HB 6205 — AN ACT REVISING CERTAIN ABSENTEE VOTING STATUTES.

House of Representatives General Assembly File No.

572724 General Assembly January Session, 20212021(Reprint Substituteof HouseFile Bill No.

6205572) Substitute House ofBill Representatives,No. April 22, 2021 The Committee on Government Administration and Elections reported through REP.

FOX6205 ofAs theAmended 148thby Dist.,House ChairpersonAmendment ofSchedule the"A" CommitteeApproved onby the partLegislative ofCommissioner theMay House,26, that2021 theAN substituteACT billREVISING oughtCERTAIN toABSENTEE pass.VOTING STATUTES.

AN ACT REVISING CERTAIN ABSENTEE VOTING STATUTES.

Section 9-135 of the general statutes is repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective Octoberfrom 1,passage): 2021):

[on the day of the primary, election or referendum;] or(6) sHB6205 / File No.

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572724 (6) the required performance of such elector's or person's duties as a primary, election or referendum official, including as a town clerk or registrar of voters or as staff of the clerk or registrar, at a polling place other than such elector's or person's own during all of the hours of voting at such primary, election or referendum.referendum;

[;

As used in this section, "COVID-19" means the respiratory disease designated by the World Health Organization on February 11, 2020, as coronavirus 2019, and any related mutation thereof recognized by said organization as a communicable respiratory disease.]disease. (b) No person shall misrepresent the eligibility requirements for voting by absentee ballot prescribed in subsection (a) of this section, to any elector or prospective absentee ballot applicant.

(b) No person shall misrepresent the eligibility requirements for voting by absentee ballot prescribed in subsection (a) of this section, to any elector or prospective absentee ballot applicant.

Section 9-137 of the general statutes is repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective Octoberfrom 1,passage): 2021):

[(a)](a) Each absentee ballot shall be returned to the municipal clerk, inserted in an inner envelope which shall be capable of being sealed and which shall have printed on its face a form containing the following statements:

572724 2 sHB6205 File No.

572724 ....

(Signature)" [(b)(b) Notwithstanding the provisions of subsection (a) of this section, for the state election in 2020, each inner envelope in which an absentee ballot is returned to the municipal clerk shall have printed on its face a form containing the following statements:

"I hereby state under the penalties of false statement in absentee balloting that I ameligibleto vote at theprimary,electionorreferendum in the municipality in which this absentee ballot is to be cast and that I expect to be unable to appear at my polling place during[during the hours of voting atat] on the day of such primary, election or referendum for one or more of the following reasons:

(2) my absence from the town in which I am eligible to votevote; during all of the hours of voting;

(3)[during myall illnessof orthe physicalhours disability;of voting;

(4)(3) the tenets of my religionillness] which(3) forbidsickness secular activity on the day of the primary, election or referendum;physical disability;

(5)(4) mythe dutiestenets asof amy primary,religion electionwhich orforbid referendumsecular official;activity;

[on the day of the primary, election or referendum;] (5) my duties as a primary, election or referendum official;

(Signature)"](Signature)" This act shall take effect as follows and shall amend the following sections:

Section 1 Octoberfrom 1,passage 2021 9-135 Sec.

2 Octoberfrom 1,passage 2021 9-137 GAEsHB6205 Joint/ FavorableFile Subst.No.

sHB6205724 /sHB6205 File No.

572724 3The sHB6205following FileFiscal No.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.

572 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.

None Explanation This bill expands two of the six statutory reasons for which qualified voters may vote by absentee ballot.

House "A" strikes the original bill and its associated fiscal impact, thus becoming the bill with the above referenced fiscal impact.

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572724 OLR Bill Analysis sHB 6205 (as amended by House "A")* AN ACT REVISING CERTAIN ABSENTEE VOTING STATUTES.

Under the bill, qualified voters may vote bybyabsenteeballotif,duringthespecifiedtime,theyareunabletoappear absentee if, during the specified time, they are unable to appear at their polling place because of (1) sickness generally, rather than because of their illness, or (2) physical disability generally, rather than because of their physical disability.

Lastly, the bill makes technical changes,changes. including removing provisions concerning absentee voting in the 2020 state election.

*House Amendment “A” makes the bill effective upon passage, sHB6205 / File No.

724 5 sHB6205 File No.

724 ratherthanOctober1,2021,andpreservesprovisionsonabsenteevoting in the 2020 state election.

OctoberUpon 1,passage 2021BACKGROUND sHB6205Related /Constitutional FileAmendment No.sHJ 58 (File 96), which the House passed by a majority of the membership but less than three-fourths, proposes a constitutional amendment to remove the state constitution’s current restrictions on absentee voting.

572Related Bill sSB 5 sHB6205(File File570), No.reported favorably by the Government Administration and Elections Committee, contains similar provisions.