Connecticut: Election Day Registration Enables Nearly 2 000 To Vote | Public News Service

This month’s municipal elections in Connecticut marked the first time voters there could register on election day, and local advocates and election officials say the process worked well. Secretary of State Denise Merrill was expecting it would mostly be younger residents showing up for same-day registration, but she said the new option attracted voters of all ages. “This is the first election it’s in effect and it did very well; we had no problems, and we think about between 1500 and 2000 people took advantage of it.” Merrill said election-day registration was particularly popular in New Haven, and most importantly, she said, it gave many people a chance to vote who otherwise would have been left out.

Connecticut: Election Day Registration Called A Success | CT News Junkie

Although the officials numbers are still being tallied by the Secretary of the State’s Office, Gov. Dannel P. Malloy called Connecticut’s first year allowing Election Day voter registration an encouraging step in the right direction. Lawmakers voted to allow same day registration during last year’s legislative session, but Tuesday’s municipal elections were the first time local registrars were actually signing up new voters on Election Day. In a Wednesday statement, Malloy called the results encouraging.

Connecticut: Same-day voter registration debuts Tuesday | Danbury NewsTimes

Those who haven’t registered to vote by Election Day still have a chance to sign up and have their voices heard. For the first time, Connecticut is offering Election Day registration for Tuesday’s municipal elections, making it one of 11 states to do so. “The right to vote and access to elections is a paramount right and responsibility of our democracy,” Gov. Dannel P. Malloy said in a statement released Friday. “Same-day voting helps to ensure that all citizens have a voice in their government.”

Connecticut: Voter fraud scandal in New Haven | WTNH

Election Day is less than a week away and city leaders in New Haven have concerns over a suspicious amount of absentee ballots submitted for the race. “I’ve gotten a complaint from an individual that the person has been receiving these ballots in their hands and taking them to the mailbox, to the post office, you can’t do that. That’s against the law,” said Ron Smith, City Clerk, New Haven. New Haven’s City Clerk Ron Smith says there’s been a drastic increase in the number of absentee ballot requests and returns for Ward 8, more than ever before. He says that number is alarming and the common denominators are the ballots were mailed out the same day in blocks from the same address. “We know ballots when they come in, and sometimes they come in a little late but they don’t come in all at one time from one street,” said Smith.

Connecticut: Third party is back on ballot in Windham | The Norwich Bulletin

The Bottom Line is back on the ballot. Superior Court Judge John D. Boland approved a stipulation negotiated between The Bottom Line party, Town Clerk Patricia Spruance and the State Attorney General’s office that allows the third party’s eight candidates to be placed back on the ballot.
“The nightmare is over,” said Mark Doyle, chairman of The Bottom Line. The party, which formed about six years ago, had its nominees removed from the ballot on Oct. 21 by order of the secretary of the state, even though Town Clerk Patricia Spruance went to bat for them. At issue is a 2011 regulation requiring third party candidates to sign the nomination form. The Bottom Line candidates all signed their campaign finance form and until she was ordered to remove them from the ballot, Spruance believed the law had been satisfied.

Connecticut: Windham third party taking ballot issue to court | The Norwich Bulletin

After successfully seating candidates on every major board in the last two municipal elections, The Bottom Line party now finds itself fighting just to get on the ballot. The party, which formed about six years ago, had its nominees removed from the ballot by order of the secretary of state, despite Town Clerk Patricia Spruance going to bat for them. At issue is a 2011 regulation requiring third-party candidates to sign the nomination form. “It seems like an unjust situation,” Spruance said. “It really is a case of disenfranchisement of eight candidates and individual voters.” The enforcement of the 2011 regulation has affected more towns than Windham. Several other municipalities have taken their town clerks to court.

