STATE QUESTION AND PROPOSED AMENDMENT TO THE CONSTITUTION OF THE STATE OF CONNECTICUT
To be voted on in each town at the State Election on November 4, 2008
Pursuant to Article Thirteenth of the Constitution of the State of Connecticut, the following first question is submitted to all the electors of the State at the November 4, 2008 State Election (being the first state election held in an even-numbered year after the expiration of 20 years from the last time the question was submitted to all electors in 1986). If a majority of the electors voting on the question signify “yes,” the General Assembly shall provide for a Constitutional Convention to amend or revise the Constitution of the State, as provided in Section 3 of Article Thirteenth of the Constitution of the State of Connecticut.
Pursuant to Article Twelfth of the Constitution of the State of Connecticut, the following proposed amendment to the constitution (being the second question) was approved by more than three-fourths of the total membership of each house, final legislative action thereon having been taken on the date indicated, and is to be voted upon by the electors of each town in the State at the State Election to be held Tuesday, November 4, 2008.
If a majority of the electors voting on the proposed amendment approve the same, the amendment shall become part of the Constitution of the State.
Under Section 2-30a of the General Statutes, as amended, the secretary of the state must cause the proposed amendment and the explanatory text thereof, prepared by the Office of Legislative Research and approved by the Committee on Government Administration and Elections of the General Assembly, to be printed and transmitted to each town clerk in sufficient supply for public distribution.
Accordingly, following is the designation of the proposed amendment as it will appear on regular and absentee ballots, the text of the proposed amendment, and the explanatory text as to the content and purpose thereof, prepared by the Office of Legislative Research and approved by the Committee on Government Administration and Elections of the General Assembly. In parentheses before the text of the proposed amendment, there is included the number of the House Joint Resolution in which the amendment was proposed.
DESIGNATION ON BALLOT
1. Shall there be a Constitutional Convention to amend or revise the Constitution of the State?
EXPLANATORY TEXT AS TO THE CONTENT AND PURPOSE
This question asks voters to choose whether they are in favor of holding a convention to amend or revise the constitution. If voters choose to have a convention, the General Assembly must enact a law prescribing the way convention delegates will be selected and the dates the convention will begin and end. It would have to begin by November 4, 2009. If the convention proposed any changes, voters would vote on them within two months. The Connecticut Constitution requires that voters be asked this question every 20 years.
DESIGNATION ON BALLOT
2. Shall the constitution of the state be amended to permit any person who will have attained the age of eighteen years on or before the day of a regular election to vote in the primary for such regular election?
TEXT OF THE PROPOSED AMENDMENT (As set forth in Substitute H.J.R. No. 21 of 2008)
Article fourteenth of the amendments to the constitution is amended to read as follows:
Any citizen who will have attained the age of eighteen years on or before the day of a regular election may apply for admission as an elector at such times and in such manner as may be prescribed by law, and, if qualified, shall become an elector on the day of his or her eighteenth birthday. Any citizen who has not yet attained the age of eighteen years but who will have attained the age of eighteen years on or before the day of a regular election, who is otherwise qualified to be an elector and who has applied for admission as an elector in such manner as may be prescribed by law, may vote in any primary election, in such manner as may be prescribed by law, held for such regular election.*
*In the text of the proposed amendment, italicized material is new.
Adopted May 1, 2008
EXPLANATORY TEXT AS TO THE CONTENT AND PURPOSE
This amendment would allow 17-year-old citizens who will turn 18 on or before the day of a regular election to vote in its primary. They are currently prohibited from doing so.
Under the amendment, such an individual must apply and otherwise qualify for admission as an elector. He or she may then vote in the primary held to determine nominees for the regular election. Upon turning 18, the individual's electoral rights attach.
By law, “regular election” means any municipal or state election. State elections include candidates for federal office.
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