Bill Summary – FastDemocracy

General Assembly                         Committee Bill No. 5320
      January Session, 2021                   LCO No. 4908
     Referred to Committee on GOVERNMENT ADMINISTRATION
     AND ELECTIONS
     Introduced by:
       (GAE)
 AN ACT CONCERNING ACCESSIBILITY TO VOTING FOR
 INDIVIDUALS WITH CERTAIN DISABILITIES.
 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General
 Assembly convened:
1         Section 1. (Effective July 1, 2021) (a) There is established a task force to
2      conduct a study of accessibility to voting for electors and election day
3      registration applicants with disabilities. Such study shall include, but
4      not be limited to, an examination of nonvisual accessibility for electors
5      and election day registration applicants who are blind or visually
6      impaired.
7         (b) The task force shall consist of the following members:
8         (1) Two appointed by the speaker of the House of Representatives;
9         (2) Two appointed by the president pro tempore of the Senate;
10       (3) One appointed by the majority leader of the House of
11     Representatives;
12        (4) One appointed by the majority leader of the Senate;
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13     (5) One appointed by the minority leader of the House of
14   Representatives;
15     (6) One appointed by the minority leader of the Senate;
16     (7) The Secretary of the State, or the Secretary's designee; and
17     (8) The executive director of the State Elections Enforcement
18   Commission, or the executive director's designee.
19      (c) Any member of the task force appointed under subdivision (1),
20   (2), (3), (4), (5) or (6) of subsection (b) of this section may be a member
21   of the General Assembly.
22      (d) All initial appointments to the task force shall be made not later
23   than thirty days after the effective date of this section. Any vacancy shall
24   be filled by the appointing authority.
25      (e) The speaker of the House of Representatives and the president pro
26   tempore of the Senate shall select the chairpersons of the task force from
27   among the members of the task force. Such chairpersons shall schedule
28   the first meeting of the task force, which shall be held not later than sixty
29   days after the effective date of this section.
30     (f) The administrative staff of the joint standing committee of the
31   General Assembly having cognizance of matters relating to elections
32   shall serve as administrative staff of the task force.
33      (g) Not later than January 1, 2022, the task force shall submit a report
34   on its findings and recommendations to the joint standing committee of
35   the General Assembly having cognizance of matters relating to
36   elections, in accordance with the provisions of section 11-4a of the
37   general statutes. The task force shall terminate on the date that it
38   submits such report or January 1, 2022, whichever is later.
39      Sec. 2. Section 9-240 of the general statutes is repealed and the
40   following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective July 1, 2021):
41     (a) The board of selectmen in each town, unless otherwise provided
     LCO No. 4908                                                              2 of 4
42   by law, shall provide or may authorize the registrars to provide a
43   suitable room or rooms and voting tabulator booths for holding all
44   elections. The interior of the booths shall be secure from outside
45   observation. [Said board]
46      (b) (1) (A) Except as provided in subparagraph (B) of this subdivision,
47   the board of selectmen in each town, unless otherwise provided by law,
48   shall provide for each polling place, in accordance with the
49   requirements of section 9-238, one or more voting tabulators in complete
50   working order. [, and]
51      (B) On and after July 1, 2021, at each federal election, as defined in
52   section 9-158a, the board of selectmen in each town, unless otherwise
53   provided by law, shall provide for each polling place, in accordance
54   with the requirements of section 9-238, one or more voting devices
55   equipped for individuals with disabilities that comply with the
56   provisions of the Help America Vote Act, P.L. 107-25, as amended from
57   time to time, in complete working order, which voting devices shall be
58   approved by the Secretary of the State.
59      (2) The board of selectmen shall preserve and keep [them] each voting
60   tabulator and each voting device described in subdivision (1) of this
61   subsection in repair and have the custody of the voting tabulators, and
62   the care and custody of the furniture and equipment of the polling place,
63   when not in use at an election.
      This act shall take effect as follows and shall amend the following
      sections:
      Section 1     July 1, 2021                 New section
      Sec. 2        July 1, 2021                 9-240
     Statement of Purpose:
     To (1) establish a task force for the study of accessibility to voting for
     individuals with disabilities, and (2) require at each federal election that
     each polling place have at least one voting device equipped for
     individuals with disabilities that complies with federal law.
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[Proposed deletions are enclosed in brackets. Proposed additions are indicated by underline, except
that when the entire text of a bill or resolution or a section of a bill or resolution is new, it is not
underlined.]
 Co-Sponsors:             REP. FOX, 148th Dist.; REP. GILCHREST, 18th Dist.
                          REP. WINKLER, 56th Dist.; REP. MICHEL, 146th Dist.
H.B. 5320
LCO No. 4908                                                                                        4 of 4
Statutes affected: 
Committee Bill: 9-240