Connecticut General Statutes

Conn. Gen. Stat. § 9-1 (2026)

Definitions

✓ current as of May 2026

Find cases: SyfertCases citing this section CT-CGAcga.ct.gov (official) JustiaTitle on Justia CornellLII Search CasesGoogle Scholar

Except as otherwise provided, the following terms, as used in this title and sections 3-124, 7-5, 7-6, 7-7, 7-17, 7-20, 7-39, 7-157, 7-214, 7-275, 7-295, 7-343, 7-407, 8-1, 8-5, 8-19, 10-219, 11-36, 13a-11, 45a-18, 45a-19 and 51-95 have the following meanings:

(a) “Ballot” means paper or other material containing the names of the candidates or a statement of a proposed constitutional amendment or other question or proposition to be voted on;

(b) “Board for admission of electors” means the board as composed under subsection (a) of section 9-15a;

(c) “Clerical error” means any error in the registry list or enrollment list due to a mistake or an omission on the part of the printer or a mistake or omission made by the registrars or their assistants;

(d) “Election” means any electors' meeting at which the electors choose public officials by use of voting tabulators or by paper ballots as provided in section 9-272;

(e) “Elector” means any person possessing the qualifications prescribed by the Constitution and duly admitted to, and entitled to exercise, the privileges of an elector in a town;

(f) Repealed by P.A. 77-298, S. 14;

(g) “Municipal clerk” means the clerk of a municipality;

(h) “Municipal election” means the regularly recurring election held in a municipality at which the electors of the municipality choose public officials of such municipality;

(i) “Municipality” means any city, borough or town within the state;

(j) “Official ballot” means the official ballot to be used at an election, or the official ballot to be used thereat in accordance with the provisions of section 9-272;

(k) “Population” means the population according to the last-completed United States census;

(l) “Presidential electors” means persons elected to cast their ballots for President and Vice President of the United States;

(m) “Print” means methods of duplication of words by mechanical process, but shall not include typewriting;

(n) “Referendum” means (1) a question or proposal which is submitted to a vote of the electors or voters of a municipality at any regular or special state or municipal election, as defined in this section, (2) a question or proposal which is submitted to a vote of the electors or voters, as the case may be, of a municipality at a meeting of such electors or voters, which meeting is not an election, as defined in subsection (d) of this section, and is not a town meeting, or (3) a question or proposal which is submitted to a vote of the electors or voters, as the case may be, of a municipality at a meeting of such electors or voters pursuant to section 7-7 or pursuant to charter or special act;

(o) “Regular election” means any state or municipal election;

(p) “Registrars” means the registrars of voters of the municipality;

(q) “Registry list” means the list of electors of any municipality certified by the registrars;

(r) “Special election” means any election not a regular election;

(s) “State election” means the election held in the state on the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November in the even-numbered years in accordance with the provisions of the Constitution of Connecticut;

(t) “State officers” means the Governor, Lieutenant Governor, Secretary of the State, Treasurer, Comptroller and Attorney General;

(u) “Voter” means a person qualified to vote at town and district meetings under the provisions of section 7-6;

(v) “Voting district” means any municipality, or any political subdivision thereof, having not more than one polling place in a regular election;

(w) “Voting tabulator” means a machine, including, but not limited to, a device which operates by electronic means, for the registering and recording of votes cast at elections, primaries and referenda;

(x) “Write-in ballot” means a vote cast for any person whose name does not appear on the official ballot as a candidate for the office for which the person's name is written in; and

(y) “The last session for admission of electors prior to an election” means the day which is the eighteenth day prior to an election.

(1949 Rev., S. 1030; 1953, S. 503d; November, 1955, S. N39; 1957, P.A. 13, S. 99; 442, S. 13; March, 1958, P.A. 27, S. 34; 1961, P.A. 274, S. 2; February, 1965, P.A. 393, S. 1; 1967, P.A. 831, S. 1; 1971, P.A. 871, S. 63; P.A. 73-616, S. 8; P.A. 75-567, S. 54, 80; P.A. 76-311; P.A. 77-298, S. 14; P.A. 79-189, S. 1, 9; P.A. 84-319, S. 1, 49; P.A. 88-364, S. 116, 123; P.A. 91-351, S. 22, 28; P.A. 97-192, S. 2; P.A. 05-235, S. 26; P.A. 07-194, S. 37; P.A. 11-20, S. 2; P.A. 21-37, S. 101; P.A. 23-5, S. 23; 23-204, S. 183.)

