EVCIElection Voter-Confidence Index

Connecticut Statute § 9-4a establishes a mandatory statutory requirement for the Secretary of the State to prepare and publish a voter guide by October 1 in election years. The statute explicitly enumerates detailed content requirements including candidate information (names, party affiliation, contact information), ballot-question information (full text and explanatory text of constitutional amendments), office descriptions, polling dates/hours, and voting procedures. Distribution is defined as publication on the Internet. This satisfies all elements of the criterion: (a) notification rules and timing are codified (October 1 deadline), (b) ballot-information content requirements are comprehensively enumerated in subsection (b), and (c) the framework establishes a clear procedural structure for voter communication regarding elections.

Connecticut Statute § 9-368l establishes explicit statutory triggers for multilingual ballot and voter assistance materials. The statute codifies quantifiable thresholds: (1) a 2% threshold of voting-age citizens who speak a non-English language and are limited English proficient, or (2) an absolute threshold of 4,000 or more citizens of voting age meeting that criterion. These are precise, enumerated criteria based on census data or comparable governmental data. The statute mandates that the Secretary of the State 'shall designate' languages when these conditions are met, creating a clear, codified trigger mechanism. This directly satisfies the criterion's requirement that triggers for multilingual ballots be 'set by statute' through 'population thresholds, language-minority criteria.'

Connecticut General Statutes § 9-409(c) explicitly states that 'All information relative to primary petitions shall be a public record.' This directly satisfies criterion CAND.1 by requiring candidate-filing documents (primary petitions) to be publicly accessible. The statute codifies public access to nominating petition information as a matter of law. While the statute does not specify a particular time period for when information must become public after filing, the requirement that this information 'shall be a public record' establishes a statutory mandate for public accessibility of candidate-filing documents. The statute further provides detailed procedures for how registrars handle petition forms, including the information to be included on them (candidate name, address, office sought), all of which contributes to a clear framework for public access to candidate filing information.

“All information relative to primary petitions shall be a public record.”

The statute codifies a procedure for candidate withdrawal and disqualification: candidates must file a signed letter with the Secretary of State or municipal clerk (for municipal offices), and the Secretary of State must notify municipal clerks when disqualification occurs. However, the statute does NOT codify a public-notice procedure to inform voters of the disqualification or withdrawal. The notification requirement is limited to notification between election officials (Secretary of State to municipal clerks), not to the general public. The statute specifies that elections may be canceled in such circumstances but does not establish a statutory requirement for how or when the public must be notified of candidate disqualifications or withdrawals after ballots are printed.

“No withdrawal shall be valid until the candidate who has withdrawn has filed a letter of withdrawal signed by such candidate with the Secretary of the State or, in the case of a municipal office, until the candidate who has withdrawn has filed a letter of withdrawal signed by such candidate with the municipal clerk. When such an election is required to be held under the provisions of this section for any office other than a municipal office, and prior to such election all but one of the candidates for such office die, withdraw their names or for any reason become disqualified to hold such office, the Secretary of the State shall forthwith notify the clerk of each municipality wherein such election was to have been held of such fact”

This statute codifies notification requirements with defined content (election date, polling hours, polling location) and establishes timing rules ('forthwith' for registrar notification to clerk, 'thereupon' and 'forthwith' for clerk publication). However, the statute addresses only PRIMARY elections for municipal offices and town committee members, not general elections or voter registration deadlines. The timing language 'forthwith' is directive but lacks specificity in days/hours. The statute requires publication in a newspaper and filing with Secretary of State but does not mandate direct voter notification mechanisms. For purposes of NOTIF.1 (pre-election notice with timing and content defined), this satisfies the notification framework partially—it establishes procedural rules for a subset of elections with enumerated content but does not comprehensively address all election types or contain precise timing definitions.

The statute requires that when a polling place becomes unusable within 31 days of an election, a new place must be designated 'forthwith' and 'adequate notice' must be given that the place has changed. However, the statute does not specify: (1) what constitutes 'adequate notice' or the means by which notice must be delivered; (2) a defined timeframe for providing notice (only 'forthwith'); (3) whether individual voter notice is required or whether general/public notice suffices; or (4) how voters are to be individually informed of their specific polling place change. The requirement for notice exists but lacks the procedural clarity needed for voter notification—the statute establishes that notice must occur but does not codify the notification rules, timing specificity, or mechanism with sufficient detail to meet EVCI standards for procedural clarity.

“if the municipal clerk and registrars of voters of a municipality unanimously find that any such polling place within such municipality has been rendered unusable within such period, they shall forthwith designate another polling place to be used in place of the one so rendered unusable and shall give adequate notice that such polling place has been so changed”