HB 6065 — AN ACT CONCERNING SPECIAL ELECTIONS TO FILL STATE LEGISLATIVE VACANCIES.

General Assembly ProposedCommittee Bill No.

26385329 Referred to Committee on GOVERNMENT ADMINISTRATION AND ELECTIONS Introduced by:

REP.(GAE) AN ACT CONCERNING SPECIAL ELECTIONS TO FILL STATE LEGISLATIVE VACANCIES.

GILCHREST, 18th Dist.

AN ACT CONCERNING SPECIAL ELECTIONS TO FILL STATE LEGISLATIVE VACANCIES.

ThatSection section1. 9-215 of the general statutes be amended to permit a political party to conduct a primary for the purpose of determining the nominee who will appear on the ballot at any special election held to fill a vacancy in the office of state senator or state representative.

StatementSubsections (d) and (e) of Purpose:section 9-215 of the general statutes are repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective October 1, 2019):

To(d) allow(1) [If such] (A) Except as provided in subparagraph (B) of this subdivision, if a vacancy resulting from the resignation or death of a member or member-elect of the General Assembly exists in a senatorial or assembly district composed of a single town or part of a single town, [such] nominations by political parties to conductfill primariesany tosuch determinevacancy nomineesshall tobe runmade as the rules of such parties provide, in specialaccordance electionswith heldsection to9-390, filland statefiled legislativewith vacancies.the Secretary of the State;

except that [(A)] (i) if such rules provide for selection by delegates and the vacancy exists in a senatorial or assembly district composed of a single town, the delegates to the convention held for the nomination of a candidate for the office of state senator or state representative in such town at the last state election shall be the delegates for the purpose of selecting a LCO No.

5329 1 of 7 Committee Bill No.6065 [candidate] nominee to fill such vacancy;

[(B)] (ii) if such rules provide for the selection by delegates and the vacancy exists in a senatorial or assembly district composed of part of a single town, the delegates to the convention held for the nomination of a candidate for the office of state senator or state representative in such district at the last state election shall be the delegates for the purpose of selecting a [candidate] nominee to fill such vacancy;

and [(C)] (iii) if such rules provide for direct primaries under section 9-390, the nomination shall be made by the town committee of such party in the case of a vacancy in a senatorial or assembly district composed of a single town and, in a senatorial or assembly district composed of part of a single town, by the members of the town committee from such political subdivision or senatorial or assembly district.

(B) (i) If a vacancy resulting from the resignation or death of a member or member-elect of the General Assembly exists in (I) a senatorial or assembly district composed of a single town, nominations by political parties to fill any such vacancy may be made by caucus of the enrolled members of such parties in such town, or (II) a senatorial or assembly district composed of part of a single town, nominations by political parties to fill any such vacancy may be made by caucus of the enrolled members of such parties in such district.

(ii) As used in this subparagraph, "caucus" means any meeting, at a designated hour and place, or at designated hours and places, of the enrolled members of a political party within a town or district, as applicable, for the purpose of making nominations to fill a vacancy resulting from the resignation or death of a member or member-elect of the General Assembly.

(2) [If such] (A) Except as provided in subparagraph (B) of this subdivision, if a vacancy resulting from the resignation or death of a member or member-elect of the General Assembly exists in a district office, as defined in section 9-372, nominations by political parties to fill any such vacancy shall be made by the delegates to the senatorial LCO No.

5329 2 of 7 Committee Bill No.6065 or assembly convention for the last state election.

[shall be the delegates for the purpose of selecting a candidate to fill such vacancy.] (B) (i) If a vacancy resulting from the resignation or death of a member or member-elect of the General Assembly exists in a district office, nominations by political parties to fill any such vacancy may be made by caucus of the enrolled members of such parties in the geographic portion of the state served by such district office.

(ii) As used in this subparagraph, "caucus" means any meeting, at a designated hour and place, or at designated hours and places, of the enrolled members of a political party within the geographic portion of the state served by a district office for the purpose of making nominations to fill a vacancy resulting from the resignation or death of a member or member-elect of the General Assembly.

