Secretary of the State Denise Merrill today praised the Connecticut General Assembly’s Government Administration and Elections committee for unanimously endorsing Senate Bill 942 “An Act Concerning the Integrity of Elections.” Secretary Merrill proposed the bill in February to strengthen the integrity of Connecticut’s elections by requiring more communication and accountability between local Registrars of Voters, charged with the responsibility of running all elections, and the Secretary of the State’s office.
Under the proposed legislation, every municipality in the state would be required to either purchase enough ballots to cover 100% of registered voters, or report to the Secretary of the State’s office how many ballots they purchase for upcoming elections, certifying that the number of ballots ordered has taken into account factors such as tight races that may augment voter turnout. The Secretary of the State’s office would have the authority to review and in some cases reject these purchases if an insufficient number of ballots were ordered. Every town would also be required to have an emergency plan to address issues such as power outages and ballot shortages on Election Day.
The measure has received bipartisan support and now moves on the full State Senate for consideration. “I am grateful to the GAE Committee for closely examining these issues and throwing its full support behind some targeted, common-sense changes that I believe will go a long way towards ensuring the integrity of our elections,” said Secretary Merrill, Connecticut’s Chief elections official.
“No registered voter who wants to cast a ballot on Election Day should ever be turned away from the polls, and as Secretary of the State I am committed to working with local election officials to make sure that never happens again in Connecticut. All of us involved in elections need more information, training, emergency planning and oversight, and this bill addresses those needs. I appreciate the bi-partisan support we have received for these ideas thus far and I urge the Senate to approve this measure as soon as possible.”
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