Connecticut: Merrill praises decisions by two judges impacting third party candidates | Easton Courier

Secretary of the State Denise Merrill today issued the following statements praising decisions by two separate judges resolving the legal cases of third party candidates for municipal office in the towns of Easton in one case and East Hampton in the other. Bridgeport Superior Court Judge Barbara Bellis today rejected a lawsuit filed by petitioning candidates under the Easton Coalition party designation seeking to be placed on the ballot for the Nov. 5, municipal election. The Easton Coalition candidates sued Secretary Merrill after their nominating petitions to get on the ballot were rejected by her office.  Secretary Merrill’s office rejected the petitions by Easton Coalition candidates because they lacked an accompanying letter of endorsement from the party, required by law to be filed with the secretary of the state by Sept. 4 of this year. “Although it is disappointing for voters in Easton that the Easton Coalition candidates won’t be on the ballot this fall, Judge Bellis made the right decision,” Secretary Merrill stated.  “It is a good reminder that all of us who serve the public are bound to uphold the law.  The Easton Coalition failed to file a legally required document with my office by the Sept. 4 deadline, so by law, I had to reject their petitions.

Connecticut: Judge Orders Save Westport Now Back on Ballot | Westport Now

Booted from the Nov. 5 ballot last week over a technicality, Save Westport Now (SWN) will now have ballot access on Election Day, a Stamford Superior Court judge ruled today. Judge Kenneth B. Povodator ordered Westport Town Clerk Patricia Strauss to give SWN endorsed and nominated candidates for the Planning and Zoning Commission (P&Z)—Democrats Andra Vebell, David Lessing and Alan Hodge—a SWN place on the ballot in addition to their names on Democratic line. The move drew praise from Connecticut Secretary of the State Denise Merrill. “Judge Povodator’s decision is good for the voters of Westport,” Merrill said in a statement. “It is always in the best interest of voters to have choices on the ballot, and I am relieved the judge resolved this issue.” Founded in the 1980s to save Gorham Island from development, a bid that failed, SWN is a third party, environmental and preservation advocacy group. It has typically endorsed and nominated Democratic candidates for the Planning and Zoning Commission (P&Z), although last election it endorsed Republicans.

Connecticut: In Bethel and elsewhere, minority parties knocked off ballot | NewsTimes

The CT Tea Party in Bethel is knocked off the ballot for the November election because of a filing technicality based on a two-year-old election law, leaving former First Selectman Robert Burke the option of running as a write-in candidate. In Westport, a local minority party lost its ballot line for the first time in 20 years. In Ridgefield, the local independent party line was bounced from the ballot because of the same law. However, Ridgefield’s and Westport’s cross-endorsed candidates will appear on the ballot. Local officials in recent days learned that minority parties in Middletown, Simsbury and Fairfield may have problems related to the 2011 law, which requires minority party candidates to sign certificates of endorsements filed with town clerks. Signatures are not required of Republicans and Democrats.

Connecticut: Republicans Call Move To Abolish Independent Party ‘Power Grab’ | CT News Junkie

Senate Republican leader John McKinney called draft legislation that would bar the Independent Party of Connecticut from keeping its name a “disgusting, arrogant power grab,” by the Democratic majority. The working draft of the omnibus campaign finance bill would bar the use of the word “independent” in political party names. It’s a change that would force the Independent Party of Connecticut—which cross-endorsed several Republicans in legislative and Congressional races— to change its name. Sen. Michael McLachlan, R-Danbury, said the only reason the Democratic majority included that change in the bill is because the Independent Party of Connecticut received more votes than the Working Families Party, a third party that traditionally cross-endorses Democrats.

Connecticut: GOP Concerned About Potential Removal Of Independent Party of Connecticut | Hartford Courant

Republicans were outraged Wednesday by a Democratic-written bill that would effectively eliminate the Independent Party of Connecticut. The bill, which is a working draft, says that the word “independent” would be removed from any political party in Connecticut. The reason given is that “independent” is often mistaken with the word “unaffiliated,” which is how hundreds of thousands of Connecticut residents are registered. But the potential switch has huge political overtones in Connecticut because the Independent Party has most recently cross-endorsed Republican candidates, including Linda McMahon in her run for the U.S. Senate and conservative Republican Michael McLachlan in his three successful races for state Senate in Danbury and surrounding towns.