(3) If a vacancy occurs in the delegation from any town, political subdivision or district, such vacancy may be filled by the town committee of the town in which the delegate resided.

(4) Nominations by political parties pursuant to this section may be made and certified at any time after the resignation or death of the member or member-elect of the General Assembly and not later than the thirty-sixth day before the day of the election.

No such nomination shall be effective until the presiding officer or secretary of any district convention, or the chairperson or presiding officer of any caucus held pursuant to subdivision (2) of this subsection, has certified the nomination to the Secretary of the State or, in the case of a vacancy in a senatorial or assembly district composed of a single town or part thereof, until the presiding officer or secretary of the town committee or single town convention, or the chairperson or presiding officer of any caucus held pursuant to subdivision (1) of this subsection, has certified the nomination to the Secretary of the State.

If a certificate of a party's nomination to fill a vacancy resulting from the resignation or death of a member or member-elect of the General Assembly is not received by the Secretary of the State on or before the thirty-sixth day LCO No.

5329 3 of 7 Committee Bill No.6065 prior to the day of the election, such certificate shall be invalid and such party, for the purposes of section 9-224a, shall be deemed to have made no valid certification of nomination [by a political party] for such senatorial or assembly office.

(e) No primary shall be held for the nomination of any political party to fill any vacancy in the office of state senator or state representative and the [party-endorsed candidate so selected] candidate selected in accordance with subsection (d) of this section shall be deemed, for the purposes of chapter 153, the person certified by the Secretary of the State under section 9-444 as the nominee of such party.

Sec.

2.

Subparagraph (A) of subdivision (5) of subsection (a) of section 9-7b of the general statutes is repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective October 1, 2019):

(5) (A) To inspect or audit at any reasonable time and upon reasonable notice the accounts or records of any treasurer or principal treasurer, except as provided for in subparagraph (B) of this subdivision, as required by chapter 155 or 157 and to audit any such election, primary or referendum held within the state;

provided, (i) (I) not later than two months preceding the day of an election at which a candidate is seeking election, the commission shall complete any audit it has initiated in the absence of a complaint that involves a committee of the same candidate from a previous election, and (II) during the two-month period preceding the day of an election at which a candidate is seeking election, the commission shall not initiate an audit in the absence of a complaint that involves a committee of the same candidate from a previous election, and (ii) the commission shall not audit any caucus, as defined in subdivision (1) of section 9-372, or any caucus held pursuant to subsection (d) of section 9-215, as amended by this act.

Sec.

3.

Section 9-396 of the general statutes is repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective October 1, 2019):

26385329 14 of 17 Committee Bill No.6065 At any caucus of the enrolled members of any party in any municipality or in any voting district of any municipality, [the chairman] or at any caucus held pursuant to subsection (d) of section 9-215, as amended by this act, the chairperson or presiding officer of such caucus shall, upon the receipt of a written motion from any person lawfully participating in such caucus calling for a vote by ballot upon such matter as such motion designates, submit such motion to a rising vote;

and, if fifteen electors present and legally entitled to participate in such caucus vote in favor of such motion, the vote on the matter specified in such motion shall be by ballot.

The chairperson or presiding officer shall thereupon appoint two tellers;

and, upon the written application of fifteen electors legally entitled to participate in such caucus, he or she shall appoint a teller from the persons whose names appear on such application.

Before any ballot is deposited, the name of the elector offering to vote shall be given to the clerk or secretary of such caucus, and such name shall be checked on the enrollment list of such party.

No person shall vote or participate or attempt to vote or participate in any caucus of a party in any voting district unless he is enrolled on the last-completed enrollment list of such party in such voting district;

provided, if the party rules of such party provide for a joint caucus for two or more voting districts of a municipality, a person may vote in such joint caucus if the voting district in which he is enrolled is participating in such joint caucus.

Any person who violates any provision of this section shall be guilty of a class D misdemeanor.