The Green Papers: Connecticut State and Local Government

Home ❯ State and Local Governmen… ❯ Connecticut

Governor:1
Senators: 2 (Electoral Classes 1 and 3)
2020 Census: 3,608,298 (1.09% of 331,797,979
- 2024, 2028 Electors: 7 (1.30% of 538)
- 2022-2030 Representatives: 5 (1.15% of 435)
2010 Census: 3,581,628 (1.16% of 309,785,186)
- 2012, 2016, 2020 Electors: 7 (1.30% of 538)
- 2012-2020 Representatives: 5 (1.15% of 435)
Capital: Hartford

Current Connecticut Statewide Office Holders

Official Name/Status All States

The STATE of Connecticut
Status: STATE of the Union
Ratified Articles of Confederation: 12 February 1778. this State formally adhered to the Articles on 9 July 1778 when the document was signed by its delegates to the Seventh Continental Congress
Ratified Constitution of the United States: 9 January 1788
The 5th state.

Traditional Sections and Regions All States

Section: NORTHEAST
Region: New England
Survey: Metes & Bounds

Constitutions All States Links to State Constitutions

Enabling Act: [None. One of the 13 original States which declared their independence from the nascent British Empire on 4 July 1776. Connecticut (which had formally abjured allegiance to the Crown of Great Britain, in lieu of drafting a new Constitution for itself, on 14 June 1776) operated under its colonial Charter of 1662 after independence until 1818]
- 1st (1818-1965) [Adopted: 15 September 1818 Convention convened, 26 August 1818, Ratified: 5 October 1818 ratified by vote of 13,918 to 12,364; effective, 12 October 1818. (NOTE: On 22 June 1953, the General Assembly adopted a recodification of this Constitution which was subsequently approved by the voters and became effective, 1 January 1955; however, this 1955 recodification is not generally considered to have been a "2nd Constitution" 'per se' )]
- 2nd (1965-) [Adopted: 28 October 1965 Convention convened, 1 July 1965, Ratified: 14 December 1965 effective, 30 December 1965]

Executive Branch All States

Chief Executive
- GOVERNOR
Successor to a Vacancy
- Lieutenant Governor

Major Executive Officers Elected Statewide All States
- Governor: 4 year term, Election Cycle: 2022, 2026. Term Limit: None
- Lieutenant Governor: 4 year term, Election Cycle: 2022, 2026. Elected on a ticket with- but nominated separately from- the Governor;
- Secretary of State: 4 year term, Election Cycle: 2022, 2026
- Treasurer: 4 year term, Election Cycle: 2022, 2026
- Comptroller: 4 year term, Election Cycle: 2022, 2026
- Attorney General: 4 year term, Election Cycle: 2022, 2026

Legislative Branch All States

Legislature
- GENERAL COURT (1638-1818) [CONNECTICUT operated under its colonial Charter of 1662 into Statehood; until 1784, also functioned as- in effect- the "court of Last Resort".]
- GENERAL ASSEMBLY (1818--)

Upper House
- Court of Assistants (--1784) [under the colonial Charter of 1662, also functioned as the Governor's Council (hence their name); from 1666 through 1715, also functioned as a "superior court" which tried major cases and exercised some appellate judicial jurisdiction]
- Senate (1784--) [under Connecticut's colonial Charter of 1662 (in force till 1818), this body functioned as the "Supreme Court of Errors", the highest court in the State]
Lower House
- General Assembly (--1818) [under Connecticut's colonial Charter of 1662]
- House of Representatives (1818--)

