Read the full stored bill text
Senate
sSB459 / File No. 500 1
General Assembly File No. 500
February Session, 2026 Substitute Senate Bill No. 459
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 substitute
bill ought to pass.
AN ACT CONCERNING THE SECRETARY OF THE STATE'S
RECOMMENDATIONS REGARDING THE CIRCULATION OF PRIMARY
AND NOMINATING PETITIONS AND DISTRIBUTION OF ABSENTEE
BALLOT APPLICATIONS.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General
Assembly convened:
Section 1. Subsection (d) of section 9 -404b of the general statutes is 1
repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof ( Effective from 2
passage): 3
(d) Each circulator of a primary petition page shall be an enrolled 4
party member of a municipality in this state. Each petition page shall 5
contain a statement signed by the registrar of the municipality in which 6
the circulator is an enrolled party member attesting that the circulator is 7
an enrolled party member in the municipality. Unless such a statement 8
by the registrar of voters appears on each page so submitted, the 9
Secretary shall reject the page. Each separate page of the petition shall 10
contain a statement as to the authenticity of the signatures on the page 11
sSB459 File No. 500
sSB459 / File No. 500 2
and the number of such signatures, and shall be signed under the 12
penalties of false statement by the person who circulated the page, 13
setting forth the circulator's address and the town in which the 14
circulator is an enrolled party member and attesting that each person 15
whose name appears on the page signed the petition in person in the 16
presence of the circulator, that the circulator either knows each such 17
signer or that the signer satisfactorily identified himself or herself to the 18
circulator and that the spaces for candidates supported, offices sought 19
and the political party involved were filled in prior to the obtaining of 20
the signatures. Each separate page of the petition shall also be 21
acknowledged before an appropriate person as provided in section 1 -22
29. The Secretary shall reject any page of a petition filed with the 23
Secretary which does not contain such a statement by the circulator as 24
to the authenticity of the signatures on the page, or upon which the 25
statement of the circulator is incomplete in any respect, or which does 26
not contain the certification required under this section by the registrar 27
of the town in which the circulator is an enrolled party member. No 28
person who has been convicted of a crime under this title shall circulate 29
any page of a primary petition during such person's period of probation 30
or parole, and for a period of twelve years after such person's release 31
from confinement, probation or parole, and the Secretary shall reject for 32
filing any such page that was circulated in violation of such prohibition. 33
For the purpose of complying with such rejection requirement, the 34
Secretary shall order the performance of a nation -wide criminal 35
background check on each circulator of one or more primary petition 36
pages. Any individual proposed as a candidate in any primary petition 37
may serve as a circulator of the pages of the petition, provided the 38
individual's service as circulator does not violate any provision of this 39
section. 40
Sec. 2. Subsection (c) of section 9 -410 of the general statutes is 41
repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective from 42
passage): 43
(c) Each circulator of a primary petition page shall be an enrolled 44
party member of a municipality in this state who is entitled to vote. Each 45
sSB459 File No. 500
sSB459 / File No. 500 3
petition page shall contain a statement signed by the registrar of the 46
municipality in which such circulator is an enrolled party member 47
attesting that the circulator is an enrolled party member in such 48
municipality. Unless such a statement by the registrar appears on each 49
page so submitted, the registrar shall reject such page. No candidate for 50
the nomination of a party for a municipal office or the position of town 51
committee member shall circulate any petition for another candidate or 52
another group of candidates contained in one primary petition for the 53
nomination of such party for the same office or position, and any 54
petition page circulated in violation of this provision shall be rejected by 55
the registrar. No person shall circulate petitions for more than the 56
maximum number of candidates to be nominated by a party for the 57
same office or position, and any petition page circulated in violation of 58
this provision shall be rejected by the registrar. Each separate sheet of 59
such petition shall contain a statement as to the authenticity of the 60
signatures thereon and the number of such signatures, and shall be 61
signed under the penalties of false statement by the person who 62
circulated the same, setting forth such circulator's address and the town 63
in which such circulator is an enrolled party member and attesting that 64
each person whose name appears on such sheet signed the same in 65
person in the presence of such circulator, that the circulator either knows 66
each such signer or that the signer satisfactorily identified the signer to 67
the circulator and that the spaces for candidates supported, offices or 68
positions sought and the political party involved were filled in prior to 69
