessary, by the order in which their applications for petitions were filed with the Secretary of the State from the earliest to the latest; provided that within any such horizontal row the names of as many of such candidates for the same multiple-opening office as such row will accommodate shall be placed before placing the names of other such candidates for such office on the next such row. The order of the names of such candidates for the same multiple-opening office, within and between any such horizontal rows, shall be determined by the registrars of voters by lot in a ceremony which shall be open to the public. The registrars of voters shall provide at least five days public notice for each such ceremony. Each row in which a candidate's name appears who is not entitled to a party designation shall be labeled "Petitioning Candidates", the print of which shall correspond to that used for party designations.
Sec. 70. Section 9-453s of the general statutes is repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective from passage):
Vacancies in candidacies occurring after all nominating petitions have been approved under section 9-453o, shall not cause the position of any candidate's name on the ballot [label] to be changed to another position unless a blank row on the [machine] ballot results from such vacancy or vacancies in which case the position of candidates appearing on lines under the blank row may change if the consent of all candidates involved in such a change is filed in the Secretary of the State's office prior to the time for printing and filing sample [ballot labels] ballots with said secretary. The name of any candidate whose candidacy has been vacated shall not appear on the ballot. [label. The voting machine pointer over each position where no candidate's name appears shall be locked so that no vote can be cast in that position.]
Sec. 71. Section 9-470 of the general statutes is repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective from passage):
The secretary shall determine by lot, in a public ceremony held on the thirty-fifth day preceding the day of the primary, the order in which the names of the candidates will appear on the ballot of each party at such primary; provided that the category "uncommitted" shall appear last on such ballots. Notwithstanding any provision of the general statutes to the contrary, no candidate shall be designated on the ballot as the party-endorsed candidate. The names of such candidates shall appear, in the order so determined by the secretary, in the first vertical column of the [voting machine] ballot. Such column shall be designated "Nomination for President of the United States"; provided if the number of candidates is such that there is an insufficient number of places in such column, the secretary shall determine whether the names of the candidates shall also extend, in the order so determined, to the second and succeeding columns as may be necessary, or shall appear on the first and succeeding horizontal rows as may be necessary. Such columns or rows shall be designated as hereinabove provided. Except as otherwise provided in this chapter, the form of the ballot shall be prescribed by the secretary and shall conform, as nearly as may be, to the provisions of section 9-437, as amended by this act.
Sec. 72. Section 9-476 of the general statutes is repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective from passage):
Except as otherwise provided in this chapter, the provisions of chapter 145 and chapter 153 concerning absentee voting at primaries, conduct of primaries and return and tabulation of the vote at such primaries shall apply as nearly as practicable and in the manner prescribed by the secretary, to a presidential preference primary. The primary officials of each party for each polling place shall be as specified in section 9-436, except that (1) the appointment of assistant registrars of voters and absentee ballot counters shall be permitted but not required, (2) the minimum number of official checkers shall be one, (3) the minimum number of voting [machine] tabulator tenders shall be one for each two voting [machines] tabulators in use, (4) if two parties are holding primaries and the registrars of voters of such parties so agree, such registrars may jointly appoint (A) one enrolled member of either party to serve as moderator of both primaries, and (B) one enrolled member of either party to serve as head moderator of both primaries, (5) notwithstanding any reduction in the number of primary officials as permitted by this section, any duty required of primary officials by the general statutes may be performed by one or more primary officials, at the direction of the registrar of voters of the party of such officials, and (6) the registrar of voters shall have the sole power to appoint such officials. In making such appointments the registrar shall attempt, to the extent practicable, to provide representation for each candidate at each polling place. The provisions of section 9-436a shall apply to each candidate whose name appears on the ballot, except that each such candidate, through [his] such candidate's authorized or known representative, may submit to the registrar the name of one designee as candidate checker for each polling place, and the registrar shall appoint such designee as candidate checker for such candidate. Notwithstanding the provisions of section 9-438, the polls shall be open for voting at the primary between the hours of six o'clock a.m. and eight o'clock p.m. The moderator or head moderator of the primary in each town shall prepare duplicate lists of returns in the manner provided by section 9-440, as amended by this act, but notwithstanding the provisions of said section, [he] the moderator or head moderator shall hand deliver one of such lists to either the secretary or the state police by two o'clock p.m. of the day following the primary. Any moderator or head moderator, as the case may be, who fails to deliver such list to either the secretary or the state police by such time shall pay a late filing fee of fifty dollars.
