What are the voting laws in Connecticut?

Learn more about Connecticut voting laws here, including election dates and deadlines, absentee ballot policies, ID requirements, and more.

What is on my ballot?

There’s a lot to vote for in every election, besides the obvious offices. Learn more about the candidates and questions that will be on your ballot this upcoming election.

Special Circumstances

Your right to vote is protected, even if you:

• Are serving in the military or living oversees
• Are disabled
• Are a veteran
• Are experiencing homelessness
• Live in a nursing home or long-term care facility
• Speak a language other than english
• Are a survivor of domestic violence, sexual assault or stalking
• An individual who has been formerly incarcerated or has a felony conviction may still be able to register to vote.

Learn more about registration and voting if any of these special circumstances apply to you.

Know your Basic Rights

• If you are in line when polls are supposed to close, stay in line – you have the right to vote.
• If you make a mistake on your ballot, ask for a new one.
• If the machines are down at your polling place, ask for a paper ballot
• If your citizenship, criminal record, or other qualifications are questioned, immediately call the Election Protection Hotline where trained volunteers are available to help.
• If you run into any problems or have questions before or on Election Day, call the Election Protection Hotline:
  • English: 1-866-OUR-VOTE / 1-866-687-8683
  • Spanish: 1-888-VE-Y-VOTA / 1-888-839-8682
  • Arabic: 1-844-YALLA-US / 1-844-925-5287
  • For Bengali, Cantonese, Hindi, Urdu, Korean, Mandarin, Tagalog, or Vietnamese: 1-888-API-VOTE / 1-888-274-8683

Voter Intimidation & Suppression

Voter Intimidation and Voter Suppression are attempts to prevent eligible people from voting or forcing them to vote a certain way. These attempts may be made by an official, individual, or group. At least 31 states have passed 103 restrictive voting laws since the Supreme Court gutted a key portion of the Voting Rights Act in Shelby County v. Holder in 2013. Learn more.

Some voter intimidation tactics include:

• Using verbal or physical threats
• Threatening with weapons or jail time
• Tests involving literacy
• Property ownership, or citizenship
• Poll taxes
• Spreading mis- and dis-information

What do you do if you see armed individuals near the polling site or at a voter registration drive? Georgetown Law has created fact sheets for all 50 states explaining the laws barring unauthorized private militia groups and what to do if groups of armed individuals are near a polling place or voter registration drive. See Connecticut’s fact sheet here.

Voting Rights for Individuals with Physical or Developmental Disabilities

Several federal laws protect the voting rights of Americans with disabilities. These include the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and the Help America Vote Act (HAVA).
If you or someone you know will need accommodations on Election Day, contact the state or local election office to find out what to expect at your polling place.

Voters with disabilities have the right to:

• Vote in private, without help;
• Have an accessible polling place with voting machines for voters with disabilities;
• Seek help from poll workers trained to use an accessible voting machine, or;
• Bring someone to help with voting (including if someone is unable to read or write).
• Some states offer “curbside voting,” which is when a poll worker brings everything you need to vote to the vehicle.
• Polling places must have:
  • Wheelchair-accessible voting booths
  • Entrances and doorways at least 32 inches wide
  • Handrails on all stairs
  • Voting equipment for people who are blind or visually impaired

You can also ask your election office what other options are available.

Voting rights for formerly incarcerated individuals or those with a felony conviction

People with a former incarceration or felony conviction may still be able to vote. Find out the regulations in your area.

Learn more about felony disenfranchisement laws state by state.

Pursuing Funding for Southeastern Connecticut

The largest amount of advocacy work that we do involves requesting that more state and federal dollars be allocated to supporting families in need in southeastern Connecticut. Most often TVCCA does this by submitting proposals to various agencies that are seeking an organization to help them implement a program that has already been developed, but at times it includes requesting the state and federal government to increase funding sources, expand programs, or launch new programs.

Advocating for Poverty Abolition through Policy

As a Community Action Agency, TVCCA employees see first-hand which programs are especially helpful to our clients and which could use some modifications. We send our leadership to Hartford and to meetings with our federal legislators to ensure that all decision-makers representing our region hear what improvements and expansions must be made to social service programs to advance our goal of abolishing poverty. We know what works and what does not work, and we work tirelessly to convince the powers that be to invest money in programs that will help lift our communities up.

Educating the Public

While TVCCA is a nonprofit, we have the responsibility to inform the public on a nonpartisan basis on the basics of policy discussions that are happening within governmental systems. Many of these current systems, whether purposefully or inadvertently, keep families in a cycle of poverty, and it is our responsibility to make sure that you have the information you need to advocate for yourself and your family when you vote.

Staying Nonpartisan

Most nonprofit agencies cite concerns over partisanship as the primary reason they do not support others to vote, including clients and staff. In fact, nonpartisan voter engagement is legal and in some cases required by law. Social service nonprofits and their staff connect clients and communities to the information they need all the time. Helping people to be informed voters is part of empowerment practice and supports their power to effect change in their communities. You can learn more about which types of activities are considered to be nonpartisan at nonprofitvote.org.

Supporting Other Nonprofits

At TVCCA, we are not just here to guide individuals to resources, but we strive to guide nonprofits to new resources as well! We advocate for more nonprofits in our area and around the country to participate in nonpartisan voter engagement. Organizations can check out the Voter Engagement Guide for Organizations published by UConn’s Nancy A. Humphreys Institute for Political Social Work to learn more about how to amplify their impact. The Institute also provides tips and resources to hold voter registration events.