History: 1961 act added reference in Subdiv. (f) to list compiled under Sec. 9-57a; 1965 act added reference in Subdiv. (f) to list compiled under Sec. 9-31g; 1967 act under Subdiv. (b) changed definition to “board as composed under subsection (a) of section 9-15a”; 1971 act deleted reference to Sec. 53-172 in introductory language; P.A. 73-616 deleted reference to Sec. 7-387 in introductory language; P.A. 75-567 deleted “in connection with which no question of fact was determined” in Subdiv. (c); P.A. 76-311 inserted new definition for “referendum” in Subdiv. (n) and relettered former Subdiv. (n) and following definitions accordingly; P.A. 77-298 repealed Subdiv. (f), defining “enrollment list”; P.A. 79-189 added Subdiv. (x) defining “the last session for admission of electors prior to an election”; P.A. 84-319 inserted definition of “voting machine” as Subdiv. (w), relettering as necessary; P.A. 88-364 amended Subdiv. (n)(3) by adding the words “or pursuant to charter or special act”; P.A. 91-351 substituted “fourteenth” for “twenty-first” day in Subdiv. (y); (Revisor's note: In 1993 an obsolete reference to repealed Sec. 53-295 was deleted editorially by the Revisors); P.A. 97-192 amended definition of “referendum” by inserting “or voters” in Subdiv. (n)(1); P.A. 05-235 substituted “seventh” for “fourteenth” day in Subdiv. (y), effective January 1, 2006; P.A. 07-194 replaced “Voting machine” with “Voting tabulator” in Subdiv. (w) and made technical changes in Subdivs. (a), (j) and (w); P.A. 11-20 replaced “Ballot label” with “Ballot” in Subdiv. (a), replaced “voting machines” with “voting tabulators” in Subdiv. (d), deleted references to Sec. 9-271 in Subdivs. (d) and (j) and made technical changes in the introductory language and Subdiv. (x), effective May 24, 2011; P.A. 21-37 amended the introductory language to delete reference to Secs. 30-10 and 30-11 and amended Subdiv. (x) to make a technical change, effective June 4, 2021; P.A. 23-5 amended Subsec. (y) by replacing “seventh” with “eighteenth”, effective July 1, 2023; P.A. 23-204 changed effective date of P.A. 23-5, S. 23, from July 1, 2023, to January 1, 2024, effective June 12, 2023.

Cited. 139 C. 209; 140 C. 517; 184 C. 200.

Cited. 36 CS 74; 43 CS 297. Stand-alone referendum is not subject to the election contest deadline of Sec. 9-328 and requiring application of Secs. 9-369 and 9-328 to a referendum held under Subdiv. (n)(2) would impinge on home rule considerations. 48 CS 481.

(Return to Chapter
Table of Contents)

(Return to
List of Chapters)

(Return to
List of Titles)

Notes of Decisions

Cited in 96 cases (20 in the last 5 years), 1970–2025 · leading case: Feehan v. Marcone, 204 A.3d 666 (Conn. 2019).

Sort: Relevance Newest Treatment

Feehan v. Marcone, 204 A.3d 666 (Conn. 2019). · cites it 7× “In response, the defendants contend that § 9-328 does not apply because the office of state representative for the 120th assembly district is not a "municipal office." They contend that the statutory scheme plainly and unambiguously establishes that § 9-328 is inapplicable…”

State v. Manuel T., 337 Conn. 429 (Conn. 2020). · cites it 7× “ods of authenticating evidence set forth in the official com- mentary to § 9-1 (a) of the [Connecticut] Code of Evi- dence is that [a] witness with personal knowledge may testify that the offered evidence is what its proponent claims it to be, and [t]he distinctive…”