Sec. 73. Section 9-247 of the general statutes is repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective from passage):
The registrars of voters shall, before the day of the election, [cause the mechanic or mechanics to insert on each machine the ballot labels corresponding with the sample diagrams provided and to] put each [such machine] voting tabulator in order in every way and set and adjust the same so that it shall be ready for use in voting when delivered at the polling place. Such registrars shall cause [the machine so labeled,] each such tabulator to be in order and set and adjusted, to be delivered at the polling place, together with all necessary furniture and appliances that go with the same, at the room where the election is to be held, not later than six o'clock in the afternoon of the day preceding the election. Each [voting machine] polling place shall be furnished with light sufficient to enable electors while voting to read the ballot [labels] and suitable for use by the election officials in examining the counters. [A pencil shall also be provided, within each voting machine, for use in casting a write-in ballot.]
Sec. 74. Subsection (a) of section 9-236 of the general statutes is repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective from passage):
(a) On the day of any primary, referendum or election, no person shall solicit on behalf of or in opposition to the candidacy of another or himself or on behalf of or in opposition to any question being submitted at the election or referendum, or loiter or peddle or offer any advertising matter, ballot or circular to another person within a radius of seventy-five feet of any outside entrance in use as an entry to any polling place or in any corridor, passageway or other approach leading from any such outside entrance to such polling place or in any room opening upon any such corridor, passageway or approach. [, except as provided in section 9-294.] Nothing contained in this section shall be construed to prohibit (1) parent-teacher associations or parent-teacher organizations from holding bake sales or other fund-raising activities on the day of any primary, referendum or election in any school used as a polling place, provided such sales or activities shall not be held in the room in which the election booths are located, (2) the registrars of voters from directing the officials at a primary, referendum or election to distribute, within the restricted area, adhesive labels on which are imprinted the words "I Voted Today", or (3) the registrars of voters in a primary, election or referendum from jointly permitting nonpartisan activities to be conducted in a room other than the room in which the election booths are located. The registrars may jointly impose such conditions and limitations on such nonpartisan activity as deemed necessary to ensure the orderly process of voting. The moderator shall evict any person who in any way interferes with the orderly process of voting.
Sec. 75. Subsection (b) of section 51-164n of the general statutes is repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective from passage):
(b) Notwithstanding any provision of the general statutes, any person who is alleged to have committed (1) a violation under the provisions of section 1-9, 1-10, 1-11, 4b-13, 7-13, 7-14, 7-35, 7-41, 7-83, 7-283, 7-325, 7-393, 8-25, 8-27, 9-63, [9-296, 9-305,] 9-322, 9-350, 10-193, 10-197, 10-198, 10-230, 10-251, 10-254, 12-52, 12-170aa, 12-292 or 12-326g, subdivision (4) of section 12-408, subdivision (3), (5) or (6) of section 12-411, section 12-435c, 12-476a, 12-476b, 12-487, 13a-71, 13a-107, 13a-113, 13a-114, 13a-115, 13a-117b, 13a-123, 13a-124, 13a-139, 13a-140, 13a-143b, 13a-247 or 13a-253, subsection (f) of section 13b-42, section 13b-90, 13b-221, 13b-292, 13b-336, 13b-337, 13b-338, 13b-410a, 13b-410b or 13b-410c, subsection (a), (b) or (c) of section 13b-412, section 13b-414, subsection (d) of