Connecticut law requires registrars of voters, on the fourth Tuesday of September each year, to distribute voter-registration information at every public high school in their town. The information must explain who is eligible to register and how to apply, with registrars and school principals deciding how it should be distributed.

Connecticut’s online absentee-ballot portal opened for the November 3 state election. Under the law enacted in May, any eligible registered voter may request an absentee ballot—no excuse is required. Town clerks are scheduled to begin issuing general-election absentee ballots on October 2. The deadline to request one is November 2, although voters should allow adequate time to receive and return the ballot by the legal deadline.

The U.S. Supreme Court declined to allow new federal mail-ballot restrictions to take effect for the 2026 midterm elections. The ruling allowed states, including Connecticut, to continue using their existing mail-ballot processes for the November election. For Connecticut voters, the practical consequence is that the state’s recently expanded absentee-voting system remains available under established state procedures.

Connecticut held statewide and congressional primaries in advance of the November midterm election. In the Democratic gubernatorial primary, incumbent Gov. Ned Lamont defeated challenger Josh Elliott. In the 1st Congressional District Democratic primary, former Hartford Mayor Luke Bronin defeated incumbent Rep. John Larson. Numerous additional legislative and local party contests were held around the state, establishing much of Connecticut’s November ballot.

Connecticut opened seven consecutive days of early voting ahead of the August 11 state primary. Because Connecticut uses closed party primaries, participation was limited to voters enrolled in a party holding a primary. This was also the first statewide election in which early voters used the new procedure of putting completed ballots directly into tabulators. Sample ballots and early-voting locations were available through the Secretary of the State’s voter resources.

Connecticut’s Next Gen Elections program received a national award from the National Association of Secretaries of State. By 2026, participation had grown from 13 to 19 college campuses and from 23 to 45 municipalities. The expansion is particularly relevant to younger voters because it provides a direct pathway from civic education to working inside Connecticut elections.

Connecticut town clerks began issuing absentee ballots for the August 11 state primary. This was the first statewide primary conducted under the new no-excuse absentee-voting law.

Connecticut is upgrading its voter-registration system for the first time in nearly 25 years to improve data precision and modernize election administration. The new GIS-based system successfully detected district-assignment errors during testing, allowing officials to implement fixes ahead of its December launch.

Connecticut opened its online absentee-ballot portal for the August 11 statewide primary. For the first time in a statewide primary, eligible registered voters could request absentee ballots without stating an excuse. The first physical ballots were scheduled to be issued July 21, and the request deadline was August 10.

Governor Lamont signed Public Act 26-42, implementing the constitutional amendment approved by voters in November 2024. For the first time, any eligible registered Connecticut voter can request and vote by absentee ballot without giving a reason. The law also includes election-administration reforms and expands opportunities for certain 17-year-olds who will turn 18 by Election Day.

Governor Lamont signed Senate Bill 298, changing how Connecticut handles early-voting ballots. Instead of putting a completed early ballot into an envelope for later tabulation, voters will insert the ballot directly into a tabulator, much as they do on Election Day. The change applies to Connecticut’s 2026 election cycle.

The Secretary of the State testified on several proposed election bills dealing with ballot secrecy, voter information and early-voting procedures. Among the ideas under consideration were allowing early-voting ballots to be tabulated directly, restricting certain personally identifying information in public voter files, and strengthening safeguards around voter data.

Democrat Christine Vitale defeated Republican state Sen. Tony Hwang in Fairfield’s special election for first selectman.

Democrat Larry Pemberton Jr. won the special election for Connecticut’s 139th House District, covering portions of Ledyard, Montville and Norwich.

Democrat Iris Sanchez won the special election for New Britain’s 25th House District, defeating Republican Jamie Vaughan.

Connecticut election officials prepared for special elections in New Britain’s 25th House District on January 6, the 139th House District on January 13, and for Fairfield first selectman on February 3. Each legislative special election included four days of early voting.

Preliminary statewide figures showed roughly 788,500 of Connecticut’s 2.18 million registered voters participated in the 2025 municipal elections. That translated to approximately 36% turnout, nearly four percentage points higher than the 2021 municipal election.

Voters across Connecticut elected mayors, first selectmen, town council members, school-board members and other local officials. The election was also an important operational test of Connecticut’s newly deployed generation of optical-scan voting tabulators.

The Secretary of the State’s office introduced Power of Civics, a free online civics-education resource. The materials explain subjects including how legislation works, how to identify and contact elected officials, and ways to participate in civic life. Some materials also address volunteering in campaigns and elections. For younger and first-time voters, the project represented a state effort to connect election participation with broader civic education.

Town clerks began issuing absentee ballots for the November 4 municipal elections. At this point, Connecticut voters still needed to qualify under one of the statutory absentee-voting reasons.