Secretary of the State Denise Merrill today joined Connecticut voting rights advocates for a public drawing to randomly select three precincts that will have election results audited following the May 2, 2011 municipal elections that took place in 14 Connecticut communities. The three precincts selected are West Side Middle School District 2 and William Seely School district 4 in Groton and the Stonington Fire House in Stonington. Two alternate precincts were also chosen to be ready to audit results if necessary: Center School district 3 in Woodbridge and Griswold Town Hall in Griswold.
“On May 2nd voters went to the polls across Connecticut to choose public servants to fill very important roles in local government,” said Secretary Merrill. “No matter how big or small the election, our audit law exists to hold our election process accountable and reassure the public to have continued confidence that all votes were recorded accurately.”
Voters went to the polls for municipal elections in the following 14 Connecticut communities on Monday May 2, 2011: The towns of Andover, Bethany, Naugatuck, Union and Woodbridge, the Boroughs of Litchfield, Newtown, Stonington, Bantam(Litchfield), Danielson(Killingly), Fenwick (Old Saybrook), Jewett City (Griswold), Woodmont (Milford) and the City of Groton. The majority of Connecticut’s municipalities will hold primaries if necessary on September 13, 2011 and a General Election for municipal candidates on November 8, 2011.
As required by Public Act 07-194, An Act Concerning the Integrity and Security of the Voting Process, 10% percent of the polling precincts used in the election are subject to an audit. Secretary Merrill directed that a pool of 24 precincts from the towns and boroughs that held municipal elections May 2nd, not counting precincts that required a recount or counted ballots by hand instead of using the optical scan voting machines in the selection. To comply with the law, three precincts were chosen to have their election results audited. The alternate precinct will only face an audit if one of the selected precincts cannot perform an audit. All audits may not begin before May 17, 2011 and must be completed no later than May 31, 2011.
Full Article: ConnecticutPlus.com News – Merill selects precincts for audit.