SB 352 — AN ACT CONCERNING THE RIGHT TO VIEW A BALLOT DURING RECANVASS PROCEDURES.

Senate General Assembly RaisedFile Bill No.

352389 February Session, 2024 LCOSenate Bill No.

2447352 ReferredSenate, toApril 10, 2024 The Committee on GOVERNMENTGovernment ADMINISTRATIONAdministration ANDand ELECTIONSElections Introducedreported by:through SEN.

(GAE)FLEXER ANof ACTthe CONCERNING29th THEDist., RIGHTChairperson TOof VIEWthe ACommittee BALLOTon DURINGthe RECANVASSpart PROCEDURES.of the Senate, that the bill ought to pass.

AN ACT CONCERNING THE RIGHT TO VIEW A BALLOT DURING RECANVASS PROCEDURES.

Such recanvass officials shall, in the presence of such moderator and registrars of voters, make a record of the number on the seal and theSB352 number/ onFile the protective counter, if one is provided, on each voting LCO 2447 1 of 2 Bill No.

352389 tabulator1 specifiedSB352 byFile suchNo. moderator.

389 the number on the protective counter, if one is provided, on each voting tabulator specified by such moderator.

Section 1 July 1, 2024 9-311(b) GAE Joint Favorable LCOSB352 2447/ 2File ofNo. 2

389 2 SB352 File No.

389 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:

Agency Affected Fund-Effect FY 25 $ FY 26 $ Elections Enforcement GF - Revenue Minimal Minimal Commission Loss Note:

GF=General Fund Municipal Impact:

None Explanation The bill imposes a right to view any ballot by party representatives during recanvassing procedures and imposes a fine for denial of that right which results in a potential revenue impact to the State Elections Enforcement Commission (SEEC).

Previous law empowered the SEEC to impose a penalty of up to $2,000 per violation.

The bill fixes a penalty of $500 for each violation as a standard going forward.

This results in a potentialrevenuelosswilldependonthenumberofviolationsimposed.

The Out Years The annualized ongoing fiscal impact identified above would continue into the future subject to the number of violations imposed.

SB352 / File No.

389 3 SB352 File No.

389 OLR Bill Analysis SB 352 AN ACT CONCERNING THE RIGHT TO VIEW A BALLOT DURING RECANVASS PROCEDURES.

SUMMARY Afteraprimaryoranelection,arecanvassgenerallytakesplacewhen there is a discrepancy, close vote, or tie that requires election officials to recount each ballot.

During the recount, existing law allows party representatives to view each ballot as it is being recounted in order to discern how the ballot was marked.

This bill imposes a $500 fine on any moderator or recanvass official that interferes with that right.

Under existing law, the State Elections Enforcement Commission (SEEC) may levy a fine of up to $2,000 for certain election offenses, including a violation of this provision (CGS § 9-7b(a)(2)(A)).

Presumably, the bill fixes the specific amount SEEC must impose for a violation of this right.

EFFECTIVE DATE:

July 1, 2024 COMMITTEE ACTION Government Administration and Elections Committee Joint Favorable Yea 19 Nay 0 (03/22/2024) SB352 / File No.

389 4