State v. Smith, 181 A.3d 118 (Conn. App. Ct. 2018). · cites it 6× “The prosecutor argued that, in accordance with § 9-1 of the Code of Evidence, the state had presented sufficient evidence, in the form of Petsa's testimony, for the finder of fact to determine that the evidence was what it was purported to be, namely, a message sent to Petsa…”

State v. Papineau, 190 A.3d 913 (Conn. App. Ct. 2018). · cites it 4× “§ 9-1 (a). The official commentary to § 9-1 (a) of the Code of Evidence provides in relevant part: The requirement of authentication applies to all types of evidence, including writings, sound recordings, electronically stored information, real evidence such as a weapon used in…”

State v. Eleck, 23 A.3d 818 (Conn. App. Ct. 2011). · cites it 5× “” Additionally, § 9-1 (a) of the Connecticut Code of Evidence provides: “Requirement of authentication.”

State v. John L., 856 A.2d 1032 (Conn. App. Ct. 2004). · cites it 6× “Connecticut Code of Evidence § 9-1 (a) provides that the authentication requirement “is satisfied by evidence sufficient to support a finding that the offered evidence is what its proponent claims it to be.”

State v. Manuel T., 198 A.3d 648 (Conn. App. Ct. 2018). · cites it 6× “At the conclusion of the hearing, the court issued an oral decision sustaining the state's objection and deciding that both screenshots had not been authenticated sufficiently pursuant to § 9-1 (a) of the Connecticut Code of Evidence.”

Downing v. Dragone, 216 Conn. App. 306 (Conn. App. Ct. 2022). · cites it 4× “failed to object to the admission of the exhibit on that ground at trial; moreover, the plaintiff’s testimony with respect to exhibit 57 constituted a sufficient prima facie showing, pursuant to the applicable Connecticut rule of evidence (§ 9-1 (a)), to overcome D Co.’s…”

Barry v. Quality Steel Prods., Inc., 905 A.2d 55 (Conn. 2006). · cites it 3× “§ 9-1 (a). 17 Accordingly, the trial court did not abuse its discretion in excluding the photographic evidence.”

State v. Garcia, 7 A.3d 355 (Conn. 2010). · cites it 3× “” Additionally, the commentary to § 9-1 (a) of the Connecticut Code of Evidence provides that evidence may be authenticated in a myriad of ways, including testimony from “[a] witness with personal knowledge .”

State v. Torres, 858 A.2d 776 (Conn. App. Ct. 2004). · cites it 3× “§ 9-1 (a), commentary. The requirement of authentication is satisfied when a “witness with personal knowledge [testifies] that the offered evidence is what its proponent claims it to be.”

State v. Kerr, 991 A.2d 605 (Conn. App. Ct. 2010). · cites it 5× “" The commentary § 9-1 (a) explains that once a prima facie showing is made that the evidence is what the proponent claims it to be, "the evidence may be admitted and the ultimate determination of authenticity rests with the fact finder.”

Show all 96 citing cases →

— Conn. Gen. Stat. § 9-1(a) — 4 cases

State v. Smith, 181 A.3d 118 (Conn. App. Ct. 2018). “The prosecutor argued that, in accordance with § 9-1 of the Code of Evidence, the state had presented sufficient evidence, in the form of Petsa's testimony, for the finder of fact to determine that the evidence was what it was purported to be, namely, a message sent to Petsa…”

State v. Lopez, 173 A.3d 485 (Conn. App. Ct. 2017).

State v. Petitt, 175 A.3d 1274 (Conn. App. Ct. 2017).

Universal Underwriters Ins. v. Paradis, 940 A.2d 918 (Conn. Super. Ct. 2008).

— Conn. Gen. Stat. § 9-1(a)(5) — 1 case

State v. Kerr, 991 A.2d 605 (Conn. App. Ct. 2010). “" The commentary § 9-1 (a) explains that once a prima facie showing is made that the evidence is what the proponent claims it to be, "the evidence may be admitted and the ultimate determination of authenticity rests with the fact finder.”

Annotations are extracted automatically from the opinions in the Syfert caselaw corpus and ranked by authority, recency, and treatment. Dots show Syfertize treatment of the citing case itself.