Grogins, Ayala Resignations Official, Special Elections To Be Called

From Connecticut Secretary of the State Denise Merrill:

Secretary of the State Denise Merrill is reporting today that she has officially received the resignations of State Senator Andres Ayala (D-23) and State Representative Auden Grogins (D-129).

Both resignations are effective by the close of business today. Both representative Grogins and Senator Ayala won re-election to additional terms in the Connecticut General Assembly, yet by resigning as of today the two will not be sworn into their new terms. As such, the vacancies will occur tomorrow, Wednesday January 7, 2015, the day the new General Assembly is sworn in for a new term. Under state law, Governor Dannel P. Malloy has until January 17, 2015 to issue Writs of Special Election setting dates for special elections to choose successors to Senator Ayala and Representative Grogins. Those special elections must be held in each district 46 days after the writs are issued.

“With Senator Ayala’s appointment as our next Commissioner of Motor Vehicles and Representative Grogins’ selection as a Superior Court Judge, we will be having a pair of special elections in Bridgeport and part of Stratford to fill the vacancies created by these resignations,” said Secretary Merrill, Connecticut’s chief elections official. “My office will officially notify Governor Malloy of the resignations tomorrow morning, and as soon as the governor issues the Writs of Special Election, we will notify election officials in Bridgeport and Stratford when the special elections will take place to choose the new Representative and Senator to serve the citizens in the 23rd Senate and 129th House Districts.”

The special elections will occur in the 23rd Senate district covering parts of Bridgeport and Stratford, and the 129th House District covering part of Bridgeport. According to Connecticut state law, major parties have until 36 days prior to the special election to endorse candidates. Petitioning candidates have eight days after the Writ of Special Election is issued to turn in signatures to get on the ballot. In order to qualify to get on the ballot, petitioning candidates must turn in a number of signatures equivalent to 1% of the total number of voters who cast ballots for that seat in the previous election, and signatures must be from registered voters in the district.