section 14-12, section 14-20a or 14-27a, subsection (e) of section 14-34a, subsection (d) of section 14-35, section 14-43, 14-49, 14-50a or 14-58, subsection (b) of section 14-66, section 14-66a, 14-66b or 14-67a, subsection (g) of section 14-80, subsection (f) of section 14-80h, section 14-97a, 14-100b, 14-103a, 14-106a, 14-106c, 14-146, 14-152, 14-153 or 14-163b, a first violation as specified in subsection (f) of section 14-164i, section 14-219 as specified in subsection (e) of said section, subdivision (1) of section 14-223a, section 14-240, 14-249, 14-250 or 14-253a, subsection (a) of section 14-261a, section 14-262, 14-264, 14-267a, 14-269, 14-270, 14-275a, 14-278 or 14-279, subsection (e) of section 14-283, section 14-291, 14-293b, 14-296aa, 14-319, 14-320, 14-321, 14-325a, 14-326, 14-330 or 14-332a, subdivision (1), (2) or (3) of section 14-386a, section 15-33, subsection (a) of section 15-115, section 16-256, 16-256e, 16a-15 or 16a-22, subsection (a) or (b) of section 16a-22h, section 17a-24, 17a-145, 17a-149, 17a-152, 17a-465, 17a-642, 17b-124, 17b-131, 17b-137 or 17b-734, subsection (b) of section 17b-736, section 19a-30, 19a-33, 19a-39 or 19a-87, subsection (b) of section 19a-87a, section 19a-91, 19a-105, 19a-107, 19a-215, 19a-219, 19a-222, 19a-224, 19a-286, 19a-287, 19a-297, 19a-301, 19a-309, 19a-335, 19a-336, 19a-338, 19a-339, 19a-340, 19a-425, 19a-502, 20-7a, 20-14, 20-158, 20-231, 20-257, 20-265 or 20-324e, section 20-341l, 20-597, 20-608, 20-610, 21-30, 21-38, 21-39, 21-43, 21-47, 21-48, 21-63, 21-76a, 21a-21, 21a-25, 21a-26 or 21a-30, subsection (a) of section 21a-37, section 21a-46, 21a-61, 21a-63 or 21a-77, subsection (b) of section 21a-79, section 21a-85, 21a-154, 21a-159, 22-13, 22-14, 22-15, 22-16, 22-29, 22-34, 22-35, 22-36, 22-38, 22-39, 22-39a, 22-39b, 22-39c, 22-39d, 22-39e, 22-49, 22-54, 22-61, 22-89, 22-90, 22-98, 22-99, 22-100, 22-111o, 22-279, 22-280a, 22-318a, 22-320h, 22-324a, 22-326 or 22-342, subsection (b) or (e) of section 22-344, section 22-359, 22-366, 22-391, 22-413, 22-414, 22-415, 22a-66a or 22a-246, subsection (a) of section 22a-250, subsection (e) of section 22a-256h, section 22a-381d, 22a-449, 22a-461, 23-37, 23-38, 23-46 or 23-61b, subsection (a) or (b) of section 23-65, section 25-37, 25-40, 26-19, 26-21, 26-31, 26-40, 26-40a, 26-49, 26-54, 26-59, 26-61, 26-64, 26-79, 26-89, 26-97, 26-107, 26-117, 26-128, 26-131, 26-132, 26-138, 26-141, 26-207, 26-215, 26-224a, 26-227, 26-230, 26-294, 28-13, 29-6a, 29-109, 29-143o, 29-143z or 29-156a, subsection (b), (d), (e) or (g) of section 29-161q, section 29-161y, 29-161z, 29-198, 29-210, 29-243, 29-277, subsection (c) of section 29-291c, section 29-316, 29-318, 29-381, 30-48a, 30-86a, 31-3, 31-10, 31-11, 31-12, 31-13, 31-14, 31-15, 31-16, 31-18, 31-23, 31-24, 31-25, 31-28, 31-32, 31-36, 31-38, 31-38a, 31-40, 31-44, 31-47, 31-48, 31-51, 31-51k, 31-52, 31-52a or 31-54, subsection (a) or (c) of section 31-69, section 31-70, 31-74, 31-75, 31-76, 31-76a, 31-89b or 31-134, subsection (i) of section 31-273, section 31-288, 36a-787, 42-230, 45a-450, 45a-634 or 45a-658, subdivision (13) or (14) of section 46a-54, section 46a-59, 46b-22, 46b-24, 46b-34, 46b-38dd, 46b-38gg, 46b-38kk, 47-34a, 47-47, 49-8a, 49-16 or 53-133, or section 53-212a, 53-249a, 53-252, 53-264, 53-302a, 53-303e, 53-311a, 53-321, 53-322, 53-323, 53-331, 53-344 or 53-450, or (2) a violation under the provisions of chapter 268, or (3) a violation of any regulation adopted in accordance with the provisions of section 12-484, 12-487 or 13b-410, or (4) a violation of any ordinance, regulation or bylaw of any town, city or borough, except violations of building codes and the health code, for which the penalty exceeds ninety dollars but does not exceed two hundred fifty dollars, unless such town, city or borough has established a payment and hearing procedure for such violation pursuant to section 7-152c, shall follow the procedures set forth in this section.
