§ 9-1 — Definitions.

Except as otherwise provided, the following terms, as used in this title and sections 3-124, 7-5, 7-6, 7-7, 7-17, 7-20, 7-39, 7-157, 7-214, 7-275, 7-295, 7-343, 7-407, 8-1, 8-5, 8-19, 10-219, 11-36, 13a-11, 45a-18, 45a-19 and 51-95 have the following meanings: (a) “Ballot” means paper or other material containing the names of the candidates or a statement of a proposed constitutional amendment or other question or proposition to be voted on; (b) “Board for admission of electors” means the board as composed under subsection (a) of section 9-15a ; (c) “Clerical error” means any error in the registry list or enrollment list due to a mistake or an omission on the part of the printer or a mistake or omission made by the registrars or their assistants; (d) “Election” means any electors' meeting at which the electors choose public officials by use of voting tabulators or by paper ballots as provided in section 9-272 ; (e) “Elector” means any person possessing the qualifications prescribed by the Constitution and duly admitted to, and entitled to exercise, the privileges of an elector in a town; (f) Repealed by P.A. 77-298, S. 14; (g) “Municipal clerk” means the clerk of a municipality; (h) “Municipal election” means the regularly recurring election held in a municipality at which the electors of the municipality choose public officials of such municipality; (i) “Municipality” means any city, borough or town within the state; (j) “Official ballot” means the official ballot to be used at an election, or the official ballot to be used thereat in accordance with the provisions of section 9-272 ; (k) “Population” means the population according to the last-completed United States census; (l) “Presidential electors” means persons elected to cast their ballots for President and Vice President of the United States; (m) “Print” means methods of duplication of words by mechanical process, but shall not include typewriting; (n) “Referendum” means (1) a question or proposal which is submitted to a vote of the electors or voters of a municipality at any regular or special state or municipal election, as defined in this section, (2) a question or proposal which is submitted to a vote of the electors or voters, as the case may be, of a municipality at a meeting of such electors or voters, which meeting is not an election, as defined in subsection (d) of this section, and is not a town meeting, or (3) a question or proposal which is submitted to a vote of the electors or voters, as the case may be, of a municipality at a meeting of such electors or voters pursuant to section 7-7 or pursuant to charter or special act; (o) “Regular election” means any state or municipal election; (p) “Registrars” means the registrars of voters of the municipality; (q) “Registry list” means the list of electors of any municipality certified by the registrars; (r) “Special election” means any election not a regular election; (s) “State election” means the election held in the state on the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November in the even-numbered years in accordance with the provisions of the Constitution of Connecticut; (t) “State officers” means the Governor, Lieutenant Governor, Secretary of the State, Treasurer, Comptroller and Attorney General; (u) “Voter” means a person qualified to vote at town and district meetings under the provisions of section 7-6 ; (v) “Voting district” means any municipality, or any political subdivision thereof, having not more than one polling place in a regular election; (w) “Voting tabulator” means a machine, including, but not limited to, a device which operates by electronic means, for the registering and recording of votes cast at elections, primaries and referenda; (x) “Write-in ballot” means a vote cast for any person whose name does not appear on the official ballot as a candidate for the office for which the person's name is written in; and (y) “The last session for admission of electors prior to an election” means the day which is the eighteenth day prior to an election.

Legislative History

(1949 Rev., S. 1030; 1953, S. 503d; November, 1955, S. N39; 1957, P.A. 13, S. 99; 442, S. 13; March, 1958, P.A. 27, S. 34; 1961, P.A. 274, S. 2; February, 1965, P.A. 393, S. 1; 1967, P.A. 831, S. 1; 1971, P.A. 871, S. 63; P.A. 73-616, S. 8; P.A. 75-567, S. 54, 80; P.A. 76-311; P.A. 77-298, S. 14; P.A. 79-189, S. 1, 9; P.A. 84-319, S. 1, 49; P.A. 88-364, S. 116, 123; P.A. 91-351, S. 22, 28; P.A. 97-192, S. 2; P.A. 05-235, S. 26; P.A. 07-194, S. 37; P.A. 11-20, S. 2; P.A. 21-37, S. 101; P.A. 23-5, S. 23; 23-204, S. 183.) History: 1961 act added reference in Subdiv. (f) to list compiled under Sec. 9-57a; 1965 act added reference in Subdiv. (f) to list compiled under Sec. 9-31g; 1967 act under Subdiv. (b) changed definition to “board as composed under subsection (a) of section 9-15a”; 1971 act deleted reference to Sec. 53-172 in introductory language; P.A. 73-616 deleted reference to Sec. 7-387 in introductory language; P.A. 75-567 deleted “in connection with which no question of fact was determined” in Subdiv. (c); P.A. 76-311 inserted new definition for “referendum” in Subdiv. (n) and relettered former Subdiv. (n) and following definitions accordingly; P.A. 77-298 repealed Subdiv. (f), defining “enrollment list”; P.A. 79-189 added Subdiv. (x) defining “the last session for admission of electors prior to an election”; P.A. 84-319 inserted definition of “voting machine” as Subdiv. (w), relettering as necessary; P.A. 88-364 amended Subdiv. (n)(3) by adding the words “or pursuant to charter or special act”; P.A. 91-351 substituted “fourteenth” for “twenty-first” day in Subdiv. (y); (Revisor's note: In 1993 an obsolete reference to repealed Sec. 53-295 was deleted editorially by the Revisors); P.A. 97-192 amended definition of “referendum” by inserting “or voters” in Subdiv. (n)(1); P.A. 05-235 substituted “seventh” for “fourteenth” day in Subdiv. (y), effective January 1, 2006; P.A. 07-194 replaced “Voting machine” with “Voting tabulator” in Subdiv. (w) and made technical changes in Subdivs. (a), (j) and (w); P.A. 11-20 replaced “Ballot label” with “Ballot” in Subdiv. (a), replaced “voting machines” with “voting tabulators” in Subdiv. (d), deleted references to Sec. 9-271 in Subdivs. (d) and (j) and made technical changes in the introductory language and Subdiv. (x), effective May 24, 2011; P.A. 21-37 amended the introductory language to delete reference to Secs. 30-10 and 30-11 and amended Subdiv. (x) to make a technical change, effective June 4, 2021; P.A. 23-5 amended Subsec. (y) by replacing “seventh” with “eighteenth”, effective July 1, 2023; P.A. 23-204 changed effective date of P.A. 23-5, S. 23, from July 1, 2023, to January 1, 2024, effective June 12, 2023. Cited. 139 C. 209; 140 C. 517; 184 C. 200. Cited. 36 CS 74; 43 CS 297. Stand-alone referendum is not subject to the election contest deadline of Sec. 9-328 and requiring application of Secs. 9-369 and 9-328 to a referendum held under Subdiv. (n)(2) would impinge on home rule considerations. 48 CS 481.