Connecticut

Polls are open from 6:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. Eastern Time on Election Day.

How to Find Your Polling Place: The voter can determine where they are registered to vote by checking the Connecticut Secretary of State’s “Voter Registration Lookup” page. The voter must vote at their polling place.

If the voter has moved recently and has not updated their voter registration, they can register and vote in person on Election Day at their town’s Election Day Registration location. To register in person, the voter will need to supply proof of identity and residence. The voter should contact their local to find out where to go to register on Election Day.

If the voter’s name doesn’t appear on the voter rolls and their eligibility to vote cannot be established, the voter is still entitled to cast a provisional ballot.

Registration Deadlines

• For registration deadlines, see How to Register below.

How to Check Your Registration: Voters can determine whether they are registered to vote at the following link: Am I Registered?.

You are eligible to register to vote in Connecticut if you:

• Are a U.S. citizen
• Are a resident of Connecticut
• At the age of 16 or 17 as long as you will be 18 by the time the next election occurs

You are not eligible to vote in Connecticut if:

• You are in prison or jail for a felony conviction
• A judge has specifically ruled that you are not able to vote.

Restorative Requirements

• If you have completed a felony prison sentence, even if you are still on parole or probation, then you are immediately eligible to register to vote.

If convicted by another State or by a Federal Court and you have completed your sentence, including probation or parole, AND paid all fines ordered at the time of conviction, you may register to vote.

You may preregister to vote in Connecticut

• At the age of 17

How to register 

Online or mail registration: A voter may register online or download a form for mail-in registration. 

Election Day Registration: A voter may register in person on Election Day at their town’s Election Day Registration location.

Residency requirements: a voter must be a resident of the town in which he or she is registering to vote.

If You Want to Vote Absentee, requests may be made:

• In-Person
• By Mail
• By Fax

Absentee Ballots may be returned:

• In-Person
• By Mail

Eligibility for Early Voting: Any voter may vote early. Early voting will begin 14 days before the general election and end 2 days prior to the general election.

Each municipality must have at least one early voting place. A municipality is required to publish the location before early voting begins.

Eligibility for Absentee Voting: The voter can vote early if they meet the Absentee Voting Requirements. Connecticut has strict laws regarding who can vote absentee. The categories below are eligible for absentee voting.

• Active member of the armed forces of the United States
• Voters who will be out of town on Election Day
• Voters with a sickness preventing the voter from voting in person on Election Day
• Voters with religious beliefs that prevent them from performing secular activities like voting on Election Day
• Voters performing duties as an election official at a polling place other than their own on Election Day
• A physical disability prevents the voter from voting in person on Election Day

Absentee ballot request: An application for an absentee ballot is available here. 

The application is not the ballot itself; the application must be submitted and processed before the voter will receive an absentee ballot. 

Returning the absentee ballot: Once the voter fills out their absentee ballot, they can return the absentee ballot via:

• The secure drop box that the Office of the Secretary of State has provided to each town. If the voter is unsure of the drop box location, they can call their Town Clerk for the most up-to-date information.  
• Mail; or
• In person at the voter’s Town Clerk Office.

The voter or the voter’s immediate family member or designee can return the completed ballot on behalf of the voter.  A “designee” includes a person caring for a voter due to illness or disability; a voter’s family member; or a police officer, registrar of voters, or assistant or deputy registrar of voters in the voter’s town.

Absentee ballots returned by mail or in person by the voter’s designee must be received by the Town Clerk by the close of polls on Election Day. Absentee ballots returned by the voter in person must be received by the Town Clerk by the end of the day on the day before Election Day. 
Please see Connecticut’s Absentee Ballot Fact Sheet.

Emergency ballot: An emergency ballot is available to voters who experience an emergency within 6 days of the close of the polls on Election Day.  Only voters who experience an unforeseen illness or physical disability within 6 days before polls close on Election Day may apply for an emergency absentee ballot

Voter Registration

To register to vote in Connecticut you should provide one of the following:

• Connecticut Learner’s Permit
• Last Four Digits of your Social Security Number
• Your Connecticut Driver’s License Number
• Your Connecticut non-driver ID number

If you do not have any of these IDs, you can provide a copy of one of the following with your registration application:

• Current and Valid Photo ID
• Government Issued Document that shows your current name and address
• Utility Bill
• Government Check
• Bank Statement
• Paycheck that Shows your Current Name and Address

Voting In-Person

If you are registered to vote in Connecticut you are required to show ID to vote; or, you may instead sign an affidavit or similar document. Accepted forms of ID include:

• Social Security Card
• Any Form of ID which shows your Name and either your Address, Photo or Signature

If the voter does not have the required identification, they will be able to vote by provisional ballot for federal elections.  

If the voter is registering for the first time in their town, they can include one of the following: 

• (a) voter’s driver’s license number or, if none, the last four digits of the voter’s social security number, 
• (b) a copy of a current and valid I.D., or 
• (c) a copy of a current utility bill, bank statement, government check, paycheck, or government document that shows their name and address.
• There is no separate identification requirement for voters who elect to vote by mail.

Moved within the same town, to a new town in Connecticut: the voter will have to update their voter registration to reflect their new address.  

Moved to Connecticut from out of state: the voter must register to vote in Connecticut. 

If the voter temporarily moves to another location, inside or outside the state (for example, to stay with family at another location), this should not affect the voter’s eligibility to vote in the town in which they are registered so long as the voter maintains a residence in the town in which they are registered and does not register to vote elsewhere.
A voter can register and vote in person on Election Day at their town’s Election Day Registration location. To register in person, the voter will need to supply proof of identity and residence. The voter should contact their local Town Clerk for information about location, hours of operation, and acceptable forms of identification

Voting Military

U.S. citizens living overseas may register and request a ballot using the overseas voter registration/ballot request form. Your state does not require an ID to be provided in order the register/request your ballot.

Voting Overseas

U.S. citizens living overseas may register and request a ballot using the overseas voter registration/ballot request form. Your state does not require an ID to be provided in order the register/request your ballot.

Military and Overseas Voters: Military and overseas voters can request an absentee ballot by using:

• Connecticut’s Absentee Ballot Application; or

• The Federal Post Card Application (FPCA) for Connecticut

Suspension of Voting Rights: only voters convicted of a felony offense and committed to confinement have their voting rights suspended. Voting rights are reinstated once those voters are no longer subject to confinement.

After a voter who was convicted of a felony and confined is released from prison, the Commissioner of Correction:

• Gives the voter a document certifying that they have been released from confinement, and 
• Notifies the Secretary of the State within a month that the voter is no longer disqualified from voting. 

If the voter returns to the town where they were registered before conviction, this process will eventually restore their voting rights on its own, although it may take several months and the voter will have to update their address with the registrar. 

If the voter is living in a new town or was not previously registered to vote, they must submit a new voter registration application and include in their registration application satisfactory proof that they have been released from confinement. This may be done with the (i) certificate issued to the voter by the Commissioner of Corrections or (ii) through the voter’s parole officer.   

The voter can contact the Registrar of Voters in the town where the voter lives to obtain a voter registration card, or can

also obtain voter registration cards from any public library, the DMV, DSS, or any other voter registration agency.

Violation of Title 9 of Connecticut Election statutes: if a voter is convicted of a felony and committed for confinement for a violation of Title 9 of Connecticut Election statutes, voting rights cannot be restored until the voter is no longer subject to confinement and has been discharged from parole or probation.