Substitute House Bill No. 5448 (HB5448) seeks to protect the personal information of election workers by amending Section 1-217 of the general statutes to prevent the disclosure of their residential addresses. Election officials such as municipal clerks, registrars of voters, deputy registrars, and other designated officials can submit a written request to keep their residential address confidential, providing a business address or the address of the town or city hall or municipal building instead. The bill specifies that nondisclosure requests made before the ninetieth day preceding an election will take effect on that day and expire ninety days after the election, while requests made on or after the ninetieth day will take effect immediately and expire ninety days post-election. The bill includes insertions detailing the conditions for confidentiality and deletions to update subsection references, and it clarifies that penalties for violations of these provisions apply only if the violation is willful and knowing.

Additionally, HB5448 defines "election worker" and "personal identifying information," and criminalizes certain behaviors to protect election workers. It makes it a class C felony to influence or attempt to influence an election worker through force, threat, bribery, or corrupt means, and a class A misdemeanor to publicly disclose an election worker's personal identifying information with the intent to harass or influence their duties. Election workers are granted a civil cause of action against violators. The bill is set to take effect on July 1, 2024, and includes a fiscal impact statement indicating potential minimal costs and revenue gains. The bill also makes conforming changes to align with these new provisions and establishes that the protections apply to election workers regardless of their employment status, with certain exceptions for elected or appointed officials and specific records.

Statutes affected:
Raised Bill: 1-217, 9-364a
GAE Joint Favorable Substitute: 1-217, 9-364a
File No. 414: 1-217, 9-364a
JUD Joint Favorable Substitute: 1-217, 9-364a
File No. 627: 1-217, 9-364a