Bill Summary – FastDemocracy

General Assembly                        Proposed Bill No. 154
       January Session, 2021                  LCO No. 521
     Referred to Committee on GOVERNMENT ADMINISTRATION
     AND ELECTIONS
     Introduced by:
      SEN. KASSER, 36th Dist.
 AN ACT CONCERNING VOTING RIGHTS.
 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General
 Assembly convened:
 1          That title 9 of the general statutes be amended to provide that (1)
 2      beginning at least two weeks prior to the day of an election, and
 3      immediately upon receipt of a returned absentee ballot, local election
 4      officials shall, prior to such day of election, (A) process such returned
 5      absentee ballot by removing the inner envelope from the outer envelope
 6      and confirm that the statement on the inner envelope has been signed,
 7      but shall not open such inner envelope or remove the absentee ballot
 8      therefrom, and (B) enter such processed absentee ballot into a public
 9      online database for the purpose of advising the elector who returned
10      such absentee ballot (i) of its receipt by such local election officials, and
11      (ii) of any deficiency identified in its processing so that such elector may
12      rectify such deficiency, (2) local election officials shall count each such
13      returned and processed absentee ballot beginning the morning of such
14      day of election, (3) the Secretary of the State shall (A) mail an absentee
15      ballot to each elector without requiring such elector to submit an
     LCO No. 521                                                               1 of 2
                                                      Proposed Bill No.   154
16      application for such absentee ballot, or (B) create an online portal
17      through which any elector may submit an electronic application for an
18      absentee ballot, and (4) no person may possess a firearm (A) in any
19      polling place, or (B) within a radius of two hundred feet of any polling
20      place.
        Statement of Purpose:
        To (1) implement several changes designed to increase access to
        absentee ballots, (2) minimize the number of absentee ballots that are
        rejected, (3) improve timely tabulation of absentee ballots, and (4)
        prohibit the presence of firearms in or near polling places.
     LCO No. 521                                                            2 of 2