(a) Not later than October first in each year in which a state election, as defined in section 9-1, is to be held, the Secretary of the State, in consultation with the State Elections Enforcement Commission and within available appropriations, shall prepare a voter guide for such state election and shall publish such voter guide on the Internet.

(b) The voter guide shall contain:

(1) The date of the state election and the hours the polls will be open;

(2) The name, party affiliation and contact information of each candidate who is nominated or qualifies as a petitioning candidate for election to the office of President of the United States, Vice-President of the United States, senator in Congress, representative in Congress, Governor, Lieutenant Governor, Attorney General, State Treasurer, State Comptroller, Secretary of the State, state senator or state representative at the state election. As used in this section, “contact information” means any or all of the following information received by the Secretary of the State in the course of the secretary's elections duties or by the Federal Election Commission: A candidate's campaign mailing address, telephone number, facsimile number, electronic mail address and web site. The voter guide may provide contact information for a candidate for the office of President of the United States, Vice-President of the United States, senator in Congress or representative in Congress by an electronic link to such information on the Federal Election Commission's web site;

(3) The following three maps produced pursuant to the most recent decennial reapportionment of General Assembly and Connecticut congressional districts: One map showing the boundaries of state senatorial districts, one map showing the boundaries of state house of representatives districts and one map showing the boundaries of state congressional districts;

(4) A description of each office to be filled at the state election;

(5) An absentee ballot application in printable format;

(6) Instructions regarding voting by absentee ballot;

(7) Information on the procedure for registering to vote;

(8) A voter registration application in printable format;

(9) The full text of each proposed constitutional amendment that will appear on the ballot at the state election;

(10) The explanatory text as to the content and purpose of each such proposed constitutional amendment, which is prepared by the Office of Legislative Research pursuant to section 2-30a; and

(11) The text of the Voter's Bill of Rights set forth in section 9-236b.

(c) The Secretary of the State, in consultation with the State Elections Enforcement Commission, may adopt regulations, in accordance with the provisions of chapter 54, to carry out the purposes of this section. Such regulations shall not authorize the inclusion of any information in the voter guide in addition to that required in subsection (b) of this section.

(P.A. 05-188, S. 5.)

History: P.A. 05-188 effective January 1, 2006.