§ 9-17 — Sessions of registrars of voters. Distribution of eligibility information at public high schools.

Connecticut § 9-17

• Jurisdiction: Connecticut
• Title 9: Elections
• Ch. 143: Electors: Qualifications and Admission

Text

(a) For the purposes of this section, “primary day” means the day that a primary for state, district and municipal offices is being held in accordance with section 9-423, and “election day” means the day of each regular election. (1) The registrars of voters of each town shall hold sessions to examine the qualifications of electors and admit those found qualified on the dates and at the times set forth in this section. Such sessions shall be held on the following days during the hours indicated, except as provided in subdivision (2) of this subsection: Day Hours Eighteenth day before primary day . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . any two hours between 5:00 p.m. and 9:00 p.m. Eighteenth day before election day . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. The session of the registrars of voters on the eighteenth day before election day shall be the last session for admission of electors prior to an election, as defined in subsection (y) of section 9-1 . (2) No town having a population of less than twenty-five thousand persons shall be required to hold sessions for admission of electors on the eighteenth day before primary day. (b) Notwithstanding the provisions of subsection (a) of this section, the registrars of voters shall hold a limited session on the last week day before each regular election from nine o'clock a.m. to five o'clock p.m. for the purpose of admitting only those persons whose qualifications as to age, citizenship or residence in the municipality were attained after the last session for admission of electors prior to an election. The registrars shall enter the names of those electors admitted at such limited session on the proper list, with their residences by street and numbers. (c) In addition to the sessions held pursuant to subsections (a) and (b) of this section, the registrars of voters in each town shall: (1) Hold one session each year, between the first of January and the last day of the school year, at each public high school in such town, for the admission of persons who are eligible for admission under subsection (a) or (b) of section 9-12 , provided, in the case of a public high school in a regional school district, such session shall be held on a rotating basis by the registrars of voters for each town which is a member of the regional school district. The registrars of voters need not give notice of this session by publication in a newspaper; and (2) Distribute each year, on the fourth Tuesday of September, at each public high school in such town, information regarding eligibility for admission under subsection (a) or (b) of section 9-12 and procedures for applying for such admission. The registrars of voters and the principal of any such public high school shall determine the best means of distributing such information at such public high school.

