File No. 44

House of Representatives, March 18, 2013

The Committee on Government Administration and Elections reported through REP. JUTILA of the 37th Dist., Chairperson of the Committee on the part of the House, that the joint resolution ought to be adopted.

RESOLUTION APPROVING AN AMENDMENT TO THE STATE CONSTITUTION TO GRANT INCREASED AUTHORITY TO THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY REGARDING ELECTION ADMINISTRATION.

Resolved by this Assembly:

WHEREAS, at the 2012 regular session of the General Assembly of the state of Connecticut, said General Assembly did approve, by at least a majority, but by less than three-fourths, of the total membership of each house, a resolution proposing an amendment to the Constitution of the State which amendment, in accordance with article sixth of the amendments to the Constitution, was published in the manner prescribed therein and continued to the present regular session of the General Assembly, and which resolution is as follows:

"Resolved by this Assembly:

That the following be proposed as an amendment to the Constitution of the State, which, when approved and adopted in the manner provided by the Constitution, shall, to all intents and purposes, become a part thereof:

Section 1. Section 7 of article sixth of the Constitution is amended to read as follows:

The general assembly may provide by law for voting in the choice of any officer to be elected or upon any question to be voted on at an election by qualified voters of the state who [are unable to appear at the polling place on the day of election because of absence from the city or town of which they are inhabitants or because of sickness or physical disability or because the tenets of their religion forbid secular activity] do not appear in person at a polling place on the day of an election.

Sec. 2. Section 4 of article fourth of the Constitution is amended to read as follows:

[At the meetings of the electors in the respective towns held quadrennially as herein provided for the election of state officers, the presiding officers shall receive the votes and shall count and declare the same in the presence of the electors.] The votes at the election of state officers shall be counted and declared in open meeting by the presiding officers in the several towns. The presiding officers shall make and certify duplicate lists of the persons voted for, and of the number of votes for each. One list shall be delivered [within three days] to the town clerk, and [within ten days after such meeting,] the other shall be delivered under seal to the secretary of the state. The votes so delivered shall be counted, canvassed and declared by the treasurer, secretary, and comptroller, within the month of November. The vote for treasurer shall be counted, canvassed and declared by the secretary and comptroller only; the vote for secretary shall be counted, canvassed and declared by the treasurer and comptroller only; and the vote for comptroller shall be counted, canvassed and declared by the treasurer and secretary only. A fair list of the persons and number of votes given for each, together with the returns of the presiding officers, shall be, by the treasurer, secretary and comptroller, made and laid before the general assembly, then next to be held, on the first day of the session thereof. In the election of governor, lieutenant-governor, secretary, treasurer, comptroller and attorney general, the person found upon the count by the treasurer, secretary and comptroller in the manner herein provided, to be made and announced before December fifteenth of the year of the election, to have received the greatest number of votes for each of such offices, respectively, shall be elected thereto; provided, if the election of any of them shall be contested as provided by statute, and if such a contest shall proceed to final judgment, the person found by the court to have received the greatest number of votes shall be elected. If two or more persons shall be found upon the count of the treasurer, secretary and comptroller to have received an equal and the greatest number of votes for any of said offices, and the election is not contested, the general assembly on the second day of its session shall hold a joint convention of both houses, at which, without debate, a ballot shall be taken to choose such officer from those persons who received such a vote; and the balloting shall continue on that or subsequent days until one of such persons is chosen by a majority vote of those present and voting. The general assembly shall have power to enact laws regulating and prescribing the order and manner of voting for such officers. The general assembly shall by law prescribe the manner in which all questions concerning the election of a governor or lieutenant-governor shall be determined.

Sec. 3. Section 9 of article third of the Constitution is amended to read as follows:

At all elections for members of the general assembly the presiding officers in the several towns shall [receive the votes of the electors, and] count and declare [them] the votes of the electors in open meeting. The presiding officers shall make and certify duplicate lists of the persons voted for, and of the number of votes for each. One list shall be delivered [within three days] to the town clerk, and [within ten days after such meeting,] the other shall be delivered under seal to the secretary of the state.

