HB 6325 — AN ACT CONCERNING THE SECRETARY OF THE STATE, ABSENTEE BALLOTS AND ELECTION AUDITS.

4990 4 of 13 ruling, the provisions of subsection (b) of section 4-177c, section 4-178 and section 4-179 shall apply to the hearing.

(h)[A]Exceptasprovidedinsubsection(c)of section9-3,asamended by this act, a declaratory ruling shall be effective when personally delivered or mailed or on such later date specified by the agency in the ruling, shall have the same status and binding effect as an order issued in a contested case and shall be a final decision for purposes of appeal in accordance with the provisions of section 4-183.

A declaratory ruling shall contain the names of all parties to the proceeding, the particular facts on which it is based and the reasons for its conclusion.

(i) If an agency does not issue a declaratory ruling, other than a declaratory ruling described in section 9-3, as amended by this act, within one hundred eighty days after the filing of a petition therefor, or within such longer period as may be agreed by the parties, the agency shall be deemed to have decided not to issue such ruling.

(j) The agency shall keep a record of the proceeding as provided in section 4-177.

Sec.5.

Subsection(l)ofsection9-140ofthegeneralstatutesisrepealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective October 1, 2021):

(l) (1) No candidate, party or political committee, or agent of such candidate or committee shall mail unsolicited applications for absentee ballots to any person, unless such mailing includes:

[(1)] (A) A written explanation of the eligibility requirements for voting by absentee ballot as prescribed in subsection (a) of section 9-135, and [(2)] (B) a written warning that voting or attempting to vote by absentee ballot without meeting one or more of such eligibility requirements subjects the elector or applicant to potential civil and criminal penalties.

As used in this [subsection] subdivision, "agent" means any person authorized to act on behalf of another person.

(2) Notwithstanding the provisions of subdivision (1) of this subsection, neither the Secretary of the State nor any registrar of voters, LCO No.

4990 5 of 13 town clerk or any individual appointed thereby shall mail unsolicited applications for absentee ballots to any person.

Sec.

6.

(NEW) (Effective from passage) Notwithstanding the provisions of subsection (c) of section 9-147a and sections 9-150a and 9-150e of the general statutes, whenever at any election the General Assembly authorizes absentee ballots to be processed before the day of such election, (1) the registrars of voters of each municipality shall appoint absentee ballot counters for such purpose and such absentee ballot counters shall so process absentee ballots before the day of such election in accordance with applicable provisions of law, and (2) in the case of any returned absentee ballot for which the statement on the inner envelope has not been signed as required by section 9-140a of the general statutes, (A) the registrars of voters shall not contact the absentee ballot applicant who returned such absentee ballot for the purpose of curing such lack of signature, and (B) the absentee ballot counters shall not open such inner envelope or remove the ballot therefrom, shall replace such inner envelope in the opened outer envelope and shall mark such outer envelope "Rejected" and endorse the reason for such rejection on such outer envelope.

Sec.

7.

(Effective October 1, 2021) (a) Notwithstanding the provisions of section 7-192a of the general statutes, the Secretary of the State shall establish a pilot program for the manual or electronic verification of signatures on the inner envelopes for returned absentee ballots at the 2022 state election.

The Secretary shall randomly select five municipalities for participation in such pilot program, in accordance with the following:

(1) One municipality with a population of less than ten thousand;

(2) one municipality with a population of ten thousand or greater, but less than twenty-five thousand;

(3) one municipality with a population of twenty-five thousand or greater, but less than fifty thousand;

(4) one municipality with a population of fifty thousand or greater, but less than one hundred thousand;

and (5) one municipality with a population ofone hundred thousand or greater.

For thepurposes of this section, "population" means the estimated number of people according to the most recent version of the State Register and Manual LCO No.

4990 6 of 13 prepared pursuant to section 3-90 of the general statutes.

(b) Not later than January 1, 2023, the Secretary of the State shall submit a report on the findings of the pilot program described in subsection (a) of this section and recommendations for legislation to the joint standing committee of the General Assembly having cognizance of mattersrelatingtoelections,inaccordancewiththeprovisionsofsection 11-4a of the general statutes.

Sec.

8.

Subsection (b) of section 9-139a of the general statutes is repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective from passage):

(b) The application for absentee ballot shall be in the form of a statement signed under the penalties of false statement in absentee balloting.

Each application shall contain (1) spaces for the signature underthepenaltiesoffalsestatementinabsenteeballotingofanyperson who assists the applicant in the completion of an application, together with the information required in section 9-140, as amended by this act, [and] (2) spaces for the signature and the printed or typed name of the applicant, and (3) a conspicuously placed statement of the penalties for violation of any provision of said section regarding possession, completion or return of an application.

Sec.

9.

(3) One appointed by the minority leader of the House of LCORepresentatives; No.

4990sHB6325 7/ ofFile 13No. Representatives;

(4)500 One1 appointedsHB6325 byFile theNo. minority leader of the Senate;

500 (4) One appointed by the minority leader of the Senate;

(e)The speaker oftheHouse ofRepresentativesandthepresidentofRepresentatives andthepresident pro tempore of the Senate shall select the chairpersons of the task force from LCOamong No.the members of the task force.