the obtaining of the signatures. Each separate sheet of such petition shall 70
also be acknowledged before an appropriate person as provided in 71
section 1-29. Any sheet of a petition filed with the registrar which does 72
not contain such a statement by the circulator as to the authenticity of 73
the signatures thereon, or upon which the statement of the circulator is 74
incomplete in any respect, or which does not contain the certification 75
hereinbefore required by the registrar of the town in which the 76
circulator is an enrolled party member, shall be rejected by the registrar. 77
No person who has been convicted of a crime under this title shall 78
circulate any page of a primary petition during such person's period of 79
probation or parole, and for a period of twelve years after such person's 80
sSB459 File No. 500
sSB459 / File No. 500 4
release from confinement, probation or parole, and the registrar shall 81
reject for filing any such page that was circulated in violation of such 82
prohibition. For the purpose of complying with such rejection 83
requirement, the registrar shall order the performance of a nation-wide 84
criminal background check on each circulator of one or more primary 85
petition pages. Any individual proposed as a candidate in any primary 86
petition may serve as a circulator of the pages of such petition, provided 87
such individual's service as circulator does not violate any provision of 88
this section. 89
Sec. 3. Section 9 -453e of the general statutes is repealed and the 90
following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective from passage): 91
(a) Each circulator of a nominating petition page shall be a United 92
States citizen, at least eighteen years of age and a resident of a town in 93
this state and shall not be on parole for conviction of a felony. Any 94
individual proposed as a candidate in any nominating petition may 95
serve as circulator of the pages of such nominating petition. 96
(b) Notwithstanding the provisions of subsection (a) of this section, 97
no person who has been convicted of a crime under this title shall 98
circulate any page of a nominating petition during such person's period 99
of probation or parole, and for a period of twelve years after such 100
person's release from confinement, probation or parole. The appropriate 101
town clerk or the Secretary of the State, as applicable under section 9 -102
453i, shall reject for filing any such page that was circulated in violation 103
of such prohibition. For the purpose of complying with such rejection 104
requirement, the appropriate town clerk or the Secretary, as applicable, 105
shall order the performance of a nation -wide criminal background 106
check on each circulator of one or more nominating petition pages. 107
Sec. 4. Section 9 -453j of the general statutes is repealed and the 108
following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective from passage): 109
Each page of a nominating petition submitted to the town clerk or the 110
Secretary of the State and filed with the Secretary of the State under the 111
provisions of sections 9 -453a to 9 -453s, inclusive, or section 9 -216 shall 112
sSB459 File No. 500
sSB459 / File No. 500 5
contain a statement as to the residency in this state and eligibility of the 113
circulator and authenticity of the signatures thereon, signed under 114
penalties of false statement, by the person who circulated the same. Such 115
statement shall set forth (1) such circulator's residence address, 116
including the town in this state in which such circulator is a resident, (2) 117
the circulator's date of birth and that the circulator is at least eighteen 118
years of age, (3) that the circulator is a United States citizen and [not] 119
neither (A) on parole for conviction of a felony, nor (B) on probation or 120
parole for conviction of a crime under this title or within the period that 121
is twelve years after release from confinement, probation or parole due 122
to conviction of a crime under this title, and (4) that each person whose 123
name appears on such page signed the same in person in the presence 124
of such circulator and that either the circulator knows each such signer 125
or that the signer satisfactorily identified himself to the circulator. Any 126
false statement committed with respect to such statement shall be 127
deemed to have been committed in the town in which the petition was 128
circulated. 129
Sec. 5. Subsections (j) to (o), inclusive, of section 9 -140 of the 2026 130
supplement to the general statutes are repealed and the following is 131
substituted in lieu thereof (Effective from passage): 132
(j) No person shall pay or give any compensation to another , and no 133
person shall accept any compensation , solely for (1) [distributing 134
absentee ballot applications obtained from a municipal clerk or the 135
Secretary of the State or (2) ] obtaining an absentee ballot application 136
from a municipal clerk, as the designee of an absentee ballot applicant, 137
(2) obtaining fewer than five absentee ballot applications for the purpose 138
of distributing such applications to members of such person's 139
immediate family, pursuant to subparagraph (C) of subdivision (1) of 140
subsection (k) of this section, or (3) assisting any other person in the 141
execution of an absentee ballot application. 142
(k) (1) [A person shall register with the municipal clerk before 143
distributing five or more absentee ballot applications for an election, 144
