Connecticut General Statutes
Chapter 146 - Elections
Section 9-215. - Member or member-elect of the General Assembly.

(a) When any member or member-elect of the General Assembly resigns, the member or member-elect shall resign by notifying the Secretary of the State of the member's or member-elect's decision, and if any member or member-elect of the General Assembly dies, the town clerk from the town in which the member or member-elect resides shall notify the Secretary of the State of such death.

(b) When any such vacancy occurs, except as provided in this section, the Governor shall, within ten days after its occurrence, issue writs of election, directed to the town clerks or assistant town clerks in the several towns in the district in which the vacancy exists, ordering an election to be held therein on the forty-sixth day after the issue of such writs to fill such vacancy, and cause them to be conveyed to such town clerks or assistant town clerks. No such election shall be held on a Saturday or Sunday. If such a vacancy occurs between the one hundred twenty-fifth day and the forty-ninth day before the day of a regular state or municipal election in November of any year, the Governor shall so issue such writs on the forty-sixth day before the day of such regular election, ordering an election to be held on the day of such regular election. If such a vacancy occurs after the forty-ninth day before the day of a regular state election but before the Wednesday following the first Monday of January of the next-succeeding year, the Governor shall not issue such writs and no election shall be held under this section, unless the position vacated is that of member-elect, in which case the Governor shall issue such writs and an election shall be held as provided in this section.
(c) Such clerks or assistant clerks, on receiving such writs, but not earlier than the date of issuance of such writs, shall warn elections to be held on the day appointed therein, in the same manner as state elections are warned, which elections shall be organized and conducted in the same manner as a state election. The vote shall be declared, certified, directed, deposited, returned and transmitted in the same manner as at a state election. The registry lists used at such elections shall be the last-completed lists, as provided in sections 9-172a and 9-172b.
(d) (1) If such vacancy resulting from the resignation or death of a member or member-elect of the General Assembly exists in a senatorial or assembly district composed of a single town or part of a single town, such nominations by political parties shall be made as the rules of such parties provide, in accordance with section 9-390, and filed with the Secretary of the State; except that (A) if such rules provide for selection by delegates and the vacancy exists in a senatorial or assembly district composed of a single town, the delegates to the convention held for the nomination of a candidate for the office of state senator or state representative in such town at the last state election shall be the delegates for the purpose of selecting a candidate to fill such vacancy; (B) if such rules provide for the selection by delegates and the vacancy exists in a senatorial or assembly district composed of part of a single town, the delegates to the convention held for the nomination of a candidate for the office of state senator or state representative in such district at the last state election shall be the delegates for the purpose of selecting a candidate to fill such vacancy; and (C) if such rules provide for direct primaries under section 9-390, the nomination shall be made by the town committee of such party in the case of a vacancy in a senatorial or assembly district composed of a single town and, in a senatorial or assembly district composed of part of a single town, by the members of the town committee from such political subdivision or senatorial or assembly district.
(2) If such vacancy resulting from the resignation or death of a member or member-elect of the General Assembly exists in a district office, as defined in section 9-372, the delegates to the senatorial or assembly convention for the last state election shall be the delegates for the purpose of selecting a candidate to fill such vacancy.
(3) If a vacancy occurs in the delegation from any town, political subdivision or district, such vacancy may be filled by the town committee of the town in which the delegate resided.
(4) Nominations by political parties pursuant to this section may be made and certified at any time after the resignation or death of the member or member-elect of the General Assembly and not later than the thirty-sixth day before the day of the election. No such nomination shall be effective until the presiding officer or secretary of any district convention has certified the nomination to the Secretary of the State or, in the case of a vacancy in a senatorial or assembly district composed of a single town or part thereof, until the presiding officer or secretary of the town committee or single town convention has certified the nomination to the Secretary of the State. If a certificate of a party's nomination to fill a vacancy resulting from the resignation or death of a member or member-elect of the General Assembly is not received by the Secretary of the State on or before the thirty-sixth day prior to the day of the election, such certificate shall be invalid and, for purposes of section 9-224a, shall be deemed to have made no valid certification of nomination by a political party for such senatorial or assembly office.
(e) No primary shall be held for the nomination of any political party to fill any vacancy in the office of state senator or state representative and the party-endorsed candidate so selected shall be deemed, for the purposes of chapter 153, the person certified by the Secretary of the State under section 9-444 as the nominee of such party.
(f) When the vacancy is filled, the successor to the office shall appear before the Secretary of the State and be sworn to the faithful performance of duties in accordance with section 1-25.
(1949 Rev., S. 1091; 1953, S. 696d; 1957, P.A. 119, S. 3; 1959, P.A. 475, S. 2; 1963, P.A. 17, S. 85; 1967, P.A. 557, S. 4; P.A. 77-240, S. 1; P.A. 80-215, S. 2; P.A. 81-447, S. 21; P.A. 82-426, S. 4, 14; P.A. 84-319, S. 29, 49; P.A. 87-382, S. 19, 55; P.A. 93-154, S. 2, 5; P.A. 00-66, S. 22; P.A. 17-143, S. 2.)
History: 1959 act provided for notification of the secretary of the state in the case of death or resignation of state senator or senator-elect, also provided for swearing-in of successor; 1963 act changed internal references from former primary act to its restatement; 1967 act changed wording throughout section so that it applied to vacancies in the general assembly as a whole instead of the state senate; P.A. 77-240 changed day on which election to be held to fill a vacancy from the thirtieth to the fortieth day after issue of writs; P.A. 80-215 changed day from fortieth to forty-sixth day, deleted sheriff of county from section pertaining to transmittal of writs, provided that nominations by political parties may be made at any time after resignation or death and prior to the tenth day after publication of warning of election but shall not be effective until certified by appropriate officials to the secretary of the state or the town clerk; P.A. 81-447 added requirement that governor issue writs of election to fill vacancy within 10 days after the occurrence of the vacancy if it occurs 56 or more days prior to the first Wednesday after the first Monday in May in an even-numbered year; P.A. 82-426 amended section to provide that governor is to issue writs of election within 10 days after occurrence of a vacancy ordering election to be held on the forty-sixth day after issuance except that if the vacancy occurs between the one hundred twenty-fifth day and the forty-ninth day before the day of a regular November state or municipal election the writs are to be issued 46 days before the regular election and if the vacancy occurs after the forty-ninth day before such regular election and before the Wednesday following the first Monday in January of the next year no election shall be held unless the position vacated is that of member elect; P.A. 84-319 amended section to change deadline for nominations by parties for special elections from within 10 days of publication of warning to “not later than the thirty-sixth day before the day” of the election; P.A. 87-382 provided that nominations by political parties may be certified during same period that nominations may be made; P.A. 93-154 prohibited elections from being held on Saturdays or Sundays, effective July 1, 1993; P.A. 00-66 divided section into Subsecs. and made technical changes; P.A. 17-143 amended Subsec. (d)(1) to add “resulting from the resignation or death of a member or member-elect of the General Assembly” and to replace “town clerk” with “Secretary of the State” re filing of nominations, amended existing Subsec. (d)(2) to add “resulting from the resignation or death of a member or member-elect of the General Assembly exists in”, redesignate provision re filling of vacancy by town committee as Subdiv. (3), redesignate provisions re nominations by political parties as Subdiv. (4) and amend same to replace “and” with “or” and replace “town clerk” with “Secretary of the State” re certification of nomination, add provision re certificate of nomination not received on or before 36th day prior to election, and made technical changes, effective June 30, 2017.

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