Radiofree West Hartford - Amendments to the Constitution of Connecticut, 1818

Amendments to the
Constitution of Connecticut (1818)

ARTICLE I.

From and after the first Wednesday [of May], in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and thirty, the Senate of this state shall consist of not less than eighteen, nor more than twenty-four members, and be chosen by districts.

ARTICLE II.

The General Assembly, which shall be holden on the first Wednesday of May, in the year one thousand eight hundred and twenty-nine, shall divide the state into districts for the choice of Senators, and shall determine what number shall be elected in each, which districts shall not be less than eight, nor more than twenty-four in number, and shall always be composed of contiguous territory, and in forming them, no town shall be divided, nor shall the whole or part of one county be joined to the whole or part of another county, to form a district; regard being had to the population in said apportionment and in forming said districts, in such manner that no county shall have less than two Senators. The districts, when established, shall continue the same until the session of the General Assembly next after the completion of the next census of the United States; which said Assembly shall have the power to alter the same, if found necessary, to preserve a proper equality between said districts, in respect to the number of inhabitants therein, according to the principles above recited; after which, said districts shall not be altered, nor the number of Senators altered, except at any session of the General Assembly next after the completion of a census of the United States, and then only according to the principles above prescribed.

ARTICLE III.

At the meeting of the electors on the first Monday of April, in the year one thousand eight hundred and thirty, and annually thereafter, immediately after the choice of Representatives, the electors qualified by law to vote in the choice of such Representatives, shall be called upon, by the presiding officer in such meeting, in the several towns within their districts, respectively, to bring in their ballots for such person or number of person to be Senator or Senators for such districts in the next General Assembly, as shall, by law be allowed to such districts respectively; which person or persons, at the time of holding such meetings, shall belong to, and reside in the respective districts in which they shall be so balloted for as aforesaid: And each elector present at such meeting, qualified as aforesaid, may thereupon bring in his ballot or suffrage for such person or persons as he shall choose to be Senators for such district, not exceeding the number by law allowed to the same, with the name or names of such person or persons, fairly written on one piece of paper. And the votes so given in, shall be received, counted, canvassed and declared, in the same manner now provided by the constitution, for the coince of Senators. The person or persons, not exceeding the number by law allowed to the districts in which such votes shall be given in, having the highest number of votes, shall be declared to be duly elected for such districts: But in the event of an equality of votes between two or more of the persons so voted for, the House of Representatives shall in the manner provided for by the constitution, designate which of such person or persons shall be declared to be duly elected.

ARTICLE IV.

There shall annually be chosen and appointed a Lieutenant Governor, a Treasurer, and Secretary, in the same manner as is provided in the second section of the fourth article of the Constitution of this State for the choice and appointment of a Governor.

ARTICLE V.

A Comptroller of Public Accounts shall be annually chosen by the Electors in their meeting in April, and in the same manner as the Treasurer and Secretary are chosen, and the votes for Comptroller shall be returned to, and counted, canvassed and declared by the Treasurer and Secretary.

ARTICLE VI.

The Electors in the respective towns, on the first Monday of April in each year may vote for Governor, Lieutenant Governor, Treasurer, Secretary, Senators and Representatives in the General Assembly successively, or for any number of said officers at the same time, and the General Assembly shall have power to enact laws regulating and prescribing the order and manner of voting for said officers, and also providing for the election of Representatives at some time subsequent to the first Monday of April in all cases when it shall so happen that the Electors in any town shall fail on that day to elect the Representative or Representatives to which such town shall be by law entitled. Provided, that in all elections of officers of the State, or Members of the General Assembly, the votes of the Electors shall be by ballot, either written or printed.

ARTICLE VII.

A Sheriff shall be appointed in each County by the electors therein, in such manner as shall be prescribed by law, who shall hold his office for three years, removable by the General Assembly, and shall become bound with sufficient sureties to the Treasurer of the State, for the faithful discharge of the duties of his office.

ARTICLE VIII.

Every white male citizen of the United States, who shall have attained the age of twenty-one years, who shall have resided in this state for a term of one year next preceding, and in the town in which he may offer himself to be admitted to the privileges of an elector, at least six months next preceding the time he may so offer himself, and shall sustain a good moral character, shall, on his taking such oath as may be prescribed by law, be an elector.

ARTICLE IX.

The Judges of Probate shall be appointed by the electors residing in the several probate districts, and qualified to vote for representatives therein, in such manner as shall be prescribed by law.

