AN ACT STUDYING EFFORTS TO INCREASE VOTER PARTICIPATION AND AUTHORIZING MUNICIPAL PILOT PROGRAMS TO PROMOTE SUCH EFFORTS.

Senate
SB395 / File No. 497 1

General Assembly File No. 497
February Session, 2026 Senate Bill No. 395

Senate, April 8, 2026

The Committee on Government Administration and Elections
reported through SEN. FLEXER of the 29th Dist., Chairperson
of the Committee on the part of the Senate, that the bill ought to
pass.

AN ACT STUDYING EFFORTS TO INCREASE VOTER
PARTICIPATION AND AUTHORIZING MUNICIPAL PILOT PROGRAMS
TO PROMOTE SUCH EFFORTS.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General
Assembly convened:

Section 1. (Effective July 1, 2026) (a) There is established a task force to 1
study (1) efforts to achieve one hundred per cent voter participation in 2
this state by January 1, 2030, (2) means of enhancing civic engagement 3
generally in this state, (3) experiences of jurisdictions that have enacted 4
policies to require citizens to vote as a civic duty, (4) potential 5
implementation options in pursuit of achieving such one hundred per 6
cent voter participation goal, (5) needs of registrars of voters, town 7
clerks and other municipal officials in administering elections in which 8
one hundred per cent of voters participate, and (6) state and municipal 9
budgetary resources that may be required to achieve such one hundred 10
per cent voter participation goal. 11
(b) The task force shall consist of the following members: 12
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(1) One appointed by the speaker of the House of Representatives; 13
(2) One appointed by the president pro tempore of the Senate; 14
(3) One appointed by the majority leader of the House of 15
Representatives; 16
(4) One appointed by the majority leader of the Senate; 17
(5) One appointed by the minority leader of the House of 18
Representatives; 19
(6) One appointed by the minority leader of the Senate; 20
(7) The Secretary of the State, or the Secretary's designee; and 21
(8) Two appointed by the Governor. 22
(c) Any member of the task force appointed under subdivision (1), 23
(2), (3), (4), (5) or (6) of subsection (b) of this section may be a member 24
of the General Assembly. 25
(d) All initial appointments to the task force shall be made not later 26
than August 1, 2026. Any vacancy shall be filled by the appointing 27
authority. 28
(e) The speaker of the House of Representatives and the president pro 29
tempore of the Senate shall select the chairpersons of the task force from 30
among the members of the task force. Such chairpersons shall schedule 31
the first meeting of the task force, which shall be held not later than 32
September 1, 2026. 33
(f) The administrative staff of the joint standing committee of the 34
General Assembly having cognizance of matters relating to elections 35
shall serve as administrative staff of the task force. 36
(g) Not later than February 1, 2027, the task force shall submit a report 37
on its findings and recommendations, including potential legislation to 38
appropriate funds or provide other resources to municipalities for the 39
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purposes of increasing voter participation, to the joint standing 40
committee of the General Assembly having cognizance of matters 41
relating to elections, in accordance with the provisions of section 11 -4a 42
of the general statutes. The task force shall terminate on the date that it 43
submits such report or February 1, 2027, whichever is later. 44
Sec. 2. (NEW) (Effective July 1, 2026) Subject to the provisions of title 9 45
of the general statutes and section 7 -192a of the general statutes, any 46
municipality may, within existing resources, establish a pilot program 47
to promote the goal of achieving one hundred per cent voter 48
participation in such municipality. Such pilot program may include 49
efforts to enhance civic engagement, including, but not limited to, the 50
development and conduct of a voter outreach and education campaign 51
within such municipality. 52
This act shall take effect as follows and shall amend the following
sections:

Section 1 July 1, 2026 New section
Sec. 2 July 1, 2026 New section

GAE Joint Favorable

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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: None
Municipal Impact:
Municipalities Effect FY 27 $ FY 28 $
Various Municipalities Potential
Cost
See Below See Below

Explanation
The bill empowers municipalities to create a pilot program to achieve
100% voter participation, resulting in a potential cost to municipalities
beginning in FY 27. The exact cost will depend on the number of
municipalities that choose to establish a pilot program under the
legislation and the components of the pilot programs.
The bill additionally establishes a task force to study a variety of
topics related to increasing voter participation, which has no fiscal
impact to the state or municipalities, as the task force has sufficient
expertise to meet the bill's requirements.
The Out Years
The annualized ongoing fiscal impact identified above would
continue into the future , subject to the number of municipalities that
establish pilot programs.

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OLR Bill Analysis
SB 395

AN ACT STUDYING EFFORTS TO INCREASE VOTER
PARTICIPATION AND AUTHORIZING MUNICIPAL PILOT
PROGRAMS TO PROMOTE SUCH EFFORTS.

SUMMARY
This bill establishes a nine -member task force to study ways to
achieve 100% voter participation and enhance civic engagement, and
assess administrative and financial barriers to reach these goals. By
February 1, 2027, the task force must submit a report to the Government
Administration and Elections (GAE) Committee on its findings and
recommendations, including any potential legislation to direct
resources or funds to municipalities to increase voter participation. The
task force terminates on the date it submits its report or February 1, 2027,
whichever is later.
The bill also allows municipalities, within existing resources, to
establish a pilot program to promote the goal of achieving 100% voter
participation. The program may include efforts to enhance civic
engagement, such as voter outreach and education campaigns. The bill
specifies that these pilot programs are subject to the state’s election laws
and municipal restrictions on diverging from certain state election
policies.
EFFECTIVE DATE: July 1, 2026
VOTER PARTICIPATION TASK FORCE
The task force must study (1) efforts to achieve , by January 1, 2030,
100% voter participation in the state, and potential implementation
options; (2) ways to generally enhance civic engagement; (3) the
experiences of jurisdictions that require citizens to vote; (4) municipal
officials’ needs in administering elections with 100% participation; and
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(5) needed budgetary resources to achieve 100% participation.
The task force members include the secretary of the state, or her
designee, and eight members appointed as follows:
1. two by the governor; and
2. one each by the House speaker, Senate president pro tempore,
and the majority and minority leaders of each chamber.
Members appointed by the legislative leaders may be legislators. The
bill requires (1) initial appointments to be made by August 1, 2026, and
(2) the first meeting to be held by September 1, 202 6. The appointing
authority must fill any vacancy. The House speaker and Senate
president pro tempore must select the chairpersons, who must schedule
the first meeting. The GAE Committee’s administrative staff must serve
as the task force’s administrative staff.
COMMITTEE ACTION
Government Administration and Elections Committee
Joint Favorable
Yea 13 Nay 6 (03/20/2026)