Connecticut elections: Add these 16 important dates to your 2024 calendar
As 2024 will be a presidential election year, it will be important to pay attention to when primary and final voting dates are. While Joe Biden (D) and Donald Trump (R) are the leading candidates in the presidential election, there are still other candidates vying for the presidential nomination: Marianne Williamson and Dean Phillips running as Democrats, and Nikki Haley, Chris Christie, Ron DeSantis, Asa Hutchinson, Vivek Ramaswamy, and Ryan Binkley seeking the Republican nomination. Cornel West, Jill Stein and Robert F. Kennedy Jr. are running as third-party candidates, USA Today reports.
Early voting will also be new in Connecticut in 2024, available for both primaries and general elections.
Whether you're a new or an experienced voter, here are 16 important dates to consider adding to your 2024 calendar:
2024 election dates to remember in Connecticut
Presidential primary election: April 2
State primary election: August 13
General Election: Nov. 5
More: When is the deadline to register to vote in Connecticut? Your guide to 2024 elections
Key dates for the presidential primary in Connecticut
January 2: Deadline for enrolled party members to transfer enrollment from one party to the other, for voting in their "new" party's presidential primary.
January 19: Announcement of "generally and seriously advocated or recognized" candidates placed on the ballot by Secretary of the State.
February 17: Absentee ballots for military and overseas voters become available (45-day ballot).
March 12: Absentee ballots become available.
March 15: Mail-In and online deadline for new voters, and for unaffiliated voters, to enroll in a party for voting in the primary. For new voters, mail-in applications must be postmarked, or received by Registrar of Voters or voter registration agency, by this date. For unaffiliated voters, the mail in application must be received by the Registrar of Voters by this deadline.
March 25: Deadline for unaffiliated voters who seek to vote during the early voting period before the presidential preference primary to file an enrollment application with the registrars of voters by noon the day before the early voting period begins.
March 26-30: This is the early voting period. During the early voting period, individuals who are not registered but file their voter registration application with the registrars by noon the previous business day may register and enroll in a political party during the early voting period, and vote during early voting starting the next business day.
April 1: The in-person enrollment deadline is at noon for new voters and unaffiliated voters enrolling in a party in person at Town Hall, for voting on the day of the primary.
April 2: Presidential primary election. Polls open from 6 a.m. to 8 p.m.
Dates for Connecticut state primary election
June 11: Primary petition filing deadline.
August 5 - 11: Early voting period for the Primary election for Representatives in Congress, State Senator and State Representatives
August 13: Primary election for Representatives in Congress, State Senator and State Representatives. Polls open from 6 a.m. to 8 p.m.
Presidential election dates for Connecticut
October 18: All mail-in voter registration applications must be received or post-marked by this date in order to be accepted. This is also the deadline to register to vote using the Online Voter Registration System. Final date to apply for cross-town admission. Actual approval by town of residence may occur after this date. Last day for an elector to make a signed written request to the registrars of voters for erasure of his name from the registry list.
October 18: Noon deadline for unaffiliated voters who seek to vote during the early voting period before the election to file an enrollment application with the registrars of voters.
October 21 – November 3: The early voting period. Early voting hours are 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m., except that the early voting hours are 8:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. on October 29 and 31
November 4: This is the deadline for issuing absentee ballots. Absentee ballots may not be issued on election day, except presidential or overseas ballots and except electors who suddenly become ill within six days immediately preceding the close of the polls at the election or who are patients in a hospital within such six-day period, may apply for and be issued an absentee ballot up to the close of the polls.
November 5: This is election day. Polls to be open 6:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. Electors in line by 8:00 p.m. are permitted to vote. Overseas ballots may be issued up to the close of the polls. However, they must be received by town clerk by close of the polls on election day in order to be cast. Presidential ballots for "former residents" may be issued up to the close of the polls. However, all presidential ballots must be received by town clerk by close of the polls on election day in order to be cast. In order to be cast at an election, an absentee ballot must be received by the town clerk by the close of the polls if it is mailed or if it is returned by a member of the immediate family of the applicant in person or by the qualified designee of an ill or physically disabled ballot applicant in person, or by the day before the election if it is returned in person by the applicant.
Individuals may register and vote in person on Election Day under Same-Day Registration if they meet the eligibility requirements for voting in this state and are not already an elector or registered in one municipality but want to change their registration because they currently reside in another municipality. By law, a person is eligible to register and vote if they are a U. S. citizen, age 18 or older, and a bona fide resident of the municipality in which they apply for admission as an elector.
To view the Secretary of State's election calendar, click here.
This article originally appeared on The Bulletin: Connecticut elections: Add these 16 important dates to your 2024 calendar
