**“Who, hector, the panthers? Nah, no problem; they’re just here to make sure our voters do the right thing.”**

New CT Law Bars Police from Polling Places

Connecticut’s new election law bars police officers from being at or near polling places. Officers may still respond to emergencies, pass through the area, vote, conduct certain authorized law-enforcement activity or be present with permission from the secretary of the state or an election moderator. But without one of those exceptions, the law bars them from being within 250 feet of an election polling site.
Public Act 26-42, signed by Gov. Ned Lamont in May and effective July 1, prohibits law-enforcement officers and those authorized by a state or the federal government to use force, search, detain, or arrest people from remaining within 250 feet of an election site. The restriction applies to Election Day polling places, early-voting locations, same-day registration sites, central ballot-counting locations, recanvass sites and absentee-ballot drop boxes while they are in use.
For Greenwich Police Chief Jim Heavey, that distinction is central. Police departments have long used visible officers at polling locations not only to respond immediately when trouble begins, he said, but to discourage it from happening in the first place.
“The public act was a surprise to the police and kind of insulting, to be honest,” Heavey said in an interview Wednesday.
… . In discussing Greenwich’s approach to elections before the new law, Heavey described the department’s traditional role this way: “We’re going to be present. We’re going to be a visible presence to deter any conflict.” In 2024 he issued a statement prior to the election which assured Greenwich residents that officers would be present at key locations on Election Day to help ensure voters could travel safely to and from polling places.”
Asked whether police could provide that same presence this year without additional authorization, Heavey answered, “No.”
The issue has gained attention as U.S. Rep. Jim Himes has warned about possible violence or intimidation at polling locations during the 2026 midterm elections. Himes said Wednesday that his greatest election-security concern was violence or disruption at a limited number of polling places.
That creates a practical distinction between responding to violence and trying to prevent it.
Heavey said police chiefs met with state officials after the law was enacted. Greenwich then coordinated with the town’s Democratic and Republican registrars of voters and election moderators so officers could continue police work.
“Nobody really has given us the straight answer as to why this law was enacted,” Heavey said.
He also questioned the size of the restricted area. Connecticut prohibits electioneering within 75 feet of the outside entrance to a polling place, while the new law establishes a 250-foot restriction for law enforcement.
Greenwich’s legislative delegation divided along party lines on HB 5001, the election bill containing the restriction.

According to Connecticut General Assembly roll-call records, Democratic state Reps. Hector Arzeno and Steve Meskers voted for the bill when the House passed it 101-49 on April 23. Republican state Rep. Tina Courpas voted against it. Arzeno was also listed as a co-sponsor.

Republican state Sen. Ryan Fazio voted against final passage when the Senate approved the bill 25-11 on May 6. Lamont signed it May 15.