4990Such 8chairpersons ofshall 13schedule amongthefirst themeeting membersofthe oftask theforce, taskwhichshall force.beheld not later thansixty sHB6325 / File No.

Such500 chairpersons2 shallsHB6325 scheduleFile thefirstNo. meeting ofthe task force, whichshall beheld not later thansixty days after the effective date of this section.

500 days after the effective date of this section.

10.2.

LCO(4) No.One appointed by the minority leader of the House of Representatives;

4990sHB6325 9/ ofFile 13No. (4) One appointed by the minority leader of the House of Representatives;

(5)500 One3 appointedsHB6325 byFile theNo. minority leader of the Senate;

500 (5) One appointed by the minority leader of the Senate;

(g) Not later than January 31, 2022, the working group shall submit a LCOreport on its findings and recommendations to the joint standing committee of the General Assembly having cognizance of matters sHB6325 / File No.

4990500 104 ofsHB6325 13File reportNo. on its findings and recommendations to the joint standing committee of the General Assembly having cognizance of matters relating to elections, in accordance with the provisions of section 11-4a of the general statutes, and to the Secretary of the State.

500 relating to elections, in accordance with the provisions of section 11-4a of the general statutes, and to the Secretary of the State.

11.3.

In the case of a minor party, the selection of town committee LCOmembers and delegates to conventions shall not be valid unless at least one copy of the party rules regulating the manner of making such sHB6325 / File No.

4990500 115 ofsHB6325 13File membersNo. and delegates to conventions shall not be valid unless at least one copy of the party rules regulating the manner of making such selection has been filed in the office of the Secretary of the State at least sixty daysbefore such selectionismade.

500 selection has been filed in the office of the Secretary of the State at least sixty daysbefore such selectionismade.

2 Octoberfrom 1,passage 2021New 9-3section Sec.

3 Octoberfrom 1,passage 20219-374 4-166(16)GAE Sec.Joint Favorable Subst.

4sHB6325 October/ 1,File 2021No. 4-176 Sec.

5500 October6 1,sHB6325 2021File 9-140(l)No. from passage Sec.

6500 NewThe sectionfollowing Sec.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.

7In Octobergeneral, 1,fiscal 2021impacts Neware sectionbased Sec.upon a variety of informational sources, including the analyst’s professional knowledge.

8Whenever applicable, agency data is consulted as part of the analysis, however final products do not necessarily reflect an assessment from passageany 9-139a(b)specific Sec.department.

9OFA fromFiscal passageNote NewState sectionImpact: Sec.

10None fromMunicipal passageImpact: New section Sec.

11Municipalities fromEffect passageFY 9-37422 LCO$ No.FY 23 $ Various Municipalities Potential See Below See Below Cost Explanation This bill establishes a task force to study the feasibility of implementing procedures under which absentee ballot applicants return absentee ballots using one envelope, and a working group to examine risk-limiting auditsandoversee arelatedpilot program,within available appropriations, in five to ten municipalities for the 2021 municipal elections.

4990A 12municipality ofmay 13incur Statementminimal ofcosts Purpose:to take part in the pilot program;

Tohowever, (1) require the Secretary of the State to report on certain election laws modified or suspended for any primary or election held in 2020 or 2021, (2) require any declaratory ruling, instruction, opinion or order of the Secretary to be adopted as a regulation and submitted to the Legislative Regulation Review Committee, (3) prohibit the unsolicited mailing of absentee ballots by certain election officials, (4) provide state-wide consistency regarding pre-election day processing of absentee ballots whenever authorized and prohibit registrars of voters from contacting voters for the purpose of curing unsigned absentee ballots, (5) require the Secretary to establish a pilot program fromis thevoluntary verificationit ofis signaturesassumed on returned absentee ballot envelopes, (6) require that absentee ballot applications contain a statementmunicipality regardingwould penaltiesparticipate foronly noncompliance with certain provisions, (7) establish a task force to study the feasibilityextent ofit single-envelopehas returnsavailable ofresources. absentee ballots, (8) establish a working group to examine risk-limiting audits of election results, and (9) change the deadline by which minor parties need to file their rules with the Secretary prior to nominating candidates for office.

[ProposedThe deletionsestablishment areof encloseda intask brackets.force has no fiscal impact as PA 17-236 prohibits transportation allowances for task force members.

ProposedLastly, additionsthe arebill indicatedalso bymoves underline,up exceptthe thatdeadline whenby thewhich entireminor textparties ofmust file a billcopy orof resolutiontheir orparty arules sectionwith the Secretary of athe billState, orfrom resolutionat isleast new,60 itdays isto notat underlined.]least Co-Sponsors:180 days, before nominating candidates for office.

REP.This provision has no fiscal impact.

MASTROFRANCESCO,sHB6325 80th/ Dist.;File No.

SEN.500 7 sHB6325 File No.