Judicial Branch All States

Court of Last Resort
- General Court (1638-1784) Constitutional Court [FOR: colony/state as a whole. the General Court was also the colonial legislature and continued to function, after Independence in 1776, as CONNECTICUT's State legislature until 1818 when its colonial Charter was replaced by a new State Constitution.]
- Supreme Court of Errors (1784-1965) Constitutional Court [FOR: state as a whole. Until 1818 the Senate, the upper house of the otherwise legislative General Court, functioned also as the State's highest court under this name: under CONNECTICUT's 1st State Constitution, the judges of what was- to this point- a statewide Superior Court were elevated to become justices of this court which, in turn, was completely separated from the legislative branch]
- Supreme Court (1966--) Constitutional Court [FOR: state as a whole]
Intermediate Appellate Court
- Appellate Court (1983--) Constitutional Court [FOR: state as a whole]

General Trial Jurisdiction
- Particular Court (1638-1666) [FOR: colony as a whole]
- Court of Assistants (1666-1715) [FOR: colony as a whole. often also called the "Superior Court" after 1687, the 'Assistants' also functioned as the upper legislative house of the General Court (until replaced by the State Senate in 1784) as well as the "Governor's Council" (hence their title, as they were seen- in this capacity- as assisting the Governor): was authorized to hear "major trials" (usually, but not always, criminal in nature); also had appellate jurisdiction over County and other lower courts.]
- County Court (1666-1715) [IN and FOR: county. authorized to hear "minor trials" (usually civil)-- was aso called "Prerogative Court" when hearing cases at Equity and "Court of Common Pleas" when hearing suits at Law; also functioned as Administrative body of County, in which capacity was often called "Quarter Court" (since it met every three months for such purposes)]
- Superior Court (1715--) Constitutional Court [IN: colony/state (-1818-) county FOR: county (-1978-) county-based 'judicial district'. originally, a colony/state-wide Court with judges "riding circuit" in order to try cases in each County: in 1818, the judges of this court were elevated to become the Supreme Court of Errors; after 1818, judges of a new county-based court took over this court's name and jurisdiction]

Limited Jurisdiction
- City Court (--1978) Statutory Court [FOR: municipality]
- Police Court (--1978) Statutory Court [FOR: municipality]
- Municipal Court (--1978) Statutory Court [FOR: municipality]
- Justices of the Peace (1638-1974) [IN and FOR: town(ship). phased out as a judicial office over the period between 1961 and 1974]
- Quarter Court (1715-1855) Statutory Court [FOR: county. in effect, the continuation of the old 'County Court' supplanted by the Superior Court and, as such, continued to serve as County administrative body until supplanted by County Boards of Commissioners; colloquially referred to as "Court of Common Pleas" when it heard cases, "County Court" in general]
- Court of Common Pleas (1855-1978) Statutory Court [IN and FOR: county]
- District Court (1961-1974) Statutory Court [FOR: district]
- Circuit Court (1961-1974) Statutory Court [FOR: district]
Special Jurisdiction
- Probate Court (1698--) Constitutional Court [FOR: county (-1719-) town(ship)-based 'probate district']

Local Government All States

PRIMARY CIVIL DIVISION All States
- county [Type: Vestigial, Executive and Legislative: no associated governmental structure. CONNECTICUT abolished County government as of 1 October 1960: until that time, each County was administered by a Board of Commissioners]
  - MINOR CIVIL DIVISION
    - TOWN [Type: Very Strong, Executive: First Selectman &
      Board of Selectmen, Legislative: TOWN MEETING]

Incorporated Municipalities All States
- City [Separated from MCD: = MCD, Population requirement(s): none, Form(s) of government: chartered by special act of General Assembly]
- Borough [Separated from MCD: No, Population requirement(s): none, Form(s) of government: chartered by special act of General Assembly]

