Section 9-390 - Selection of party-endorsed candidates for municipal office and selection of delegates to conventions.

CT Gen Stat § 9-390 (2019) (N/A)
Copy with citation
Copy as parenthetical citation

(a) Except as provided in subsection (g) of this section, party-endorsed candidates of any party in any municipality for municipal office shall be selected, in accordance with the rules of such party, by: (1) The enrolled members of such party in such municipality in caucus, (2) delegates to a convention chosen in accordance with such rules by such enrolled members, or (3) the town committee of such party. The town chairman or his designee shall give notice in a newspaper having a general circulation in the town of the date, time, location and purpose of a caucus held pursuant to subdivision (1) of this subsection. Such notice shall be given not less than five days prior to the date set for the caucus; provided, if the rules of the party in any municipality require earlier notice, such party rules shall prevail.

(b) Delegates to conventions shall be selected, in accordance with the rules of such party, by the method prescribed in either subdivision (1) or (3) of subsection (a) of this section.

(c) Except as provided in subsection (g) of this section, party-endorsed candidates of any party in any municipality for town committee members shall be selected, in accordance with the rules of such party, by the method prescribed in subdivision (1) of subsection (a) of this section.

(d) The selection of party-endorsed candidates in the manner provided in subsection (a) or (c) of this section and the selection of delegates to conventions in the manner provided in subsection (b) of this section shall be made and certified to the clerk of the municipality or the Secretary of the State, as the case may be, within the time specified in section 9-391.

(e) (1) In the endorsement of any person for an office or a position as committee member, in the manner provided in subsection (a) or (c) of this section, for whom only the electors of a political subdivision of such municipality or of a senatorial district or assembly district located in such municipality may vote, only the enrolled party members, delegates or town committee members, as the case may be, from such political subdivision or district may participate, except that, in a municipality in which the town committee is elected at large and is the endorsing authority, such endorsement shall be made by the town committee as a whole and except that, whenever no member of the endorsing authority resides in such political subdivision or district from which the endorsement is to be made, then such endorsing authority as a whole shall endorse.

(2) In the selection of any person for a position as delegate to a convention, in the manner provided in subsection (b) of this section, where only the electors of a political subdivision of such municipality or of a senatorial district or assembly district located in such municipality may vote for the offices to be voted upon at such convention, only the enrolled party members or town committee members, as the case may be, from such political subdivision or district may participate, except that (A) in a municipality in which the town committee is elected at-large and is the selecting authority, the town committee as a whole shall select, and (B) in a municipality in which the town committee is elected from political subdivisions and is the selecting authority, whenever no member of the town committee resides in such political subdivision or district from which the selection is to be made, the town committee as a whole shall select.

(f) Candidates endorsed in the manner provided in subsection (a) or (c) of this section shall run in the primary of such party as party-endorsed candidates, except as provided in section 9-417. Delegates to conventions selected in the manner provided in subsection (b) of this section shall be deemed to have been lawfully selected as such delegates.

(g) Any party in any municipality may by its rules provide that no selection be made of party-endorsed candidates for municipal office or town committee members and that the nominees of such party for such municipal office or town committee members of such party be chosen at direct primaries in accordance with the provisions of sections 9-405, 9-406, 9-409 to 9-412, inclusive, and 9-414, except as provided in sections 9-418 and 9-419.

(h) This section shall not apply to district delegates to conventions.

(November, 1955, S. N61; 1957, P.A. 518, S. 9; 1958 Rev., S. 9-88; 1961, P.A. 147; 1963, P.A. 17, S. 18; 1967, P.A. 557, S. 11; P.A. 79-133; P.A. 80-249, S. 1; 80-379, S. 2, 3; P.A. 87-472, S. 3; P.A. 03-241, S. 21; P.A. 04-58, S. 6; P.A. 06-137, S. 5.)

History: 1961 act made provision for endorsement by town committee as a whole, in towns where town committee is elected at large, of persons for whom only a political subdivision or district in town may vote; 1963 act restated previous provisions; 1967 act added provision for endorsement by full committee when no member of endorsing authority resides in political subdivision from which endorsement to be made and added “assembly district” to “senatorial district” where appearing; P.A. 79-133 provided that party-endorsed candidates for delegates to conventions shall be selected either by enrolled party members in caucus or by the party's town committee and further provided that party-endorsed candidates for town committee members shall be selected only by caucus of enrolled party members; P.A. 80-249 provided that certification may also contain last name of a candidate for delegate to a convention selected for placement on the ballot label pursuant to Sec. 9-437; P.A. 80-379 provided for newspaper publication of notice pertaining to any caucus; P.A. 87-472 repealed provisions in Subsec. (d) re information contained in certification; P.A. 03-241 made a technical change in Subsec. (a), amended Subsec. (b) by deleting “Except as provided in subsection (g) of this section, party-endorsed candidates of any party in any municipality for”, designated existing provisions of Subsec. (e) as Subdiv. (1), removed “delegate” from application of Subsec. (e)(1) and deleted reference to Subsec. (b) therefrom, added Subsec. (e)(2) re selection of delegates, amended Subsec. (f) by adding provision requiring that delegates selected in manner provided in Subsec. (b) be deemed to have been lawfully selected as such delegates and by making a conforming change, and amended Subsec. (g) by making a conforming changes, effective January 1, 2004, and applicable to primaries and elections held on or after that date; P.A. 04-58 amended Subsec. (d) by deleting reference to Subsec. (b) in provision re selection of party-endorsed candidates and inserting “and the selection of delegates to conventions in the manner provided in subsection (b) of this section”; P.A. 06-137 amended Subsec. (d) to include reference to the Secretary of the State, effective January 1, 2007.

See Sec. 9-434 re verification of candidates' names.

Cited. 232 C. 65.

Cited. 30 CS 34.