primary or referendum, not including applications distributed to such 145
sSB459 File No. 500
sSB459 / File No. 500 6
person's immediate family. Such requirement shall not apply to ] No 146
person shall receive any absentee ballot application for the purpose of 147
distributing such application to another person, except for (A) a person 148
who is the designee of an applicant , [or to ] (B) any employee of the 149
Department of Correction who provides the application for absentee 150
ballot form prescribed under subsection (c) of section 9 -139a to one or 151
more incarcerated absentee ballot applicants , and (C) a person who 152
receives fewer than five absentee ballot applications for the purpose of 153
distributing such applications to members of such person's immediate 154
family. 155
(2) The municipal clerk shall reject the application of any absentee 156
ballot applicant made upon the form prescribed under subsection (c) of 157
section 9-139a if such form indicates any address other than an address 158
at a Department of Correction facility. The municipal clerk shall 159
maintain a log of all applications of incarcerated absentee ballot 160
applicants received by such municipal clerk, which log shall indicate the 161
name and address of each applicant, the date of receipt of each 162
application and the date such municipal clerk mailed the absentee ballot 163
to such applicant or the reason why such application was rejected. 164
[(3) Any person who distributes absentee ballot applications shall 165
maintain a list of the names and addresses of prospective absentee ballot 166
applicants who receive such applications, and shall file such list with 167
the municipal clerk prior to the date of the primary, election or 168
referendum for which the applications were so distributed, except that 169
such requirements shall not apply to any employee of the Department 170
of Correction who provides the application for absentee ballot form 171
prescribed under subsection (c) of section 9 -139a to incarcerated 172
absentee ballot applicants. Any person who distributes absentee ballot 173
applications and receives an executed application shall forthwith file the 174
application with the municipal clerk.] 175
(l) No candidate, party or political committee, or agent of such 176
candidate or committee, shall mail unsolicited applications for absentee 177
ballots to any person . [, unless such mailing includes: (1) A written 178
sSB459 File No. 500
sSB459 / File No. 500 7
explanation of the eligibility requirements for voting by absentee ballot 179
as prescribed in subsection (a) of section 9-135, and (2) a written warning 180
that voting or attempting to vote by absentee ballot without meeting one 181
or more of such eligibility requirements subjects the elector or applicant 182
to potential civil and criminal penalties. ] As used in this subsection, 183
"agent" means any person authorized to act on behalf of another person. 184
(m) The Secretary of the State shall conspicuously post on the 185
Secretary of the State's web site, adjacent to the absentee ballot 186
application form available for downloading, a notice that the 187
application may be downloaded by a person only for (1) the person's 188
own use, (2) the use of a member of the person's immediate family, or 189
(3) the use of a designee of the applicant. The notice shall also contain 190
an advisory statement concerning the requirements of subsection (k) of 191
this section. 192
(n) The State Elections Enforcement Commission, in consultation 193
with the Secretary of the State, shall prepare a summary of the 194
requirements and prohibitions of the absentee voting laws, which shall 195
be posted on said agencies' web sites. Candidates and political party 196
chairpersons shall provide such summary to campaign and party 197
employees and volunteers. 198
(o) As used in this section, (1) "immediate family" has the same 199
meaning as provided in subsection (a) of section 9 -140b, and (2) 200
"designee" has the same meaning as provided in subsection (b) of 201
section 9-140b. 202
This act shall take effect as follows and shall amend the following
sections:
Section 1 from passage 9-404b(d)
Sec. 2 from passage 9-410(c)
Sec. 3 from passage 9-453e
Sec. 4 from passage 9-453j
Sec. 5 from passage 9-140(j) to (o)
sSB459 File No. 500
sSB459 / File No. 500 8
Statement of Legislative Commissioners:
In Section 4(3)(B), " within twelve years of release " was changed to
"within the period that is twelve years after release " and "due to such a
conviction under this subparagraph" was changed to "due to conviction
of a crime under this title", for clarity and consistency.
GAE Joint Favorable Subst.
sSB459 File No. 500
sSB459 / File No. 500 9
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:
Agency Affected Fund-Effect FY 27 $ FY 28 $
Secretary of the State GF - Cost See Below See Below
Note: GF=General Fund
Municipal Impact:
Municipalities Effect FY 27 $ FY 28 $
Various Municipalities STATE
MANDATE1
- Cost
See Below See Below
Explanation
The bill (1) prohibits certain individuals from circulating nominating
petitions and requires a background check for circulators, (2) limits the
distribution of absentee ballots for others, and (3) prohibits the mailing
of unsolicited absentee ballots. The bill's background check requirement
results in a cost to the Secretary of the State (SOTS) and various
municipalities beginning in FY 27.
