Connecticut Statutes § 9-311 Recanvass in case of discrepancy. Authority of moderator to prevent or suppress disorderVersion dated Oct. 30, 2024

(a) If, within three days after an election, it appears to the moderator that there is a discrepancy in the returns of any voting district, such moderator shall forthwith within said period summon, by written notice delivered personally, the recanvass officials, consisting of at least two checkers of different political parties and at least two absentee ballot counters of different political parties who served at such election, and the registrars of voters of the municipality in which the election was held and such other officials as may be required to conduct such recanvass. Such written notice shall require the clerk or registrars of voters, as the case may be, to bring with them the depository envelopes required by section 9-150a , the package of write-in ballots provided for in section 9-310 , the absentee ballot applications, the list of absentee ballot applications, the registry list and the moderators' returns and shall require such recanvass officials to meet at a specified time not later than the fifth business day after such election to recanvass the returns of a voting tabulator or voting tabulators or absentee ballots or write-in ballots used in such district in such election. If any of such recanvass officials are unavailable at the time of the recanvass, the registrar of voters of the same political party as that of the recanvass official unable to attend shall designate another elector having previous training and experience in the conduct of elections to take his place. Before such recanvass is made, such moderator shall give notice, in writing, to the [ chairman ] chairperson of the town committee of each political party which nominated candidates for the election, and, in the case of a state election, not later than twenty-four hours after a determination is made regarding the need for a recanvass to the Secretary of the State, of the time and place where such recanvass is to be made; and each such [ chairman ] chairperson may send party representatives to be present at such recanvass. Such party representatives may observe, but no one other than a recanvass official may take part in the recanvass. If any irregularity in the recanvass procedure is noted by such a party representative, he shall be permitted to present evidence of such irregularity in any contest relating to the election.

(b) The moderator shall determine the place or places where the recanvass shall be conducted and, if such recanvass is held before the tabulators are boxed and collected in the manner required by section 9-266 , the moderator may either require that such recanvass of such tabulators be conducted in each place where the tabulators are located, or he may require that they be removed to one central place, where such recanvass shall be conducted. All recanvassing procedures shall be open to public observation , subject to the provisions of subsection (d) of this section . Such recanvass officials shall, in the presence of such moderator and registrars of voters, make a record of the number on the seal and the number on the protective counter, if one is provided, on each voting tabulator specified by such moderator. Such registrars of voters in the presence of such moderator shall turn over the keys of each such tabulator to such recanvass officials, and such recanvass officials, in the presence of such registrars of voters and moderator, shall immediately proceed to recanvass the vote cast thereon, and shall then open the package of absentee ballots and recanvass the vote cast thereon. In the course of the recanvass of the absentee ballot vote the recanvass officials shall check all outer envelopes for absentee ballots against the inner envelopes for such ballots and against the registry list to verify postmarks, addresses and registry list markings and also to determine whether the number of envelopes from which absentee ballots have been removed is the same as the number of persons checked as having voted by absentee ballot. The write-in ballots shall also be recanvassed at this time. Any party representative present shall have a right to view each ballot as it is being recanvassed by the recanvass officials, so as to be able to discern the markings on such ballot. All of the recanvass officials shall use the same forms for tallies and returns as were used at the original canvass and the absentee ballot counters shall also sign the tallies.

(c) The votes shall be announced and recorded in the manner prescribed in section 9-309 , as amended by [ this act ] public act 23-22 , on return forms provided by the registrars of voters and appended thereto shall be a statement signed by the moderator indicating the time and place of the recanvass and the names, addresses, titles and party affiliations of the recanvass officials. The write-in ballots shall be replaced in a properly secured sealed package. Upon the completion of such recanvass, any tabulator used in such recanvass shall be locked and sealed, the keys thereof shall immediately be returned to such registrars of voters and such tabulator shall remain so locked until the expiration of fourteen days after such election or for such longer period as is ordered by a court of competent jurisdiction. The absentee ballots shall be replaced in their wrappers and be resealed by the moderator in the presence of the recanvass officials. Upon the completion of such recanvass, such moderator and at least two of the recanvass officials of different political parties shall forthwith prepare and sign such return forms which shall contain a written statement giving the result of such recanvass for each tabulator and each package of absentee ballots whose returns were so recanvassed, setting forth whether or not the original canvass was correctly made and stating whether or not the discrepancy still remains unaccounted for. Such return forms containing such statement shall forthwith be filed by the moderator in the office of such clerk. If such recanvass reveals that the original canvass of returns was not correctly made, such return forms containing such statement so filed with the clerk shall constitute a corrected return. In the case of a state election, a recanvass return shall be made in duplicate on a form prescribed and provided by the Secretary of the State, and the moderator shall file one copy with the Secretary of the State and one copy with the town clerk not later than ten days after the election. Such recanvass return shall be substituted for the original return and shall have the same force and effect as an original return.

(d) The moderator may, when any disorder arises that interferes with the conduct of a recanvass, including any attempt by a person other than a recanvass official to take part in such recanvass or by such a person to communicate with a recanvass official other than the moderator, and the offender refuses to submit to the moderator's lawful authority, order that the offender be removed by the recanvass officials from such recanvass until the offender conforms to order or, if need be, until such recanvass is completed.

[ (d) ] (e) As used in this section, (1) "moderator" means, in the case of municipalities not divided into voting districts, the moderator of the election and, in the case of municipalities divided into voting districts, the head moderator of the election, and (2) "registrars of voters", in a municipality where there are different registrars of voters for different voting districts, means the registrars of voters in the voting district in which, at the last-preceding election, the presiding officer for the purpose of declaring the result of the vote of the whole municipality was moderator.