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Party labels in Connecticut school board elections
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| Connecticut overview: • Election dates: Off-cycle |
| Key policies: • Election dates and timing • Party labels on the ballot |
| Key terms • On-cycle elections • Off-cycle elections • Off-year elections • Off-date elections • Party labels • Partisan elections • Nonpartisan elections |
School board elections in Connecticut are partisan, which means party labels do appear on the ballot for school board candidates.
See law: Conn. Gen. Stat. sections 9-203 through 9-206 and 9-167a
There were 169 public school districts in Connecticut with a total of 1,441 school board member seats as of 2022. Those school districts operated a total of 935 schools serving 486,990 students.
Connecticut is one of four states with state laws providing for partisan school board elections.
The information in this page was last updated in 2022. Please email editor@ballotpedia.org with any updates, corrections, exceptions, or improvements.
Connecticut state law governing party labels on the ballot for school board elections
School board elections in Connecticut are partisan, which means party labels do appear on the ballot for school board candidates. Connecticut state law allows political parties to nominate school board member candidates. There is a process established in state law for a major political party to endorse a candidate. If no other candidate files or is supported by a sufficient portion of a party convention to challenge the party-endorsed candidate, that candidate automatically becomes the party's nominee at the general election and no primary is held. If any candidates seeking to challenge the party-endorsed candidate file sufficient signature petitions or are selected by sufficient portions of a party convention, a partisan primary election is held to determine the party's nominee in the general election. A partisan primary is also held if a major party does not make a candidate endorsement for a seat and more than one candidate files to run for that seat as a member of that party. State law restricts the number of newly elected board members that can be affiliated with the same political party. When an even number of seats are up for election, not more than half of newly elected board members can be of the same political party. When an odd number of seats are up, not more than a simple majority (half + 1 member) of newly elected members can be of the same political party. State law also limits the total number of members of any board, commission, legislative body, or committee that are members of the same political party. For school boards that elect all of their members at the same election according to a charter or special act, the restrictions requiring certain levels of minority representation in the board as a whole apply to that election.
See law: Conn. Gen. Stat. sections 9-203 through 9-206 and 9-167a
Examples of how school board candidates appear on the ballot in Connecticut
Below are excerpts from a municipal general election sample ballot, a Democratic primary election sample ballot, and a Republican primary election sample ballot, each containing school board races.
How does Connecticut compare to other states?
Across the country, there are 13,187 public school districts governed by a total of 83,183 school board members. They are elected directly by voters except for a small handful of exceptions who are appointed.
As of July 2025, over 85% of school boards are elected without any party labels on the ballot identifying the candidates' affiliation with a political party. State laws in five states containing 1,169 school districts (9%) provide for party labels on the ballot for school board elections. In five states containing 554 districts (4%), state laws effectively provide for both the option of including or not including party labels on the ballot for school board elections. In the remaining states with elected local school board members, state law provides for school board elections without the inclusion of party labels on the ballot.
Elections in which party labels are included on the ballot are referred to as partisan elections. Elections in which party labels are not included on the ballot are referred to as nonpartisan elections.
The state laws of 40 states containing 11,472 school districts provide for school board elections without party labels identifying the affiliation of candidates listed on the ballot (nonpartisan elections).
State laws of five states provide for school board elections with party labels identifying the affiliation of candidates listed on the ballot (partisan elections):
State laws of five states containing 554 school districts effectively provide both options depending on the district. The details and the number of districts that fall in each category vary among the states. Those five states are:
See also
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School board election rules: |
School board election coverage: |
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Footnotes
