Could Connecticut voters still cast a ballot if they were in line when polls closed in 2008?

Plain-English summary

Ahead of the November 2008 presidential election, Connecticut lawmakers asked whether a long line could extend voting hours. Attorney General Richard Blumenthal said a voter already in line at the statutory 8 p.m. closing time could still vote, even if that person had not entered the voting room or checked in. Officials could not simply extend the deadline for new arrivals because of heavy turnout; the opinion allowed for a court to order extra time in an extraordinary situation.

The opinion also addressed voters who became unable to stand in line. It read Conn. Gen. Stat. Sec. 9-261(b) to require an in-line ballot and privacy sleeve for a temporarily incapacitated voter, with the election officials handling identification and tabulation under that provision.

Currency note

This opinion was issued in 2008. Subsequent statutory amendments, court decisions, or later AG opinions may have changed the analysis. Treat this page as historical context, not current legal advice. Verify current law before relying on any specific rule, deadline, or remedy mentioned here.

Voters at the time

The opinion distinguished arriving before the deadline from completing check-in before it. A voter in line at 8 p.m. had to be allowed to vote despite a later check-in. A voter who became physically unable to remain standing could request the ballot procedure described in § 9-261(b).

Election moderators and registrars at the time

The quoted statute called for a designated official at the end of the line at 8 p.m. to keep later arrivals from joining. The AG said the ordinary polling-hours statute did not authorize extending the closing time for them, while recognizing a court's equitable authority in extraordinary circumstances. For an incapacitated voter already present, the opinion described ballot delivery, identification, privacy, and counting procedures.

Common questions

Q: Could a Connecticut voter in line at 8 p.m. still vote after 8 in the 2008 election?
A: Yes. The opinion said being in line at closing was enough; the voter did not have to reach the check-in table before 8 p.m.

Q: Could election officials keep the polls open to admit new voters because the line was long?
A: The AG said the statute did not give them that power. He noted that a court might order an extension in an extraordinary situation.

Q: What if a voter could not stay standing in line?
A: The opinion applied the then-existing temporary incapacity provision, under which election officials could bring a ballot and privacy sleeve to the voter and process the vote there.

Background and statutory framework

The question arose from expected heavy turnout in the 2008 presidential election. The AG quoted Conn. Gen. Stat. Sec. 9-174's polling hours and its rule for voters already in line at closing. He separately discussed absentee voting for an unforeseen recent illness and the temporary incapacity procedure in Sec. 9-261(b) for a voter present at the polling place.

The opinion's answer concerned the specific election procedures then in force. Its deadline and procedures should be read as historical, subject to the currency note above.

Citations and references

Statutes cited in the opinion: Conn. Gen. Stat. Sec. 9-174; Conn. Gen. Stat. Sec. 9-261(b); Conn. Gen. Stat. Sec. 9-150c.

Source

• Landing page: https://portal.ct.gov/AG/Opinions
• Opinion page: https://portal.ct.gov/ag/opinions/2008-formal-opinions/honorable-andrew-mcdonald-honorable-michael-lawlor-cochairs-judiciary-committee-formal-opinion-20080

Original opinion text

Honorable Andrew McDonald, Honorable Michael Lawlor, Co-Chairs, Judiciary Committee, Formal Opinion 2008-020, Attorney General State of Connecticut

Attorney General's Opinion

Attorney General, Richard Blumenthal

November 3, 2008

The Honorable Andrew McDonald

The Honorable Michael Lawlor

Co-Chairs, Judiciary Committee

State Capitol

Capitol Avenue

Hartford, CT 06106

Dear Senator McDonald and Representative Lawlor:

In anticipation of heavy voter turnout in Tuesday’s Presidential election, you have asked for my opinion as to whether the voting hours can be extended to accommodate an unusually large number of voters, and whether voters actually in line to vote by 8:00 p.m. but, due to long lines have not reached the voting room and checked in at the voting table, will be allowed to vote. You also ask whether any procedures exist to facilitate voting by incapacitated persons.

I conclude that the polls are required by law to remain open from six o’clock a.m. to eight o’clock p.m., and by statute may not be extended beyond that time except by a court under its equitable authority to address a specific extraordinary situation.

Any voter in line at eight o’clock p.m. shall be allowed to vote, even if there is an extended delay before they can check in and receive a ballot.

Further, voters who become incapacitated in line may be accommodated pursuant to Conn. Gen. Stat. Sec. 9-261(b).

Conn. Gen. Stat. Sec. 9-174 provides:

Notwithstanding the provisions of any general statute, special act or municipal charter to the contrary, at any regular election, … the polls shall remain open for voting from six o’clock a.m. until eight o’clock p.m. No elector shall be permitted to cast his vote after the hour prescribed for the closing of the polls in any election unless such an elector is in line at eight o’clock p.m. An election official or a police official of the municipality, who is designated by the moderator, shall be placed at the end of the line at eight o’clock p.m. Such official shall not allow any electors who were not in such line at eight o’clock p.m. to enter such line.

Thus, according to Section 9-174, all state polling places shall close at 8 o’clock p.m. However, anyone standing in line at 8 o’clock must be allowed to vote. We are not aware of any state law or precedent which would allow the eight o’clock deadline to vote to be extended. While a court may exercise its equitable powers to extend the time to vote past the 8 o’clock p.m. deadline, we believe it could and would do so only in extraordinary circumstances.

In the meantime, voters should be aware that they have a right to vote if they are in line at their polling place at eight o’clock, even if they have not yet reached the voting room and checked in at the voting table.

You also asked about procedures for voting for persons who may be incapacitated, even while standing in line. First, Conn. Gen. Stat. Sec. 9-150c allows persons suffering an unforeseen illness or hospitalization occurring within six days immediately preceding the election, to obtain an absentee ballot. Such person may apply for an absentee ballot from the town clerk, and appoint a designee to submit an application to the Town Clerk and to deliver the ballot to him or her at her home or in the hospital. Id. Anyone wishing to utilize this procedure should contact the town clerks.

Also, under Conn. Gen. Stat. Sec. 9-261(b), an elector in line who becomes physically unable to remain standing may request that a ballot be brought to him or her in the line, along with a privacy sleeve, and the registrar must provide such ballot, examine the elector’s identification in the line, mark the elector’s name on the official voter list, and deliver the completed ballot and privacy sleeve to the tabulator for counting.

Specifically, Conn. Gen. Stat. § 9-261(b) provides as follows:

In the event that an elector is present at the polling place but is unable to gain access to the polling place due to a temporary incapacity, the elector may request that the ballot be brought to him or her. The registrars of voters or the assistant registrars of voters, as the case may be, shall take such ballot, along with a privacy sleeve to such elector. The elector shall show identification, in accordance with the provisions of this section. The elector shall forthwith mark the ballot in the presence of the election officials in such manner that the election officials shall not know how the ballot is marked. The elector shall place the ballot in the privacy sleeve. The election officials shall mark the elector's name on the official voter list as having voted and deliver such ballot and privacy sleeve to the voting tabulator where such ballot shall be placed into the tabulator, by the election official, for counting. The moderator shall record such activity in the moderator's diary.

Therefore, an elector who becomes physically incapable of standing in the line will be considered temporarily incapacitated under this statute, and must be permitted to vote according to the procedure contained in Section 9-261(b).

I trust that this letter responds to your concerns.

Very truly yours,

RICHARD BLUMENTHAL

ATTORNEY GENERAL