SAMPSON,500 16thThe Dist.Out Years The annualized ongoing fiscal impact identified above would continue into the future subject to inflation.

REP.sHB6325 / File No.

FRANCE,500 42nd8 Dist.;sHB6325 File No.

REP.500 OLR Bill Analysis sHB 6325 AN ACT CONCERNING THE SECRETARY OF THE STATE, ABSENTEE BALLOTS AND ELECTION AUDITS.

FISHBEIN,SUMMARY 90thThis Dist.bill establishes a (1) task force to study the feasibility of implementing procedures under which absentee ballot applicants return absentee ballots using one envelope, instead of two, and (2) working group to examine risk-limiting audits and oversee a related pilot program, within available appropriations, in five to 10 municipalities for the 2021 municipal elections.

REP.The bill also moves up the deadline by which minor parties must file a copy of their party rules with the secretary of the state, from at least 60 days to at least 180 days, before nominating candidates for office.

ANDERSON,“Party 62ndrules” Dist.include any amendments to them.

H.B.By law, minor parties must nominate candidates and certify the list of candidates no later than 62 days before the election (e.g., September 20, 2020) (CGS § 9-452).

6325A LCOcopy No.of the party rules must be on file with the secretary by the deadline in order for a nominated candidate’s name to appear on the official ballot.

4990EFFECTIVE 13DATE: of 13

Upon passage § 1 — TASK FORCE ON ABSENTEE BALLOT ENVELOPES The bill establishes a 12-member task force to study the feasibility of implementing procedures under which absentee ballot applicants return absentee ballots using one envelope, instead of two.

The study must examine and identify each section of the general statutes that requires amending to implement these procedures.

Membership sHB6325 / File No.

500 9 sHB6325 File No.

500 Under the bill, the task force consists of the following members:

1.

the secretary of the state, or her designee;

2.

one member each appointed by the Senate president pro tempore,Housespeaker,andSenateandHouseminorityleaders;

3.

one member each appointed by the Government Administration and Elections Committee chairpersons and ranking members;

4.

two members, enrolledindifferent politicalparties, appointedby the president of the Registrars of Voters Association of Connecticut;

and 5.

onemember appointedby the president ofthe Connecticut Town Clerks Association.

Initial appointments must be made no later than 30 days after the bill’s passage.

Legislative appointments may be legislators and appointing authorities fill vacancies.

The House speaker and Senate president pro tempore must select the task force chairpersons from among its members.

Meeting, Staff, and Reporting The billrequiresthechairpersons toholdthetask force’sfirst meeting no later than 60 days after the bill’s passage.

The Government Administration and Elections Committee administrative staff serve as the task force’s administrative staff.

By January 1, 2022, the task force must report its findings and recommendations to the Government Administration and Elections Committee.

It terminates on that date or when it submits the report, whichever is later.

§ 2 — WORKING GROUP ON RISK-LIMITING AUDITS The bill establishes a 12-member working group on risk-limiting audits.

The group’s purpose is to (1) look at using risk-limiting audits to determine the accuracy of election results and (2) oversee a pilot sHB6325 / File No.

500 10 sHB6325 File No.

500 program, withinavailableappropriations,infive to 10municipalities on one or more risk-limiting audit methods for the 2021 municipal elections.

As part of its work, the working group must at least examine the following:

1.

the feasibility of implementing risk-limiting audits;

2.

different methods used in these audits and the practical considerations for implementing each method within Connecticut’s existing statutory framework;

and 3.

procedures, potential equipment, and changes to the statutory framework necessary to implement one or more of these methods.

Membership Under the bill, the working group consists of the following members:

1.

the secretary of the state, or her designee;

2.

one member each appointed by the Senate president pro tempore,Housespeaker,andSenateandHouseminorityleaders;

3.

two members, enrolledindifferent politicalparties, appointedby the Government Administration and Elections Committee chairpersons and ranking members;

4.

two members appointed by the secretary of the state, one with election law expertise and admitted to practice law in Connecticut, and the other a statistician;

5.

two members, enrolledindifferent politicalparties, appointedby the president of the Registrars of Voters Association of Connecticut;

and 6.

the director of UConn’s Center for Voting Technology Research, or the director's designee.

sHB6325 / File No.

500 11 sHB6325 File No.

500 Initial appointments must be made no later than 30 days after the bill’s passage.

Legislative appointments may be legislators and appointing authorities fill vacancies.

The secretary of the state, or her designee, serves as the chairperson.

Meeting, Staff, and Reporting The bill requires the secretary of the state, or her designee, to hold the task force’s first meeting no later than 60 days after the bill’s passage.

The Government Administration and Elections Committee administrative staff serve as the task force’s administrative staff.

By January 31, 2022, the working group must report its findings and recommendations to the Government Administration and Elections Committee and to the secretary of the state.

It terminates on that date or when it submits the report, whichever is later.

COMMITTEE ACTION Government Administration and Elections Committee Joint Favorable Substitute Yea 18 Nay 1 (03/31/2021) sHB6325 / File No.

500 12