Sec. 76. Section 9-320f of the general statutes is repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective from passage):
(a) Not earlier than the fifteenth day after any election or primary and not later than two business days before the canvass of votes by the Secretary of the State, Treasurer and Comptroller, for any federal or state election or primary, or by the town clerk for any municipal election or primary, the registrars of voters shall conduct a manual audit of the votes recorded in not less than ten per cent of the voting districts in the state, district or municipality, whichever is applicable. Such manual audit shall be noticed in advance and be open to public observation. Any election official who participates in the administration and conduct of an audit pursuant to this section shall be compensated by the municipality at the standard rate of pay established by such municipality for elections or primaries, as the case may be.
(b) The voting districts subject to the audit described in subsection (a) of this section shall be selected in a random drawing by the Secretary of the State and such selection process shall be open to the public. The offices subject to the audit pursuant to this section shall be, (1) in the case of an election where the office of presidential elector is on the ballot, 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 less than three offices, (2) in the case of an election where the office of Governor is on the ballot, 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 less than three offices, (3) in the case of a municipal election, three offices or twenty per cent of the number of offices on the ballot, whichever is greater, selected at random by the municipal clerk, and (4) in the case of a primary election, all offices required to be audited by federal law, plus one additional office, if any, but in no event less than twenty per cent of the offices on the ballot, selected in a random drawing by the municipal clerk.
(c) If a selected voting district has an office that is subject to recanvass or an election or primary contest pursuant to the general statutes, the Secretary shall select an alternative district, pursuant to the process described in subsection (b) of this section.
(d) The manual audit described in subsection (a) of this section shall consist of the manual tabulation of the paper ballots cast and counted by each voting [machine] tabulator subject to such audit. Once complete, the vote totals established pursuant to the manual tabulation shall be compared to the results reported by the voting [machine] tabulator on the day of the election or primary. The results of the manual tabulation shall be reported on a form prescribed by the Secretary of the State which shall include the total number of ballots counted, the total votes received by each candidate in question, the total votes received by each candidate in question on ballots that were properly completed by each voter and the total votes received by each candidate in question on ballots that were not properly completed by each voter. Such report shall be filed with the Secretary of the State who shall immediately forward such report to The University of Connecticut for analysis. The University of Connecticut shall file a written report with the Secretary of the State regarding such analysis that describes any discrepancies identified. After receipt of such report, the Secretary of the State shall file such report with the State Elections Enforcement Commission.
(e) For the purposes of this section, a ballot that has not been properly completed will be deemed to be a ballot on which (1) votes have been marked by the voter outside the vote targets, (2) votes have been marked by the voter using a manual marking device that cannot be read by the voting [machine] tabulator, or (3) in the judgment of the registrars of voters, the voter marked the ballot in such a manner that the voting [machine] tabulator may not have read the marks as votes cast.
