Connecticut General Statutes
Chapter 147 - Voting Methods
Section 9-265. - Write-in votes.

(a) A write-in vote for an office, cast for a person who has registered as a write-in candidate for the office pursuant to subsection (b) of section 9-175 or section 9-373a, shall be counted and recorded. Except as otherwise provided in this section, a write-in vote cast for a person who has not registered shall not be counted or recorded.

(b) Except as otherwise provided in this section, in the case of an office for which an elector may vote for only one candidate, a write-in vote cast for a person nominated for that office by a major or minor party or by nominating petition shall be counted and recorded. In the case of an office for which an elector may vote for more than one candidate, a write-in vote cast for a person nominated for that office by a major or minor party or by nominating petition shall be counted and recorded if it can be determined which candidate such vote should be attributed to.
(c) A write-in vote for the office of Governor or Lieutenant Governor, cast for a person nominated for either of those offices by a major or minor party or by nominating petition, in conjunction with a write-in vote for the other such office cast for a person nominated for either office by a different party or petition, shall not be counted or recorded for either office.
(d) Except as hereinafter provided, a write-in vote for the office of President or Vice-President cast for a person nominated for such office by a major or minor party or by nominating petition shall be counted and recorded and deemed to be a vote for each of the duly-nominated candidates for the office of presidential elector represented by such candidate for President or Vice-President. A write-in vote for the office of President or Vice-President, cast for a person nominated for either of such offices by a major or minor party or by nominating petition, in conjunction with a write-in vote for the other such office cast for a person nominated for either office by a different party or petition, shall not be counted or recorded for either office.
(e) If the name of a person is written in for the office of Governor or Lieutenant Governor, or President or Vice-President, as the case may be, and no name is written in for the other office, such write-in vote shall be counted and recorded if it meets the other requirements of this section.
(f) A write-in vote shall be cast in its appropriate place on the ballot. A write-in vote for Governor and Lieutenant Governor, or for President and Vice-President, as the case may be, shall be written in a single space, provided that if only one name is written in the space it shall be deemed to be a vote for Governor, or for President, as the case may be, unless otherwise indicated. A write-in vote shall be written upon the ballot.
(g) A write-in vote which is not cast as provided in this section shall not be counted or recorded.
(1949 Rev., S. 1211; March, 1950, S. 262b; 1953, S. 741d; 1957, P.A. 561, S. 19; 1963, P.A. 401, S. 3; 1969, P.A. 280; P.A. 77-82, S. 2; 77-245, S. 10; P.A. 81-350, S. 11, 17; P.A. 83-475, S. 22, 43; P.A. 87-589, S. 20, 87; P.A. 98-67, S. 2, 10; P.A. 07-194, S. 26; P.A. 11-173, S. 19.)
History: 1963 act provided for pairing of governor and lieutenant governor; 1969 act prohibited writing-in of candidates name from two different parties where the names appear on the ballot label in casting votes for governor and lieutenant governor and provided that a write-in of one name which already appears on the ballot unaccompanied by a write-in for the other office bars the counting of the ballot; P.A. 77-82 included provision for candidates for office of presidential elector to be deemed to appear on ballot label and names of presidential and vice-presidential candidates appearing on ballot label shall be deemed to be candidates for the office under which designation their names appear, for the purposes of this section; P.A. 77-245 changed “town” to “municipal” clerk; P.A. 81-350 amended section to require labeling of write-in slides on voting machines; P.A. 83-475 deleted all of prior existing section and replaced with new Subsecs. (a) to (g), inclusive, permitting write-in votes cast by electors for candidates whose names appear on the ballot label to be counted for offices for which electors may only vote for one candidate, and setting forth procedure for casting write-in ballots; P.A. 87-589 made technical change in Subsec. (g); P.A. 98-67 added provision in Subsec. (f) re when registrars required to lock write-in slides, effective July 1, 1998; P.A. 07-194 changed “write-in ballot” to “write-in vote” and made conforming changes; P.A. 11-173 amended Subsec. (b) to provide that write-in vote for person nominated for an office for which elector may vote for more than one candidate shall be counted and recorded if it can be determined which candidate the vote should be attributed to, effective July 13, 2011.
See Sec. 9-153e re write-in votes on special absentee ballots for certain military personnel.

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