| Year | Republican / Whig | Democratic | Third party(ies) | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. | % | No. | % | No. | % | |
| 2024 | 736,918 | 41.89% | 992,053 | 56.40% | 30,039 | 1.71% |
| 2020 | 715,311 | 39.21% | 1,080,831 | 59.24% | 28,314 | 1.55% |
| 2016 | 673,215 | 40.93% | 897,572 | 54.57% | 74,133 | 4.51% |
| 2012 | 634,899 | 40.72% | 905,109 | 58.06% | 18,985 | 1.22% |
| 2008 | 629,428 | 38.22% | 997,773 | 60.59% | 19,592 | 1.19% |
| 2004 | 693,826 | 43.95% | 857,488 | 54.31% | 27,455 | 1.74% |
| 2000 | 561,094 | 38.44% | 816,015 | 55.91% | 82,416 | 5.65% |
| 1996 | 483,109 | 34.69% | 735,740 | 52.83% | 173,765 | 12.48% |
| 1992 | 578,313 | 35.78% | 682,318 | 42.21% | 355,701 | 22.01% |
| 1988 | 750,241 | 51.98% | 676,584 | 46.87% | 16,569 | 1.15% |
| 1984 | 890,877 | 60.73% | 569,597 | 38.83% | 6,426 | 0.44% |
| 1980 | 677,210 | 48.16% | 541,732 | 38.52% | 187,343 | 13.32% |
| 1976 | 719,261 | 52.06% | 647,895 | 46.90% | 14,370 | 1.04% |
| 1972 | 810,763 | 58.57% | 555,498 | 40.13% | 18,016 | 1.30% |
| 1968 | 556,721 | 44.32% | 621,561 | 49.48% | 77,950 | 6.21% |
| 1964 | 390,996 | 32.09% | 826,269 | 67.81% | 1,313 | 0.11% |
| 1960 | 565,813 | 46.27% | 657,055 | 53.73% | 15 | 0.00% |
| 1956 | 711,837 | 63.72% | 405,079 | 36.26% | 205 | 0.02% |
| 1952 | 611,012 | 55.70% | 481,649 | 43.91% | 4,250 | 0.39% |
| 1948 | 437,754 | 49.55% | 423,297 | 47.91% | 22,467 | 2.54% |
| 1944 | 390,527 | 46.94% | 435,146 | 52.30% | 6,317 | 0.76% |
| 1940 | 361,819 | 46.30% | 417,621 | 53.44% | 2,062 | 0.26% |
| 1936 | 278,685 | 40.35% | 382,129 | 55.32% | 29,909 | 4.33% |
| 1932 | 288,420 | 48.54% | 281,632 | 47.40% | 24,131 | 4.06% |
| 1928 | 296,641 | 53.63% | 252,085 | 45.57% | 4,398 | 0.80% |
| 1924 | 246,322 | 61.54% | 110,184 | 27.53% | 43,789 | 10.94% |
| 1920 | 229,238 | 62.72% | 120,721 | 33.03% | 15,559 | 4.26% |
| 1916 | 106,514 | 49.80% | 99,786 | 46.66% | 7,574 | 3.54% |
| 1912 | 68,324 | 35.88% | 74,561 | 39.16% | 47,519 | 24.96% |
| 1908 | 112,915 | 59.43% | 68,255 | 35.92% | 8,833 | 4.65% |
| 1904 | 111,089 | 58.12% | 72,909 | 38.15% | 7,130 | 3.73% |
| 1900 | 102,572 | 56.92% | 74,014 | 41.07% | 3,609 | 2.00% |
| 1896 | 110,285 | 63.24% | 56,740 | 32.54% | 7,365 | 4.22% |
| 1892 | 77,032 | 46.80% | 82,395 | 50.06% | 5,168 | 3.14% |
| 1888 | 74,584 | 48.44% | 74,920 | 48.66% | 4,474 | 2.91% |
| 1884 | 65,898 | 48.01% | 67,182 | 48.95% | 4,177 | 3.04% |
| 1880 | 67,071 | 50.51% | 64,411 | 48.50% | 1,316 | 0.99% |
| 1876 | 59,033 | 48.33% | 61,927 | 50.70% | 1,174 | 0.96% |
| 1872 | 50,314 | 52.41% | 45,695 | 47.59% | 0 | 0.00% |
| 1868 | 50,788 | 51.49% | 47,844 | 48.51% | 0 | 0.00% |
| 1864 | 44,693 | 51.38% | 42,288 | 48.62% | 0 | 0.00% |
| 1860 | 43,486 | 53.86% | 17,364 | 21.50% | 19,895 | 24.64% |
| 1856 | 42,717 | 53.18% | 34,997 | 43.57% | 2,615 | 3.26% |
| 1852 | 30,359 | 45.46% | 33,249 | 49.79% | 3,173 | 4.75% |
| 1848 | 30,318 | 48.59% | 27,051 | 43.35% | 5,029 | 8.06% |
| 1844 | 32,832 | 50.81% | 29,841 | 46.18% | 1,943 | 3.01% |
| 1840 | 31,598 | 55.55% | 25,281 | 44.45% | 0 | 0.00% |
| 1836 | 18,799 | 49.35% | 19,294 | 50.65% | 0 | 0.00% |
| 1832 | 18,155 | 55.29% | 11,269 | 34.32% | 3,409 | 10.38% |
| 1828 | 13,829 | 71.36% | 4,448 | 22.95% | 1,101 | 5.68% |
| 1824 | 7,494 | 70.39% | 1,965 | 18.46% | 1,188 | 11.16% |
Various kinds ofelections in Connecticut occur annually in each of the state's cities and towns, the exact type of which is dependent on the year. Elections for federal and statewide offices occur in even-numbered years, while municipal elections occur in odd-numbered ones. The office of theConnecticut Secretary of State oversees the election process, includingvoting andvote counting.[2] In a 2020 study, Connecticut was ranked as the 20th easiest state for citizens to vote in.[3]
Historically, Connecticut was a bastion of Republicanism, although this was typically a liberal "Yankee" brand of the Republican Party. From the Civil War to the 1990s, the state voted Republican all but nine times on the presidential level. It only voted Democratic in the elections of 1876, 1888, 1912, 1936, 1940, 1944, 1960, 1964, and 1968. However, since the 1992 election, the state has voted Democratic every time, and since 1996, it has been by double-digit margins.[4]