Connecticut: Secretary Merrill Praises House Passage of Provisional Ballot Bill | Stamford Plus

Secretary of the State Denise Merrill on Tuesday praised the Connecticut State House of Representatives passage of House Bill No. 5599 “An Act Concerning Provisional Ballots for State and Municipal Offices” that would allow voters to use provisional ballots for state and municipal elections instead of only federal elections, as current statutes provide. The House vote today was 105-37 in favor of sending the bill to the State Senate. Provisional ballots are cast by voters who appear at their polling place on Election Day and claim they are indeed registered to vote, but their names do not appear on the voter list. Provisional ballots are counted in the election only if the voter is later verified as being legitimately registered in that town by the local Registrar of Voters. Currently, provisional ballots can only be used to vote for federal candidates for office. Those voters whose registration status is uncertain at their polling place on Election Day are currently permitted to vote by challenge ballot for candidates for municipal and state candidates.

Connecticut: Voters to vote on expanding voting | GreenwichTime

Gov. Dannel P. Malloy will sign legislation to give Connecticut voters the chance to expand the use of absentee ballots. The bill, which passed the Senate late Wednesday and heads to his desk, will create a ballot question for next year’s statewide election, asking voters whether they want to change the state Constitution and allow the General Assembly to expand early voting opportunities. One of the measures planned by lawmakers is so-called no-excuse absentee ballots. Illness, age and out-of-town business are the main reasons for issuing absentee ballots, in provisions that date back 80 years.

Connecticut: Constitutional Questions Raised Over Early Voting Pilot | CT News Junkie

Despite constitutional concerns, lawmakers advanced a bill Monday that establishes a pilot program for municipalities to test early voting in this year’s town elections. Over the past few years, the legislature has jumped through considerable hoops in an effort to broaden its authority over the state’s voting system. That’s because the state constitution is unusually specific when it comes to the administration of statewide and federal elections. For the second consecutive year, lawmakers are mulling a constitutional amendment that could give them more leeway to enact policies concerning no-excuse absentee ballots and early voting.

Connecticut: State House calls for constitutional amendment to expand voting options | The Day

The state House of Representatives has passed a joint resolution calling for a constitutional amendment to remove the requirement that people vote in person on Election Day. The resolution passed by a 90-49 vote, with 12 members absent. It goes next to the Senate and then to a public vote in the 2014 election. Currently, the state constitution exempts people from voting in person if they are out of town on Election Day, are sick, have a physical disability or hold religious tenets that prohibit voting on Election Day. The only alternative to voting in person is by absentee ballot.

Connecticut: Lawmakers mull early voting and cross endorsements | Connecticut Post

Connecticut lawmakers are considering allowing early voting during state elections and eliminating cross endorsements by minor parties. “I strongly support early voting,” said Secretary of State Denise Merrill on Monday.”We need to modernize our voting practices. If a voter has made up their mind, why wait till [Election Day]? More than 30 other states have enacted early voting with great success.” Through testimony and remarks submitted Monday to the government administration and elections committee, early voting garnered considerable support, while eliminating cross endorsements drew sizable opposition.

Connecticut: His Vote Didn’t Count Last Year | CT News Junkie

In 2012, Sgt. Kevin Townley’s vote didn’t count. He mailed it from the United Arab Emirates, but it never got to hometown of Trumbull to be counted. Townley said that while some people would rather get medals, “I’d just like my vote to be counted.” Townley, who serves in the Connecticut National Guard, is not alone. The Connecticut Secretary of the State’s office found that 40 percent of the absentee ballots transmitted to members of the military overseas were never received and never counted. That’s why Sen. Gayle Slossberg, D-Milford, and Rep Russ Morin, D-Wethersfield, are proposing legislation that would allow overseas military men and women return their ballots by fax or email. Currently, military men and women serving overseas can receive their ballot by fax or email, but they have to return it through the postal service. … However, there is opposition to the measure. Gov. Dannel P. Malloy vetoed a bill last year which included the same provision.

Connecticut: Early voting initiative rekindled in Connecticut | GreenwichTime

Connecticut’s top election official is tossing around the concept of early voting and expanded access to absentee ballots, putting the Land of Steady Habits more in line with the vast majority of states. Secretary of the State Denise Merrill met Wednesday with Gov. Dannel P. Malloy, a fellow Democrat, to gauge his support for a constitutional amendment that could open the door to voting alternatives.