Localities All States
- Connecticut Civil Divisions and Municipalities

Key Statewide / Federal Officials All States

Connecticut Officials

Statutory Election Information All States

General Election All States
- (1818-1875) annual: 1st Monday of April
  [CT Constitution of 1818]
- (1876-1885) annual: Tuesday next after 1st Monday in November
  [per Amendment to CT Constitution]
- (1886--) biennial: Tuesday after 1st Monday in November in even-numbered years
  (CT Constitution Article 3, Section 8: incorporating Amendment to earlier CT Constitution)
Presidential Primary All States
- (--2007) 1st Tuesday of March in Presidential Election years
  (CT General Statutes 9-464)
- (2007-2011) On the first Tuesday in February of each year in which the President of the United States is to be elected, each party shall conduct a primary in each town if the names of two or more candidates are to be placed on such party's ballot ... (CT General Statutes Section 1. Section 9-464)
- (2011--) On the last Tuesday in April of each year in which the President of the United States is to be elected, each party shall conduct a primary in each town if the names of two or more candidates are to be placed on such party's ballot ... [CT General Statutes Section 1. Section 9-464[
State Primary All States
- (--2004) CONNECTICUT utilizes a system of so-called "challenge primaries" (a term used by political scientists to describe the process but not found among the actual wording of the statutes)...
  - the date of such a "challenge primary" is set for the 56th day prior to the General Election
    (CT General Statutes 9-423)
  - political party conventions at the state and district levels are authorized to convene no earlier than the 68th day before, and may not close later than the 50th day before, the date of the "challenge primary"
    (CT General Statutes 9-383)
  - if no person other than a party-endorsed candidate receives at least 15 percent of the delegate vote for any given office voted on at any political party convention, the party-endorsed candidate is declared nominated (in other words, there are no "challengers" to run against the party-endorsed candidate in a "challenge primary") and the primary election re: that office re: that political party is not held.
    (CT General Statutes 9-416)
  - per CT General Statutes 9-376a(1):
    If the statutory primary date (the 56th day prior to the General Election) should fall on a date on which the tenets of a religion prohibit secular activity, the primary is to be moved to the next succeeding date that is not either a legal holiday or such religious holiday.
    [NOTE: this appears to have been adopted to take into account the possibility that an early September primary date could, at times, conflict with the Jewish high holy days of Rosh Hashanah or (more rarely) Yom Kippur (Rosh Hashanah is a two-day religious holiday and would push the primary to the Thursday next after the 56th day prior to the General Election; Yom Kippur would push the primary to the next Wednesday)]
  - per CT General Statutes 9-376a(2):
    If the statutory primary date (the 56th day prior to the General Election) should fall on the Tuesday immediately following Labor Day, the primary is to be moved to the next succeeding Tuesday.
    [NOTE: this is possible in years when the General Election Day falls on either 2 or 3 November: in such years, the 56th day prior to the General Election would be on 7 or 8 September, respectively- in each case, the day after Labor Day... the primary would then have to be moved back one week (to 14 or 15 September, respectively)]
- (2004--) CONNECTICUT utilizes a system of so-called "challenge primaries" (a term used by political scientists to describe the process but not found among the actual wording of the statutes)...
  - the date of such a "challenge primary" is set for the on the second Tuesday in August
    (CT General Statutes 9-423(a))
  - political party conventions at the state and district levels are authorized to convene no earlier than the 98th day before, and may not close later than the 77th day before, the date of the "challenge primary"
    (CT General Statutes 9-383)
  - if no person other than a party-endorsed candidate receives at least 15 percent of the delegate vote for any given office voted on at any political party convention, the party-endorsed candidate is declared nominated (in other words, there are no "challengers" to run against the party-endorsed candidate in a "challenge primary") and the primary election re: that office re: that political party is not held.
    (CT General Statutes 9-416)
Polling times All States
- Polls open: 6 AM local time
  Polls close: 8 PM local time
  (CT General Statutes 9-174)

Links Links to other web sites

Election Authority. All States
- Secretary of State of Connecticut
- State Elections Commission
Legislature. All States
- Connecticut General Assembly
- Connecticut State Senate Democrats
Democratic
- Connecticut Democratic Party
- Connecticut House Democrats
Republican
- Connecticut Republicans
- Connecticut Senate Republicans
Third Party
Media & others

State and Local Government Outline

Modified .