The bill requires that SOTS, a municipal registrar of voters, or a town
clerk order a background check for each circulator . Different officials
must order the background check for circulators depending on the type
of election for which the circulator is petitioning, although one portion
of the bill (Section 3) indicates that either the town clerk or SOTS must
order the backgr ound check for any circulator. The exact cost of the
1 State mandate is defined in Sec. 2 -32b(2) of the Connecticut General Statutes, "state
mandate" means any state initiated constitutional, statutory or executive action that
requires a local government to establish, expand or modify its activities in such a way
as to necessitate additional expenditures from local revenues.
sSB459 File No. 500
sSB459 / File No. 500 10
background checks will depend on the number of applicable circulators.
A basic national background check is estimated to cost $20 to $100 per
report, depending on the depth of the search.
The Out Years
The annualized ongoing fiscal impact identified above would
continue into the future , subject to inflation , and the number of
circulators subject to a background check under the bill's provisions.
sSB459 File No. 500
sSB459 / File No. 500 11
OLR Bill Analysis
sSB 459
AN ACT CONCERNING THE SECRETARY OF THE STATE'S
RECOMMENDATIONS REGARDING THE CIRCULATION OF
PRIMARY AND NOMINATING PETITIONS AND DISTRIBUTION OF
ABSENTEE BALLOT APPLICATIONS.
SUMMARY
This bill prohibits people from (1) circulating certain election
petitions for a specified period if they have been convicted of an election
crime and (2) requesting or distributing absentee ballot applications for
others, with certain exceptions.
EFFECTIVE DATE: Upon passage
§§ 1-4 — PETITION PROHIBITION
The petition prohibition lasts (1) while the person is on probation or
parole and (2) for 12 years after a person’s release from confinement,
probation, or parole. The secretary of the state, registrar of voters, or
town clerk, as applicable, must (1) order a nationwide criminal
background check on each circulator and (2) reject any petition page
filed by an ineligible person under these provisions.
An ineligible person may not circulate (1) nominating petitions on
behalf of petitioning candidates seeking congressional, statewide,
legislative, or municipal office, or the office of presidential elector, at a
regular or special election or ( 2) primary petitions on behalf of major
party candidates for congressional, statewide, legislative, or municipal
office. For nominating petitions, the bill adds a related stipulation to the
statement that the circulator must sign on each petition page.
§ 5 — ABSENTEE BALLOT APPLICATION PROHIBITION
The bill generally prohibits any person from requesting or
distributing absentee ballot applications for others unless (1) acting as a
sSB459 File No. 500
sSB459 / File No. 500 12
voter’s designee (see BACKGROUND); (2) by a Department of
Correction employee on an incarcerated voter ’s behalf as allowed by
law; or (3) requesting less than five applications for use by the person’s
immediate family (spouse, child, parent, or sibling, or any dependent
relative residing in the person’s home).
Additionally, current law prohibits a person from paying or receiving
compensation solely to distribute absentee ballot applications. The bill
instead prohibits paying or receiving compensation solely to obtain
applications (1) by designees or (2) on behalf of a person’s immediate
family.
Correspondingly, the bill eliminates provisions generally requiring
individuals to (1) register with the town clerk if distributing five or more
applications for a specific election contest and (2) keep a log of who
received applications they distributed and file it with the town clerk.
Similarly, the bill also prohibits candidate s, part ies, and political
committees (and agents of candidates or committees ) from mailing
unsolicited absentee ballot applications to any person. Under current
law, they may do so if they include a written (1) explanation of the
eligibility requirements and (2) warning concerning the penalties for
violating these requirements.
BACKGROUND
Voters’ Designees
By law , a designee must be (1) a person caring for the applicant
because of the applicant’s illness or physical disability ( for example, a
licensed physician or a registered or practical nurse); (2) the applicant’s
family member; or (3) a police officer, registrar of voters, or deputy or
assistant registrar of voters in the municipality where the applicant
resides (CGS § 9-140b).
Related Bills
sHB 5001, reported favorably by the Government Administration
and Elections (GAE) Committee, generally amends the state’s absentee
balloting laws, including changes concerning absentee ballot
sSB459 File No. 500
sSB459 / File No. 500 13
distribution by third parties.
sSB 491, reported favorably the GAE committee, contains
substantially similar absentee balloting provisions as sHB 5001.
COMMITTEE ACTION
Government Administration and Elections Committee
Joint Favorable Substitute
Yea 19 Nay 0 (03/23/2026)