ARTICLE X.

The Justices of the Peace, for the several towns in this State, shall be appointed by the electors in such towns; and the time and the manner of their election, the number for each town, and the period for which they shall hold their offices, shall be prescribed by law.

ARTICLE XI.

Every person shall be able to read any article of the constitution or any section of the statutes of this state before being admitted as an elector.

ARTICLE XII.

The judges of the supreme court of errors and of the superior court appointed in the year 1855, and thereafter, shall hold their offices for the term of eight years, but may be removed by impeachment; and the governor shall also remove them on the address of two thirds of each house of the general assembly. No judge of the supreme court of errors or of the superior court shall be capable of holding office after he shall arrive at the age of seventy years.

ARTICLE XIII.

Every elector of this state who shall be in the military service of the United States, either as a drafted person or volunteer, during the present rebellion, shall, when absent from this state because of such service, have the same right to vote in any election of state officers, representatives in congress, and electors of president and vice president of the United States, as he would have if present, at the time appointed for such election, in the town in which he resided at the time of his enlistment into such service. This provision shall in no case extend to persons in the regular army of the United States, and shall cease and become inoperative and void upon the termination of the present war. [The General Assembly shall prescribe by law in what manner and at what time, the votes of electors absent from this State in the military service of the United States, shall be received, counted, returned and canvassed.]

ARTICLE XIV.

All annual and special sessions of the general assembly shall on and after the first Wednesday of May A. D. 1875, be held at Hartford, but the person administering the office of governor may in case of special emergency convene said assembly at any other place in this state.

ARTICLE XV.

The house of representatives shall consist of electors residing in towns from which they are elected. Every town which now contains, or hereafter shall contain a population of five thousand, shall be entitled to send two representatives, and every other one shall be entitled to its present representation in the general assembly. The population of each town shall be determined by the enumeration made under the authority of the censes of the United States, next before the election of representatives is held.

ARTICLE XVI.

Sec. 1. A general election for governor, lieutenant governor, secretary of state, treasurer, comptroller, and members of the general assembly, shall be held on the Tuesday after the first Monday of November 1876 and annually thereafter for such officers as are herein and may be hereafter prescribed.
Sec. 2. The state officers above named and the senators from those districts having even numbers elected on the Tuesday after the first Monday of November 1876 and those elected biennially thereafter on the Tueday after the first Monday of November shall respectively hold their offices for two years from and after the Wednesday following the first Monday of the next succeeding January. The senators from those districts having odd numbers elected on the Tuesday after the first Monday of November 1876 shall hold their offices for one year from and after the Wednesday following the first Monday of January 1877, the electors residing in the senatorial districts having odd numbers shall on the Tuesday after the first Monday of November 1877 and biennially thereafter elect senators who shall hold their offices for two year from and after the Wednesday following the first Monday of the next succeeding January. The representatives elected from the several towns on the Tuesday after the first Monday of November 1876 and those elected annually thereafter shall hold their offices for one year from and after Wednesday following the first Monday of the next succeeding January.
Sec. 3. There shall be a stated session of the general assembly in Hartford on the Wednesday after the first Monday of January 1877 and annually thereafter on the Wednesday after the first Monday of January.
Sec. 4. The persons who shall be severally elected to the state offices and general assembly on the first Monday of April 1876 shall hold such offices only until the Wednesday after the first Monday of January 1877.
Sec. 5. The general assembly elected in April 1876 shall have power to pass such laws as may be necessary to carry into effect the provisions of this amendment.

ARTICLE XVII.

The general assembly shall have power by a vote of two-thirds of the members of both branches to restore the privileges of an elector to those who may have forfeited the same by a conviction of crime.

ARTICLE XVIII.

In case a new town shall hereafter be incoroporated, such new town shall not be entitled to a representative in the general assembly unless it has at least twenty-five hundred inhabitants, and unless the town from which the major portion of its territory is taken, has also at least twenty-five hundred inhabitants, but until such towns shall each have at least twenty-five hundred inhabitants such new town shall for the purpose of representation in the general assembly be attached to and be deemed to be a part of the town from which the major portion of its territory is taken, and it shall be an election district of such town for the purpose of representation in the house of representatives.

ARTICLE XIX.

The provisions of section two, article four, of the Constitution, and of the amendments thereto, shall apply mutatis mutandis to all elections held on the Tuesday after the first Monday of November 1876, and annually thereafter.