Connecticut

Election Day: 

Polls are open from 6:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. Eastern Time on Election Day. Any voter in line at 8:00 p.m. on Election Day may cast a ballot.

Early Voting and Absentee Voting: 

A voter may vote by absentee ballot if they are on active service in the U.S. armed services; they are absent from the town in which they are registered to vote during all hours of voting; they have an illness or physical disability that prevent them voting in person; they have religious beliefs that prevent them from performing secular activities like voting on Election Day; or they will be performing duties as an election official at a polling place other than their own during all hours of voting on Election Day.

Applicable deadlines for submitting absentee ballots are as follows:   

• By Mail or Secure Drop Box: The absentee ballot must be received by the clerk of the municipality in which the applicant is qualified to vote no later than the close of the polls on Election Day (8:00 p.m.).  The term “mailed” shall include the act of depositing an absentee ballot in a secure drop box designated by the town clerk.
  • Contact information for your municipal clerk can be found at http://www.ctclerks.com/content/5645/5649/default.aspx 
  • If you have returned your completed absentee ballot to your municipal clerk you can check the status of the ballot here https://portaldir.ct.gov/sots/LookUp.aspx
• In person by the voter or a designee or immediate family member of the voter: The absentee ballot must be delivered to the clerk no later than the close of polls on Election Day.

“Curbside Voting”

Curbside voting is available only for voters who are “temporarily incapacitated” and cannot gain access into a polling place.  In these circumstances, a voter may request a ballot be brought to them.  Two poll workers of the opposite parties will come outside to assist the voter. Other voters who have difficulty standing in line may approach the moderator of the polling place and request to move to the front of the line due to challenges imposed by standing or may request a chair to use and the voter’s place in line should be held until a poll owner informs the voter when it is time for him or her to vote.

How to Find Your Polling Place: The voter can determine where they are registered to vote by checking 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 Registrar of Voters office 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 vote in Connecticut if you:

• Are a U.S. citizen
• Are a resident of Connecticut
• are 17 years of age and will be 18 by the next election

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 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.

You may preregister to vote in Connecticut

• At the age of 17

How to register 

• Connecticut Municipal General Elections
  • Submit an Application: Received by Tue Oct 31, 2023
  • Submit a Printed Application: Postmarked by Tue Oct 31, 2023
  • In-Person, Received by Tue Oct 31, 2023
  • In Person: Election Day Registration & Voting Tue Nov 7, 2023

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.
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

Connecticut Municipal General Elections

Ballot Request:

• Mon Nov 6, 2023

Ballot Return:

• Post Received by Tue Nov 7, 2023 8:00PM EST
• In-Person, Received by Mon Nov 6, 2023
• Fax by Tue Nov 7, 2023

ligibility: 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
• The voter will be out of town on Election Day
• Sickness preventing the voter from voting in person on Election Day
• The voter’s religious beliefs prevent them from performing secular activities like voting on Election Day
• The voter will be 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: Download Application for Absentee Ballot. 

The application is not the ballot itself; the application must be submitted and processed before a ballot is made available. All ballots must be received by the close of polls, 8:00 p.m. on Election Day (November 8, 2022).

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 local town clerk’s office for the most up-to-date information.  
• Mail; or
• In person at the voter’s town clerk’s office.  

The voter or the voter’s immediate family member or designee can return the completed application.  A “designee” includes a person caring for a voter due to the voter’s illness or disability; a voter’s family member designated by the voter and who agrees to act as a designee; or if no such person is available, a police officer, registrar of voters, or assistant or deputy registrar of voters in the voter’s town.

Please see Connecticut’s’ Absentee Ballot Fact Sheet. 

Emergency ballot within 6 days of an election: an Emergency Application for Absentee Ballot is available as a result of a voter’s unforeseen illness, physical disability or hospitalization.

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

Identification Requirements to Cast a Ballot

If the voter does 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. 
Providing this I.D. with the registration application will avoid additional I.D. requirements the first time the voter votes.

You must change your voter registration if you move to a new address in the same town or move to a new town.

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

Moved to a new town: the voter must re-register in their new town of residence. The voter will have to update their voter registration to reflect their new address. 

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 does not register to vote elsewhere and maintain a residence in the town in which they are registered.

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 Registrar of Voters 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 she or he has 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 she or he was registered before conviction, this process will eventually restore his or her voting rights on its own, although it may take several months and the voter will have to update his or her address with the registrar.

If the voter is living in a new town or was not previously registered to vote, she or he must submit a new voter registration application and include in his or her registration application satisfactory proof that she or he has 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 she or he 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 longer subject to confinement and has been discharged from parole or probation.