RESOLVED: That the foregoing proposed amendment to the Constitution be continued to the next session of the General Assembly elected at the general election to be held on November 6, 2012, and published with the laws passed at the present session, or be presented to the electors at the general election to be held on November 6, 2012, whichever the case may be, according to article sixth of the amendments to the Constitution. The designation of said proposed amendment to be used on ballots at such election shall be "Shall the Constitution of the State be amended to remove restrictions concerning absentee ballots and to permit a person to vote without appearing at a polling place on the day of an election?""

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THIS ASSEMBLY: That the said amendment so proposed is approved and that it be presented to the electors at the general election to be held on November 4, 2014.

The following Fiscal Impact Statement and Bill Analysis are prepared for the benefit of the members of the General Assembly, solely for purposes of information, summarization and explanation and do not represent the intent of the General Assembly or either chamber thereof for any purpose. In general, fiscal impacts are based upon a variety of informational sources, including the analyst's professional knowledge. Whenever applicable, agency data is consulted as part of the analysis, however final products do not necessarily reflect an assessment from any specific department.


OFA Fiscal Note

State Impact:

Municipal Impact: None

Explanation

This resolution proposes an amendment to the State Constitution to allow the General Assembly greater authority over absentee voting laws. The Secretary of the State is anticipated to incur a cost of $5,000 in FY 15 (for the November 2014 election) for providing posters with the proposed constitutional amendment question and explanation to each polling place in every municipality.

This cost will cover the printing and mailing of the posters. Since all materials required for placing a constitutional amendment on the ballot are supplied by the State, no costs will be incurred by municipalities.

The Out Years

There is no anticipated ongoing fiscal impact from the resolution.




OLR Bill Analysis

HJ 36

RESOLUTION APPROVING AN AMENDMENT TO THE STATE CONSTITUTION TO GRANT INCREASED AUTHORITY TO THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY REGARDING ELECTION ADMINISTRATION.

SUMMARY:

This resolution proposes a constitutional amendment to (1) eliminate the requirement for electors to gather on Election Day to cast votes for state officers and General Assembly members and (2) remove restrictions on absentee voting.

The resolution also lifts the constitutional deadlines by which the lists of results (i.e., moderator returns) for state officers and General Assembly members must be delivered to town clerks and the secretary of the state (within three and 10 days after an election, respectively) (see BACKGROUND).

The ballot designation to be used when the amendment is presented at the general election is: “Shall the Constitution of the State be amended to remove restrictions concerning absentee ballots and to permit a person to vote without appearing at a polling place on the day of an election?”

The state constitution currently sets the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November in specified years as the day of election for legislative and statewide offices (Article Third § 8 and Article Fourth § 1). With one exception, it requires electors to gather at a meeting on this day to elect General Assembly members and state officers (Article Third § 9 and Article Fourth § 4). The exception authorizes the General Assembly to pass a law allowing electors to cast their votes by absentee ballot if they will be out of town, are sick or have a physical disability, or the tenets of their religion prohibit secular activity on Election Day (Article Sixth § 7). The General Assembly exercised this authority and passed laws codified at CGS § 9-135.

EFFECTIVE DATE: The resolution will appear on the 2014 general election ballot. If a majority of those voting in the general election approves the amendment, it will become part of the state constitution.

BACKGROUND

Moderator Returns

The statutes require moderators to deliver their returns:

1. by electronic means no later than midnight on Election Day (in which case they must also deliver a paper copy no later than three days after an election);

2. by hand to the secretary of the state no later than 6:00 p.m. the day after an election; or

3. by hand to the State Police by 4:00 p.m. the day after an election, who must then deliver them by hand to the secretary no later than 6:00 p.m. the same day.

Moderators must deliver the returns to their respective town clerks on or before the day after an election (CGS § 9-314).

COMMITTEE ACTION

Government Administration and Elections Committee

Joint Favorable