Conn. Gen. Stat. » Title 09 — ELECTIONS · Chapter 153 — Nominations and Political Parties
Connecticut General Statutes

Conn. Gen. Stat. § 9-453k (2026)

Signing and certification of circulator's statement; receipt for pages; certification of signatures

✓ current as of May 2026
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(a) The town clerk or Secretary of the State shall not accept any page of a nominating petition unless the circulator thereof has signed before him or an appropriate person as provided in section 1-29, the statement as to the residency in this state and eligibility of the circulator and authenticity of the signatures thereon required by section 9-453j.

(b) The town clerk or Secretary of the State or an appropriate person as provided in section 1-29 shall certify on each such page that the circulator thereof signed such statement in his presence and that either he knows the circulator or that the circulator satisfactorily identified himself to the individual certifying.

(c) The town clerk or Secretary of the State shall forthwith give to each circulator submitting a page or pages of a nominating petition a receipt indicating the number of such pages so submitted and the date upon which such pages were submitted.

(d) Such town clerk shall certify on each such page the date upon which it was submitted to the town clerk by the circulator or the Secretary of the State and the number of names of electors on such petition page, which names were on the registry list last-completed or are names of persons admitted as electors since the completion of such list. In the checking of signatures on such nominating petition pages, the town clerk shall reject any name if such name is not the name of an elector as specified above. Such rejection shall be indicated by placing a mark in a manner prescribed by the Secretary of the State before the name so rejected. The town clerk shall not reject any name for which the street address on the petition is different from the street address on the registry list, if (1) such person is eligible to vote for the candidate or candidates named in the petition, and (2) the person's date of birth, as shown on the petition page, is the same as the date of birth on the person's registration record. Such clerk may place a check mark before each name appearing on such registry list or each name of a person admitted as an elector since the completion of such list, but shall place no other mark on such page except as provided in this section.

(1971, P.A. 806, S. 12; P.A. 77-537, S. 3, 5; P.A. 81-447, S. 16, 17, 23; P.A. 82-247, S. 10, 14; P.A. 83-475, S. 33, 43; P.A. 99-276, S. 14, 15; P.A. 03-241, S. 56.)

History: P.A. 77-537 added in Subsecs. (a), (b) and (c) “or secretary of the state” to “town clerk” where appearing, in Subsec. (d) following “... submitted to him” inserted “by the circulator or the secretary of the state”; P.A. 81-447 amended Subsec. (a) to allow circulator of a petition to sign petition pages before a notary or attorney, and added Subsec. (e) re records stating reasons for rejection of name; P.A. 82-247 amended section to allow certification by attorney or notary public; P.A. 83-475 amended section to allow certification by appropriate person as provided in Sec. 1-29, to allow town clerks to use a code letter for rejection of signatures and to allow for direct court appeal of signature rejections if ballot access is thereby denied; P.A. 99-276 amended Subsec. (d) by adding provision prohibiting town clerk from rejecting any name for which address on petition is different from address on registry list if the person is eligible to vote for the candidate or candidates named in the petition, and the person's date of birth is the same as on the registration record, effective January 1, 2000; P.A. 03-241 amended Subsec. (a) by inserting “residency in this state and eligibility of the circulator and”, effective July 9, 2003, and applicable only to petitions circulated on or after that date.

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Sec. 9-453l. Delegation of signature check to registrars. Any town clerk may delegate his duty to check the names of signers with names of electors on the registry list pursuant to section 9-453k to the registrars of voters in his town, if the registrars consent, and the registrars shall complete the required certifications with respect thereto on the petition, provided the registrars shall execute a receipt for such pages upon receipt thereof stating the number of pages and provided such checking of names by the registrars shall take place in the office of the town clerk or in the office of the registrars of voters if they have an office. After making the required certifications, the registrars shall deliver the petition pages to the town clerk.

(1971, P.A. 806, S. 13.)

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Notes of Decisions
Cited in 2 cases, 1976–2010 · leading case: Fishman v. Schaffer, 418 F. Supp. 613 (D. Conn. 1976).
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Fishman v. Schaffer, 418 F. Supp. 613 (D. Conn. 1976). “” § 9-453k(b) (1976 Supp.). Other portions of the statutes so far as relevant are set out in the margin.”
Reale v. Bysiewicz, 6 A.3d 1138 (Conn. 2010). · cites it 4× “General Statutes § 9-453k (c). The town clerks are then required to review the petition pages to determine whether all of the signatures are valid and otherwise meet all of the statutory criteria.”
— Conn. Gen. Stat. § 9-453k(b) — 1 case
Fishman v. Schaffer, 418 F. Supp. 613 (D. Conn. 1976). “” § 9-453k(b) (1976 Supp.). Other portions of the statutes so far as relevant are set out in the margin.”
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