Legislative History

(1949 Rev., S. 1015; 1953, 1955, S. 518d; 1957, P.A. 441, S. 4; 1963, P.A. 530, S. 1; 1969, P.A. 694, S. 1; 1971, P.A. 708; 768, S. 2; 1972, P.A. 144; P.A. 73-630, S. 2, 19; P.A. 75-12, S. 1, 2; P.A. 77-330, S. 1; 77-604, S. 83, 84; P.A. 79-189, S. 2, 9; P.A. 83-391, S. 3, 24; P.A. 84-319, S. 5, 49; 84-546, S. 18, 173; P.A. 87-210; P.A. 89-297, S. 1; P.A. 91-351, S. 21, 23, 28; P.A. 93-230, S. 1; P.A. 94-121, S. 10, 33; 94-203, S. 1, 12; P.A. 95-171, S. 3, 14; P.A. 96-134, S. 1, 9; P.A. 97-67, S. 6, 9; P.A. 98-67, S. 4, 10; P.A. 05-235, S. 27; P.A. 07-217, S. 40; June Sp. Sess. P.A. 10-1, S. 36; P.A. 16-31, S. 1; June Sp. Sess. P.A. 21-2, S. 93; P.A. 23-5, S. 24; P.A. 23-204, S. 183.) History: 1963 act reduced duration of session in sixth week before election from 11 to “at least four” hours, and deleted variations in length of session according to the towns' sizes; 1969 act deleted provisions for towns holding a municipal election on the first Monday in October in the even-numbered years; 1971 acts added a session “on the first Saturday after Labor Day”, added clarifying language to the provision of adjournment of session on the Saturday of the sixth week, deleted reference to the third week as the case may be and added a provision for additional sessions if the Saturday of the sixth or fourth week before election falls on day on which tenets of religion forbid secular activity; 1972 act added provision for two evening sessions between the Saturdays of the sixth and fourth weeks before election; P.A. 73-630 substituted clarifying language for “rights have matured” as age citizenship or residence attained after the Saturday of the fourth week before the election; P.A. 75-12 provided for additional session on Saturday of fifth week before election and for adjournment of that session from time to time instead of provision for adjournment of the session on sixth Saturday, further provided for one evening session rather than two between the Saturday of fifth week (instead of sixth) and the Saturday of the fourth week and further substituted fifth week for sixth week in the requirement for additional session where that Saturday falls on a day on which religious tenets forbid secular activity; P.A. 77-330 provided for evening session before primary, changed provisions for hours of sessions before elections to “from at least nine o'clock a.m. to one o'clock p.m.”, specified that the evening session between the fifth and fourth week be on Wednesday, provided for a session on the twenty-first day before election between the hours of nine a.m. and eight p.m., changed the hours for the session on the last weekday before election to “from at least nine a.m. to eleven a.m.”, changed the purpose of that admitting session to “those persons whose qualifications as to age or citizenship were attained after the twenty-first day before the election”, changed provision for extra session where religious tenet forbids secular activity on Saturday of fifth or fourth week to twenty-first day and provided that admission of electors on the last weekday before election would be determined from that next succeeding day; P.A. 77-604 made technical changes; P.A. 79-189 divided statute into three Subsecs. with Subsec. (a) including information set forth in schedule format; P.A. 83-391 amended section to delete references to board for admission of electors and eliminated certain mandatory sessions in towns having a population under twenty-five thousand; P.A. 84-319 and P.A. 84-546 made technical amendment to Subsec. (b), restoring language inadvertently omitted from 1983 revision; P.A. 87-210 added Subsec. (c) re sessions at public high schools; P.A. 89-297 changed May ninth to May twelfth in Subsec. (c); P.A. 91-351 amended Subsec. (a) to move all sessions one week closer to election day and changed ending time for last Saturday session before election day from 8:00 to 5:00 p.m.; P.A. 93-230 amended Subsec. (a) to repeal requirement that session be held on Saturday of fifth week before election day and to change hours for session to be held on the Wednesday falling between fourth and third Saturdays before election day, from 7:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. to “any two hours between 5:00 p.m. and 9:00 p.m.”; P.A. 94-121 deleted reference to elector's oath in Subsec. (a)(1), effective January 1, 1995; P.A. 94-203 amended Subsec. (a) by changing hours of session on fourteenth day before primary day, from “7:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m.” to “any two hours between 5:00 p.m. and 9:00 p.m.”, effective July 1, 1994; P.A. 95-171 amended Subsec. (b) by extending session from eleven o'clock a.m. to noon and requiring names be entered by one o'clock p.m. rather than noon, effective October 1, 1995, and applicable to elections held on or after that date; P.A. 96-134 amended Subsec. (a) to delete references to mandatory sessions on the Saturday of fourth week before election day and the Wednesday between fourth and third Saturdays before election day and to change session hours for Saturday of third week before election day and amended Subsec. (c) to replace “May twelfth” with “the first of January” and add provision that the registrars of voters need not give notice of session by publication, effective May 29, 1996; P.A. 97-67 amended Subsec. (a) by changing hours of Saturday session from “9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.” to “10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m.”, effective July 1, 1997; P.A. 98-67 amended Subsec. (a) to change definition of “primary day” from day scheduled for primary to day that primary is being held, effective July 1, 1998; P.A. 05-235 amended Subsec. (a) by changing “fourteenth day before election day” to “seventh day before election day”, effective January 1, 2006; P.A. 07-217 made a technical change in Subsec. (b), effective July 12, 2007; June Sp. Sess. P.A. 10-1 amended Subsec. (b) by extending end time of limited session from 12 o'clock noon to 5 o'clock p.m. and by eliminating deadline re entering of names of electors, effective June 22, 2010; P.A. 16-31 amended Subsec. (a) to delete provision re Saturday session on third week before election day and make technical and conforming changes, and amended Subsec. (b) to make a technical change, effective July 1, 2016; June Sp. Sess. P.A. 21-2 amended Subsec. (c) to designate existing provisions re admission sessions at public high schools as Subsec. (c)(1) and added Subsec. (c)(2) re distribution of eligibility information, effective June 23, 2021; P.A. 23-5 amended Subsec. (a) by replacing “seventh day before election day” with “eighteenth day before election day” in Subdiv. (1) and replacing “fourteenth day before primary day” with “eighteenth day before primary day” in Subdivs. (1) and (2), effective July 1, 2023; P.A. 23-204 changed effective date of P.A. 23-5, S. 24, from July 1, 2023, to January 1, 2024, effective June 12, 2023. Board being, under the constitution, quasi-judicial, its members acting in good faith are not liable in damages; 53 C. 527; having to act under discretion, are not subject to mandamus. 34 C. 415.