Summary
Federal & state elections on the ballot: US Senator, 5 US House members, and State Senate and House members
Ballot measures: None
The Connecticut Division of Elections, part of the Secretary of State, oversees all Connecticut elections.
OnAir Post: Connecticut Votes in 2024
News
The House Republican minority succeeded Tuesday in delaying by at least two years the ability of Connecticut voters to decide if the state Constitution should be amended to increase the General Assembly’s discretion over the use of absentee ballots.
Connecticut is a rarity among the states: Its rules for absentee voting are among the most restrictive in the U.S., and they are enshrined in its constitution.
At issue Tuesday was a proposed constitutional amendment that would allow — not require — the legislature to authorize no-excuse absentee voting. Notwithstanding the experience elsewhere, Republicans said the change would invite large-scale fraud.
About
Contact
Locations
Connecticut Secretary of the State
State of Connecticut
165 Capitol Avenue
Hartford CT 06106
Phone: 860-509-6200
Web Links
Registering to Vote
General Information
Who can register
To register in Connecticut you must:
- be a citizen of the United States
- be a resident of Connecticut and of the town in which you wish to vote
- be 17 years old. You can vote when you turn 18.
- have completed confinement and parole if previously convicted of a felony
- not currently be declared mentally incompetent to vote by a court of law
How to register
- Use our Register to Vote form below to fill out the National Voter Registration Form.
- Sign and date your form. This is very important!
- Mail or hand-deliver your completed form to the address we provide.
- Make sure you register before the voter registration deadline.
Election Day registration
If the voter registration deadline has passed, you can still register to vote in person at the office of your Local Election Office on Election Day. Contact your Local Election Office if you have any questions.
Voting Rights restoration
If you have been convicted of a felony and have questions about whether you can register to vote, visit Restore Your Vote to determine your eligibility
Registration Status (form)
New Registration (form)
Voting
General Information
Voting as a Student
Learn more from Campus Vote Project about voting for students.
Overseas and Military Voting
You are a Military or Overseas voter if you are in uniformed services, living overseas OR a spouse or dependent of a uniformed services voter. To get registered and vote, you can utilize Overseas Vote Foundation.
If you have additional questions about elections and voting overseas you can use our state specific elections official directory or contact the Overseas Vote Foundation.
Voting with Disabilities
All polling places must be accessible. If you require assistance to vote by reason of blindness, disability, or inability to write or to read the ballot, assistance may be given by a person of your choice. This person may accompany you into the voting booth. This can be a person of your choosing but cannot be:
- Your employer
- An agent of such employer
- An officer or agent of your union
- A candidate whose name appears on the ballot, unless they are a member of your immediate family
A disabled person may, at any time, request a paper ballot for electors with disabilities.
Voters who have difficulty standing may ask to move to the front of the line or ask poll workers to direct them to a chair.
You may also request a ballot be brought to you outside the polling location. You must show proper ID and must mark the ballot in front of officials, but not in a way that will violate your privacy.
For more information, you can utilize the American Association of People With Disabilities (AAPD) resource.
Early Voting
N/A
Vote by Mail (Absentee)
Absentee ballot rules
You may vote by absentee ballot in Connecticut if:
- You will be absent from town during all the hours of voting
- You are ill
- You have a physical disability which makes it difficult for you to get to the polls
- You are active duty within the US military
- Your religious tenets forbid secular (non-religious) activity on Election Day
- Your required performance of duties as a primary, referendum, or election official at a polling place other than your own during all the hours on Election Day
How to get Absentee ballot
- Use our Absentee Ballot form to prepare your application.
- Sign and date the form. This is very important!
- Return your completed application to your Local Election Office as soon as possible. We’ll provide the mailing address for you.
- All Local Election Offices will accept mailed or hand-delivered forms. If it’s close to the deadline, call and see if your Local Election Office will let you fax or email the application.
- Make sure your application is received by the deadline. Your application must actually arrive by this time — simply being postmarked by the deadline is insufficient.
- Please contact your Local Election Office if you have any further questions about the exact process.
What to do next
- Once you receive the ballot, carefully read and follow the instructions.
- Sign and date where indicated.
- Return your voted ballot back to the address indicated on the return envelope.
- Your voted ballot must be received by the close of polls on Election Day or it will not be counted. Ballots that are postmarked but not received by Election Day will not be considered on time.
- Please contact your Local Election Office if you have any questions.
Absentee ballot application deadline
- In Person:
- By Mail: 1 day before Election Day. We recommend applying at 7 days before Election Day.
- Online:
Absentee ballot submission deadline
Election Day.
Absentee Ballot (form)
Elections Alert (Form)
Poll Information
Polling Place Locator
You can find your polling place by utilizing your state resource. If you have further questions on your polling place location, please contact your county clerk.
Polling Place Hours
Poll Worker Information
In order to be a poll worker in Connecticut, you must:
- Be registered to vote in Connecticut
- Be at least 18 years of age
- Be entitled to compensation
- Political affiliation generally required
- Be a resident of the town that you apply
- Complete required training
- Students with residency in the town who are 16 years or older may work with written permission from a parent or guardian
To sign up, contact your local registrar’s office.
Division of Elections
Secretary of State
Source: Website
Denise W. Merrill was elected to her third term as Connecticut’s 73rd Secretary of the State on November 6, 2018. As Connecticut’s chief elections official and business registrar, Merrill has focused on modernizing Connecticut’s elections, business services and improving access to public records.
Secretary Merrill is focused on both civic engagement and fostering business enterprise. Since taking office, she has supported and expanded democratic participation, ensuring that every citizen’s rights and privileges are protected and that every vote is counted accurately. Secretary Merrill has worked to expand voter participation through Election Day and online voter registration. She has also improved Connecticut’s democratic accountability and integrity with a series of rapid response processes to Election Day problems. She was elected president of the National Association of Secretaries of State (NASS) for the 2016-17 term, was the co-chair of NASS’s Election Infrastructure Subsector Government Coordinating Council, and serves on the Board of Advisors to the U.S. Election Assistance Commission.
As Connecticut’s business registrar, Secretary Merrill has made it easier for businesses to interact with the office by increasing online functionality, improving response times and connecting businesses with government resources. Merrill has partnered with the U.S. Department of Commerce Export Assistance Center, the General Services Administration, and Small Business Development Administration to distribute information about business assistance and educational events being offered by these agencies. Secretary Merrill also launched an award-winning online business startup tool to help entrepreneurs navigate through various state and federal agencies. She also led the development of Connecticut’s e-Regulations System, an online platform that provides access to all agency regulation-making records with real-times updates.
Prior to her election as Secretary of the State, Denise Merrill served as State Representative from the 54th General Assembly District for 17 years, representing the towns of Mansfield and Chaplin. First elected to the General Assembly in 1994, Merrill rose to the rank of House Majority Leader from 2009-2011. She also served as the House Chair of the budget writing Appropriations Committee from 2005-2009, as vice-chair of the Education Committee from 1994-1999 and as a member of the Government Administration and Elections Committee from 1995-1997. In a 2009 poll done by Connecticut magazine, Majority Leader Merrill was named by her colleagues in the legislature as “Most Respected by the Other Side of the Aisle” and “Most Effective Legislator.”
Secretary Merrill is a graduate of the University of Connecticut, is licensed to practice law in the state of California, and is a classically trained pianist. She lives in Hartford. Her family includes husband Dr. Stephen Leach and his two sons, her three grown children and six grandchildren.
