HARTFORD, Conn. — Many residents waited months, while others waited years, to cast their ballots on Election Day 2024.
Now, Nov. 5 is here. As the sun sets and the voting window closes, Connecticut Secretary of the State Stephanie Thomas issued a release informing the people of the state what happens after voting ends.
Timeline of important dates
First, by 11:59 p.m. on Tuesday, initial tabulator results should be reported into the Election Management System by Registrar of Voters.
Then, by Friday at 9 a.m., the Registrar of Voters, Town Clerk and Head Moderator must confirm total results (tabulator and any hand-counted ballots), and any errors in reporting are identified. Also, 1 p.m. on Friday is the deadline for submitting total results and any identified results’ reporting errors to be corrected to the Secretary of the State.
Friday is also the last day for informing towns if a recount is necessary. This can be done either by a Town Clerk, Head Moderator or the Secretary of the State.
Skip ahead to next week, Tuesday, Nov. 12 is the final day for Registrars of Voters to file final results with the Secretary of the State. Moving forward to next month, Dec. 17 is when the Electoral College meets. Connecticut’s presidential electors are mandated by law to cast the state’s seven electoral votes for the presidential candidate who won the majority vote in Connecticut.
Finally, on Jan. 6, 2025, Congress will complete a final count and formally certify the election.
When can election officials begin to count absentee ballots?
On Election Day, ballots shall be delivered by the Town Clerk to the Registrar of Voters between 10 a.m. and noon, and at 8 p.m. or at other times mutually agreed upon by both parties, including 6 p.m., according to Thomas’ office. If the optional 6 p.m. delivery is used, and there are no ballots left to be delivered at 8 p.m., then the 8 p.m. delivery doesn’t have to be conducted.
When it comes to counting absentee ballots, if the ballots are delivered at various times during the day to the counting locations, the actual counting of ballots can be performed at any time as designated by the registrars of voters, Thomas’ office says. While absentee ballots shall be checked by the registrars of voters at various times throughout the election, primary or referendum day, absentee ballots may be counted at one single time during such day, according to the Secretary of the State.
When can election officials begin to count early voting ballots?
On Election Day, town clerks delivered early voting ballots to the registrars of voters between 6-10 a.m.
Ballot counters began counting at the time designated by the registrars, which is as early as 6 a.m. on Election Day. The ballots can be counted at the central counting location or their respective polling places.
The recount threshold is half of 1% and not more than 2,000, or less than 20 votes, according to Thomas’ office. After a recount is triggered, members of the two parties take all the ballots, review them and agree they should either be run through the tabulator or hand-counted based on the markings.
Electoral College
According to Thomas’ office, presidential electors are chosen by their political parties to represent them as instructed by their party rules and submitted to the Secretary of the State’s Office.
When state election officials certify the election, presidential electors meet to certify the election. State law requires them to vote for the candidate who receives most of the votes, Thomas’ office says.
If two candidates are tied in Connecticut, the state’s congressional delegation in the House gets a vote.
After presidential electors have certified the vote, they send a certificate to Congress, where it is counted and certified at a special session on Jan. 6, 2025.
----
Dalton Zbierski is a digital content producer and writer at FOX61 News. He can be reached at dzbierski@FOX61.com.
----
Do you have a story idea or something on your mind you want to share? We want to hear from you! Email us at newstips@fox61.com.
----
HERE ARE MORE WAYS TO GET FOX61 NEWS
Download the FOX61 News APP
iTunes: Click here to download
Google Play: Click here to download
Stream Live on ROKU: Add the channel from the ROKU store or by searching FOX61.
Steam Live on FIRE TV: Search ‘FOX61’ and click ‘Get’ to download.
