Frequently Asked Questions

When you choose NOT to register with a political party - giving you as a voter the designation "Unaffiliated" - you forfeit your ability to vote in party primaries which are scheduled before the major elections in the fall. For instance - if there is a party primary for Mayor because multiple candidates are seeking the office, as an "Unaffiliated" voter, you are ineligible to vote in the party primary and only have the ability to vote in the Fall election that year. You may change your party affiliation at any time - though according to State statute, there is a 3-month waiting period after switching parties for you to be eligible to vote in a party primary. If you switched party affiliation from Party A to Party B on June 1st, you would be ineligible to vote in Party B's primary until September 1st.

You can view sample ballots on the Connecticut Secretary of the State's webpage.

With one exception, Connecticut law ALLOWS a person on probation to register and vote. This has been in effect since 2002. A person forfeits their right to vote upon conviction of a felony and commitment to any state or federal prison (CGS 9-46). The law allows the person's right to vote to be restored after they have paid all fines and completed any required prison and parole time. There is one exception - a person convicted of and imprisoned for an election-related felony under Title 9 of the General Statutes must ALSO complete any probation time before voting rights are restored (CGS 9-46a).

A law passed in 2006 (PA 06-137) that ELIMINATED a requirement for felons to give a registrar of voters satisfactory proof that they had been released from prison and completed any parole before their voting rights could be restored.