However, Democrats have controlled the state legislature for all but 13 years since 1959 and have held both Senate seats since 1989, as no Republican has won a Senate seat in the state since 1982. Every seat in the House of Representatives is held by a Democrat, with the last Republican having lost in 2008. That election marked the first time since the 1850s that no Republican represented Connecticut or any state inNew England region in the House.[5][6]
Elections for local government include elections for municipal leadership positions (such as mayor or first selectman), legislative bodies (such as a city council or a board of aldermen), and other elections for various municipal positions and boards and commissions, as governed by each municipality's respective charter and/or ordinances. Of the 169 towns and cities in the state, all hold municipal elections in odd-numbered years, and most hold them on the traditional Election Day in November. Fifteen[12] communities in the state, however, hold their municipal elections in May.
Unlike in most U.S. states, there is no form of county government in Connecticut. The eight counties in the state now exist solely for geographical purposes. Governing at the county level was abolished in the state in 1960, and its last holdover, county sheriffs, were eliminated by an amendment to thestate constitution in 2000.
The majority of Connecticut voters are affiliated with either of the two major political parties, but theplurality of voters have no party affiliation.
The state of Connecticut has aclosed primary system, whereby only electors enrolled in a political party can vote in their party's primary election. A registered Republican, for example, is only allowed to participate in Republican primaries, while a voter not affiliated with any political party (called an “unaffiliated” voter in the state) is not allowed to vote in any party primary.
| Party registration as of November 1, 2022[13] | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Total voters | Percentage | |||
| Unaffiliated | 1,033,470 | 41.76% | |||
| Democratic | 898,303 | 36.3% | |||
| Republican | 502,482 | 20.3% | |||
| Minor parties | 40,143 | 1.62% | |||
| Total | 2,474,398 | 100% | |||
Connecticut has no system ofinitiative orreferendums at the statewide level, but any proposed amendment to the state constitution, after having first been passed by both houses of the state legislature in accordance with Article XII of the Connecticut Constitution, must be ratified by the people of the state via a ballot question. Additionally, in accordance with Article XIII, every 20 years (or 20 years after a constitutional convention was last called for) citizens of the state shall be allowed to vote on whether a constitutional convention to amend or revise the state constitution should be called.
| ||||||||||
| Results | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ||||||||||
 Municipal results Yes: 50–60% 60–70% 70–80% 80–90% No: 50–60% 60–70% | ||||||||||
The most recent constitutional amendment proposition wasQuestion 1 in 2022 which allowed the legislature to create a period of early voting for elections in the state of Connecticut.[14] and it passed 60.5% to 39.5%. The most recent constitutional convention question appeared on the ballot on November 4, 2008, and the call for a convention was rejected 847,518 to 579,904.
While there is no statewide initiative or referendums, many municipalities have some form of it for issues of local concern. Additionally, five municipalities[15] afford voters the right torecall local elected public officials, a practice that does not extend to state offices.[16]
On June 26, 2009, Connecticut Governor M. Jodi Rell signed into law a bill that requires that a special election be called under most circumstances should a vacancy occur in either of Connecticut's two U.S. Senate seats.[17] Prior to this law, the governor of the state had the right to appoint a replacement to fill such vacancies.
Since passed, this law has not yet been used.
State legislation related to the administration of elections introduced in 2011 through this year, 2020
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