(f) Notwithstanding the provisions of section 9-311, the Secretary of the State shall order a discrepancy recanvass of the returns of an election or primary for any office if a discrepancy, as defined in subsection (o) of this section, exists where the margin of victory in the race for such office is less than the amount of the discrepancy multiplied by the total number of voting districts where such race appeared on the ballot, provided in a year in which the Secretary of the State is a candidate for an office on the ballot and that office is subject to an audit as provided by this section, the State Elections Enforcement Commission shall order a discrepancy recanvass if a discrepancy, as defined by subsection (o) of this section, has occurred that could affect the outcome of the election or primary for such office.
(g) If The University of Connecticut report described in subsection (d) of this section indicates that a voting [machine] tabulator failed to record votes accurately and in the manner provided by the general statutes, the Secretary of the State shall require that the voting [machine] tabulator be examined and recertified by the Secretary of the State, or the Secretary's designee. Nothing in this subsection shall be construed to prohibit the Secretary of the State from requiring that a voting [machine] tabulator be examined and recertified.
(h) The audit report filed pursuant to subsection (d) of this section 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 or for any other cause of action arising from such election or primary.
(i) 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 or] tabulator malfunction as may be necessary for the purpose of reviewing whether or not to decertify the voting [machine or machines] tabulator or tabulators in question or to order the voting [machine] tabulator to be examined and recertified pursuant to subsection (g) of this section. Any report produced by the Secretary of the State as a result of such investigation shall be filed with the State Elections Enforcement Commission and the commission may initiate such further investigation in accordance with subdivision (1) of subsection (a) of section 9-7b as may be required to determine if any violations of the general statutes concerning election law have been committed.
(j) The individual paper ballots used at an election or primary 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.
(k) Nothing in this section shall be construed to preclude any candidate or elector from seeking additional remedies pursuant to chapter 149.
(l) After an election or primary, any voting [machine] tabulator may be kept locked for a period longer than that prescribed by sections 9-266, 9-310 and 9-447, as amended by this act, if such an extended period is ordered by either a court of competent jurisdiction, the Secretary of the State or the State Elections Enforcement Commission. Either the court or the Secretary of the State may order an audit of such voting [machine] tabulator to be conducted by such persons as the court or the Secretary of the State may designate, provided the State Elections Enforcement Commission may order such an audit under the circumstances prescribed in subsection (f) of this section. If the machine utilized in such election or primary is an optical scan voting system, such order to lock such machine shall include the tabulator, memory card and all other components and processes utilized in the programming of such machine.
(m) The Secretary of the State may adopt regulations, in accordance with the provisions of chapter 54, as may be necessary for the conduct of the manual tabulation of the paper ballots described in subsection (a) of this section and to establish guidelines for expanded audits when there are differences between the manual and machine counts.
(n) Notwithstanding any provision of the general statutes, the Secretary of the State shall have access to the code in any voting machine whenever any problem is discovered as a result of the audit described in subsection (a) of this section.
(o) As used in this section, "discrepancy" means any difference in vote totals between [machine] tabulator and manual counts in a voting district that exceeds one-half of one per cent of the lesser amount of the vote totals between [machine] tabulator and manual counts where such differences cannot be resolved through an accounting of ballots that were not marked properly in accordance with subsection (e) of this section, "state election" means "state election", as defined in section 9-1, as amended by this act, and "municipal election" means a municipal election held pursuant to section 9-164.