Connecticut: Manchester Registrars Describe Election Day Problems, Possible Remedies | Courant.com

The registrars of voters spoke to the board of directors Tuesday night about the many and unprecedented problems on Election Day, including long lines, voter confusion and a shortage of electronic ballots. In preparing for the election, the registrars said they looked at previous voter turnout in presidential elections and listened to political commentators who said President Barack Obama’s supporters were not as keen to cast ballots as they were in 2008. So considering that turnout in Manchester going back to 1996 had been 76 percent to 78 percent, Democratic Registrar Francis Maffe Jr. and Republican Registrar Tim Becker ordered enough ballots for an 82 percent turnout.

Connecticut: Easton Voting Machines Tested | The Weston Easton Daily Voice

Registrars and moderators for the Oct. 26 special election for treasurer and the Nov. 6 general election tested the town’s four voting machines Friday afternoon at Samuel Staples Elementary School. Sample ballots marked for individual candidates were fed into the machines, which counted the ballots and tabulated vote totals and then were checked for accuracy. “We prepare test ballots and feed them all in to make sure the machines are accurately reading votes, there are different levels of security,” said Ron Kowalski, the Democratic registrar.

Connecticut: Connecticut Working Out Voter Registration Computer Kinks | CT News

Last week, the Centralized Voter Registration system — a computer program that contains the names, addresses and party affiliation of all registered voters in the state — failed a stress test. Another test was conducted on Sunday and preliminary reports from the Secretary of the State’s office indicated that things went well. But the real test will come on Thursday when 100 registrars throughout the state will try to log onto the system at the same time and print out their voter lists or do other pre-election tasks. Mark Raymond, the state’s chief information officer, said last week that they were continuing to “fine tune” the system and believe that they would be able to ensure that the database is accessible in the lead-up to the Nov. 6 election. The deadline to register by mail is Oct. 23, but you can register in person until Oct. 30.

Connecticut: Voter database plagued by glitches | Connecticut Post

Election officials said they endured lengthy wait times to print out voter lists or simply to verify who is eligible to cast ballots next month in a host of marquee races, including the presidency. Some registrars of voters eventually gave up, choosing to try again during off-peak periods. The Secretary of the State’s Office acknowledged it has a problem on its hands and said it will convene a special meeting Thursday with the state’s technology team. The agency can least afford any mistakes after a ballot shortage in Bridgeport two years ago cast a dark cloud over the gubernatorial election won by Democrat Dannel P. Malloy over Republican Tom Foley by 6,500 votes.

Connecticut: GOP To Get Top Ballot Line in Connecticut | CT News

The jury is still out on whether having the top line of the ballot even makes a difference, but the Supreme Court’s verdict giving Republicans back the top ballot line is in. This summer, the Republican Party challenged Secretary of the State Denise Merrill’s decision to give Democrats the top ballot line after the 2010 gubernatorial election. The mistake wasn’t discovered in 2011, so Democratic candidates appeared at the top of the ballot last year. Republicans argued Tom Foley received more votes on the Republican line than Gov. Dannel P. Malloy received on the Democratic line, so its candidates should have top billing.

Connecticut: Mystery ballot fails to solve deadlocked primary race in Connecticut | U.S. News

Two recounts and a mystery absentee ballot have failed to produce a  winner in a deadlocked Democratic primary race in Connecticut’s 5th General Assembly District. The race between challenger Brandon McGee and party-endorsed candidate Leo Canty remained tied 774-774 after a second recount in Hartford on Tuesday resulted in no changes to the vote totals, The Hartford Courant reported. Election officials then thought an absentee ballot in an envelope labeled “deceased” would put an end to the race. That ballot had not been counted during the original election or during the two recounts, the Courant reported. Officials discovered Tuesday that the ballot was legitimate because it was cast by an elderly – but very much alive — woman who lives in a nursing home.

Connecticut: Voter mistaken for dead in crucial tied recount | UPI.com

The outcome of a Connecticut primary election hinges on the vote of a woman whose absentee ballot was marked “Deceased” but is very much alive, officials say. A recount Monday in the Democratic Party’s 5th General Assembly District primary found the party-endorsed candidate, Leo Canty, tied with challenger Brandon McGee at 774 votes each. At issue is an uncounted ballot, still in a sealed envelope and marked “Deceased,” the Hartford Courant reported Wednesday.

