Connecticut SB 491: AN ACT ESTABLISHING A GRANT PROGRAM TO SUPPORT TOBACCO AND NICOTINE PRODUCT CESSATION EFFORTS.

Bill Text

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General Assembly Substitute Bill No. 491
February Session, 2026

AN ACT CONCERNING THE SECRETARY OF THE STATE'S
RECOMMENDATIONS FOR THE IMPLEMENTATION OF NO-EXCUSE
ABSENTEE VOTING.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General
Assembly convened:

Section 1. Section 9-135 of the general statutes is repealed and the 1
following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective from passage): 2
[(a)] Any elector eligible to vote at a primary or an election and any 3
person eligible to vote at a referendum may vote by absentee ballot, [if 4
such elector or person is unable to appear at such elector's or person's 5
polling place on the day of such primary, election or referendum for any 6
of the following reasons: (1) Such elector's or person's active service with 7
the armed forces of the United States; (2) such elector's or person's 8
absence from the town of such elector's or person's voting residence; (3) 9
sickness; (4) physical disability; (5) the tenets of such elector's or person's 10
religion forbid secular activity on the day of such primary, election or 11
referendum; or (6) the required performance of such elector's or person's 12
duties as a primary, election or referendum official, including as a town 13
clerk or registrar of voters or as staff of the clerk or registrar, at a polling 14
place other than such elector's or person's own during all of the hours 15
of voting at such primary, election or referendum] provided such elector 16
properly completes and submits an absentee ballot application in 17
accordance with the provisions of this chapter. 18

Substitute Bill No. 491

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[(b) No person shall misrepresent the eligibility requirements for 19
voting by absentee ballot prescribed in subsection (a) of this section, to 20
any elector or prospective absentee ballot applicant.] 21
Sec. 2. Section 9-137 of the general statutes is repealed and the 22
following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective from passage): 23
(a) Each absentee ballot shall be returned to the municipal clerk, 24
inserted in [an inner] a return envelope which shall be capable of being 25
sealed and which shall have printed on its face a form containing the 26
following [statements] statement: 27
"I hereby state under the penalties of false statement in absentee 28
balloting that I am eligible to vote at the primary, election or referendum 29
in the municipality in which this absentee ballot is to be cast. [and that I 30
expect to be unable to appear at my polling place on the day of such 31
primary, election or referendum for one or more of the following 32
reasons: (1) My active service in the armed forces; (2) my absence from 33
the town in which I am eligible to vote; (3) sickness; (4) physical 34
disability; (5) the tenets of my religion which forbid secular activity on 35
the day of such primary, election or referendum; or (6) my duties as a 36
primary, election or referendum official.] 37
Date .... 38
.... (Signature) 39
.... (Printed name)" 40
(b) Each such return envelope shall also be endorsed on the outside 41
with the words "OFFICIAL ABSENTEE BALLOT" and bear a label 42
generated by the state-wide centralized voter registration system 43
described in section 9-50b. Such label shall include (1) (A) the name and 44
return address of the sender, (B) the applicant's name and voting 45
residence by street and number, (C) the applicant's voting district, (D) 46
the ballot style, (E) the unique ballot identification number, appearing 47
both in a text format and as a scannable barcode, and (F) the date of the 48

Substitute Bill No. 491

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primary, election or referendum at which the ballot is to be cast and, if 49
the absentee ballot is to be cast at a primary, the name of the party 50
holding the primary, and (2) a notice, sufficient to warn any person 51
handling the ballot, of the restrictions set forth in section 9-140b, as 52
amended by this act, concerning who may possess or return the ballot 53
and the restrictions and penalties set forth in section 9-359 concerning 54
the completion or execution of absentee ballots. The clerk shall also 55
inscribe such clerk's official address for the return of the ballot on the 56
return envelope prior to issuance of the ballot and return envelope. 57
Sec. 3. Section 9-139a of the 2026 supplement to the general statutes 58
is repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective from 59
passage): 60
(a) The Secretary of the State shall prescribe and furnish the following 61
materials to municipal clerks: The absentee ballot facsimile, the 62
application for absentee ballot authorized for use at each election or 63
primary, the [inner envelope, the outer] envelope provided for the 64
return of the ballot to the municipal clerk, the instructions for the use of 65
the absentee ballot and the envelope for mailing of such forms by the 66
clerk to the absentee ballot applicant. 67
(b) The application for absentee ballot