Sec. 77. Sections 9-6a, 9-242c, 9-243, 9-270, 9-271, 9-273 to 9-276, inclusive, and 9-279 to 9-306, inclusive, of the general statutes are repealed. (Effective from passage)
This act shall take effect as follows and shall amend the following sections: | ||
Section 1 |
from passage |
9-1 |
Sec. 2 |
from passage |
9-4 |
Sec. 3 |
from passage |
9-7b(a)(1) |
Sec. 4 |
from passage |
9-135a(a) |
Sec. 5 |
from passage |
9-135b(a) |
Sec. 6 |
from passage |
9-150b(b) and (c) |
Sec. 7 |
from passage |
9-150d |
Sec. 8 |
from passage |
9-168a(a) and (b) |
Sec. 9 |
from passage |
9-188 |
Sec. 10 |
from passage |
9-224 |
Sec. 11 |
from passage |
9-229(b) |
Sec. 12 |
from passage |
9-234 |
Sec. 13 |
from passage |
9-235(b) |
Sec. 14 |
from passage |
9-235d |
Sec. 15 |
from passage |
9-236a |
Sec. 16 |
from passage |
9-238 |
Sec. 17 |
from passage |
9-238a |
Sec. 18 |
from passage |
9-239 |
Sec. 19 |
from passage |
9-240 |
Sec. 20 |
from passage |
9-240a |
Sec. 21 |
from passage |
9-241(a) |
Sec. 22 |
from passage |
9-242 |
Sec. 23 |
from passage |
9-242b |
Sec. 24 |
from passage |
9-245 |
Sec. 25 |
from passage |
9-248 |
Sec. 26 |
from passage |
9-249(a) |
Sec. 27 |
from passage |
9-249a(a) |
Sec. 28 |
from passage |
9-249b(a) |
Sec. 29 |
from passage |
9-250a |
Sec. 30 |
from passage |
9-251 |
Sec. 31 |
from passage |
9-255 |
Sec. 32 |
from passage |
9-256 |
Sec. 33 |
from passage |
9-264 |
Sec. 34 |
from passage |
9-267 |
Sec. 35 |
from passage |
9-307 |
Sec. 36 |
from passage |
9-308 |
Sec. 37 |
from passage |
9-309 |
Sec. 38 |
from passage |
9-311a |
Sec. 39 |
from passage |
9-323 |
Sec. 40 |
from passage |
9-324 |
Sec. 41 |
from passage |
9-328 |
Sec. 42 |
from passage |
9-329a(b) |
Sec. 43 |
from passage |
9-329b |
Sec. 44 |
from passage |
9-330 |
Sec. 45 |
from passage |
9-332 |
Sec. 46 |
from passage |
9-352 |
Sec. 47 |
from passage |
9-353 |
Sec. 48 |
from passage |
9-354 |
Sec. 49 |
from passage |
9-363 |
Sec. 50 |
from passage |
9-366 |
Sec. 51 |
from passage |
9-367 |
Sec. 52 |
from passage |
9-369 |
Sec. 53 |
from passage |
9-369c(c) |
Sec. 54 |
from passage |
9-369d(b) |
Sec. 55 |
from passage |
9-371b |
Sec. 56 |
from passage |
9-372(15) |
Sec. 57 |
from passage |
9-377 |
Sec. 58 |
from passage |
9-400(a) |
Sec. 59 |
from passage |
9-426 |
Sec. 60 |
from passage |
9-434 |
Sec. 61 |
from passage |
9-435 |
Sec. 62 |
from passage |
9-436 |
Sec. 63 |
from passage |
9-437 |
Sec. 64 |
from passage |
9-440 |
Sec. 65 |
from passage |
9-445 |
Sec. 66 |
from passage |
9-446 |
Sec. 67 |
from passage |
9-447 |
Sec. 68 |
from passage |
9-453d |
Sec. 69 |
from passage |
9-453r(b) |
Sec. 70 |
from passage |
9-453s |
Sec. 71 |
from passage |
9-470 |
Sec. 72 |
from passage |
9-476 |
Sec. 73 |
from passage |
9-247 |
Sec. 74 |
from passage |
9-236(a) |
Sec. 75 |
from passage |
51-164n(b) |
Sec. 76 |
from passage |
9-320f |
Sec. 77 |
from passage |
Repealer section |
Statement of Purpose:
To make technical and minor corrections to the elections statutes, including updating the statutes to reflect the current use of voting tabulators.
[Proposed deletions are enclosed in brackets. Proposed additions are indicated by underline, except that when the entire text of a bill or resolution or a section of a bill or resolution is new, it is not underlined.]