Pearson Middle School will be the subject of state scrutiny, now that the voting precinct has been chosen as part of a statewide audit. Secretary of State Denise Merrill released the list of precincts to be audited on May 15, the first day of audits. These post-election audits are mandated by state law, and Merrill said the audits are necessary to keep public trust. “Registered Republicans had their say on April 24th about who they want as their 2012 presidential nominee,” said Secretary Merrill in a press release. “Now, it is our duty to audit the machine totals from the Presidential Preference Primary to ensure the accuracy of our optical scanners. We are committed to making sure Connecticut voters have continued confidence that their votes were recorded accurately and that’s why these independent audits are so vital.”
10 percent of the state’s districts which use optically-scanned ballots are being audited following the Republican Presidential primary, which was won by Mitt Romney. The audits must be completed by June 1, and Connecticut is the first state in New England with such requirements, according to Merrill. “Auditing election results isn’t just a good idea, it’s absolutely essential in order to guarantee the integrity of our elections,” said Secretary Merrill in a press release. “We don’t just take the machines’ word for it.”
… According to the Connecticut General Statutes, the audits will consist of a hand count of paper ballots, which will be checked against the scanned totals. The ensuing reports will be delivered to Merrill’s office, at which point Merrill is obliged to forward the report to the University of Connecticut for analysis. “The results of the manual tabulation shall be reported on a form prescribed by the Secretary of the State,” the statute states, “which shall include the total number of ballots counted, the total votes received by each candidate in question, the total votes received by each candidate in question on ballots that were properly completed by each voter and the total votes received by each candidate in question on ballots that were not properly completed by each voter.”
Full Article: Winsted polling place chosen for state post-election audit- The Register Citizen.