Connecticut: Sample ballots in Connecticut list candidates in no particular order | The Middletown Press

Sample ballots were sent to town election administrators Monday and, in anticipation of a state Supreme Court ruling, the candidates on those ballots were in no particular order. The same day, attorneys for the Republican Party of Connecticut and the Secretary of the State’s office issued arguments for and against the contention that a lawsuit brought by the GOP should not have made it to the Supreme Court. That lawsuit is causing a delay on the final order of candidates for Election Day ballots. The GOP took Secretary of the State Denise Merrill to court after she decided Democrats should get the top ballot line. Republicans say state law dictates otherwise.

Connecticut: Ballot Cast By Woman Thought Dead Could Decide 5th House District Primary | Hartford Courant

An absentee ballot cast by an elderly Windsor woman who was thought to have been dead may decide the outcome of the disputed Democratic primary for the 5th General Assembly District nomination. That ballot, still contained in a sealed envelope, had not been counted either in the primary or in two recounts because it was marked “deceased.” But Windsor officials discovered Tuesday that the 91-year-old woman who cast the ballot is indeed alive and living in a local nursing home. The uncounted ballot could wind up being pivotal because a recount Monday in Windsor gave challenger Brandon McGee an additional vote, tying his race with party-endorsed candidate Leo Canty at 774 to 774. A recount of absentee ballots in Hartford Tuesday answered a lingering question about the tally, but didn’t change the result.

Connecticut: State Supreme Court hears ballot-line issue | The Bulletin

Connecticut’s Republican Party asked the state’s highest court on Wednesday to give GOP candidates the top line on the state’s November ballot, a challenge that could affect voting in the closely watched contest for an open U.S. Senate seat. The outcome of the governor’s race determines which party holds the first line. But state Republicans argued the secretary of the state was wrong to list Democrats first because their candidate, Gov. Dannel P. Malloy, relied on votes from a third party to put him over the top in the 2010 election. Since lever voting machines have been replaced with optical scan machines, both sides in dispute say it matters less which party is on the top line of ballots. But academics say recent studies have demonstrated ballot order can make a small yet significant difference.

Connecticut: Ballot-Line Fight Goes To Supreme Court Wednesday | Hartford Courant

The state Supreme Court, moving swiftly, will hear oral arguments Wednesday on whether Republicans should replace Democrats at the top of the ballot in November. In a lawsuit that it filed just last month, the state Republican Party argued that it should receive the top ballot line after the complicated results of the 2010 gubernatorial election. The high court’s ruling will have a direct effect in November, when much of Connecticut’s political world is up for election: a U.S. Senate seat, all five congressional offices, 151 seats in the state House of Representative and 36 in the state Senate. The matter will be determined by the seven Supreme Court justices, who have been nominated by governors and approved by the legislature through the years. Although Democrat Dannel P. Malloy won the governor’s race in 2010, he did it with a combination of votes from both the Democratic Party and the union-backed Working Families Party. In the tight race, Republican Tom Foley captured more votes on the Republican line than Malloy did on the Democratic line. With that result, Republicans say that their party should get the top line because they received more votes than any other party.

Connecticut: State Used Primary to Pilot New Election Results Reporting System | CT News Junkie

Despite some opening-night hiccups, the Secretary of the State’s office is hoping municipal election officials will embrace an instantaneous, public, digital returns reporting system in time for November. The new program, which is intended to replace a laborious and outdated system of paperwork and faxes, is entirely web-based and would allow for immediate public access to real-time election results. The Secretary of the State’s office did a trial run of the new system on primary night with a handful of towns including Wilton, New Britain, Manchester, Stamford, Simsbury, and Danbury. The new system allows moderators at individual polling locations — or anywhere with Internet access — to log in and post results as soon as they have them. Townwide moderators will have more administrative privileges within the system, but it is designed to make results available to the public as soon as individual moderators post them, according to Av Harris, spokesman for the Secretary of the State Denise Merrill.