Merrill Selects Municipal Precincts for Post-Election Audit
Harris, Av
Denise Merrill
Secretary of the State
Connecticut
For Immediate Release: For more information:
November 16, 2011 Av Harris: (860) 509-6255
Cell: (860) 463-5939
- NEWS RELEASE -
Secretary Merrill Draws Precincts to Have Municipal Election Results Audited
10% of All Voting precincts Will Have Ballots Hand Counted and Matched Against Machine Totals to Ensure Integrity of Voting
Hartford: Secretary of the State Denise Merrill today joined a Connecticut Voting Rights advocate at a news conference at the State Capitol to randomly select the voting precincts which will have election results audited following the November 8th municipal elections. As required by Connecticut General Statute 9-320f, An Act Concerning the Integrity and Security of the Voting Process, ten percent of the polling precincts used in the election are subject to an audit. All told, 726 polling precincts were used on November 8th meaning that 73 precincts will have their election results audited.
“Despite the difficulties our state faced as a result of the late October snowstorm and ensuing power outages, we still had a very successful Election Day last Tuesday,” said Secretary Merrill, Connecticut’s chief elections official. “I am very proud of how our election administrators came together in Connecticut under some challenging circumstances to make sure voters could cast ballots in every town and city in our state as scheduled. With this audit, we now must take the step of checking the machine totals from November 8th 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.”
The audits can begin no sooner than November 23, 2011 and must be completed by December 6, 2011.
“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. “We don’t just take the machines’ word for it. So we will have every ballot cast in a full 10% of all our precincts hand counted and matched against the machine totals. Connecticut has the toughest elections audit law in the country and I am confident at the end of this year’s audit the numbers will once again match.”
In total, audits will be conducted in seventy-three precincts. Since 2011 was a municipal election, the Town Clerk in each community facing an audit will choose which three local races will have their results audited in the precincts selected today. The law requires a hand audit 10% of all polling places in all elections and primaries. (Polling precincts which are already part of a recount are exempt from audits by statute). In addition to the 73 precincts chosen for an audit, there were also 15 alternate precincts chosen. The provisions in the law, developed in close cooperation with the computer science department at the University of Connecticut, give Connecticut one of the strictest audit statutes in the country. Connecticut is the first state in New England to require a comprehensive audit of election results.
Connecticut General Statute 9-320f states that local Registrars of Voters, “… shall conduct a manual audit of the votes recorded in not less than ten per cent of the voting districts in the state, district or municipality, whichever is applicable. Such manual audit shall be noticed in advance and be open to public observation.” The results of audits will be analyzed by the University of Connecticut and then presented to the Secretary of the State’s Office and the State Elections Enforcement Commission, and ultimately made available to the public.
The law contains a detailed description of the audit process:
“The manual audit… shall consist of the manual tabulation of the paper ballots cast and counted by each voting machine subject to such audit. Once complete, the vote totals established pursuant to the manual tabulation shall be compared to the results reported by the voting machine on the day of the election or primary. The results of the manual tabulation shall be reported on a form prescribed by the Secretary of the State 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. Such report shall be filed with the Secretary of the State who shall immediately forward such report to The University of Connecticut for analysis. The University of Connecticut shall file a written report with the Secretary of the State regarding such analysis that describes any discrepancies identified. After receipt of such report, the Secretary of the State shall file such report with the State Elections Enforcement Commission.”
List of polling precincts to be audited:
Town Polling Place
Ansonia | Ansonia Middle School |
Bethel | Stony Hill Fire House -2 |
Bloomfield | Blue Hills Fire Station |
Bloomfield | Metacomet School |
Bozrah | Fields Memorial School |
Branford | Orchard House |
Bridgeport | Dunbar School |
Bristol | Chippens Hill Middle School |
Danbury | Broadview Middle School |
Danbury | Park Avenue School Gym |
Essex | Essex Town Hall 02 |
Farmington | Community Center |
Glastonbury | District 7 - Academy Building |
Goshen | Camp Cochipianee |
Greenwich | Old Greenwich School |
Greenwich | Riverside School |
Groton | Groton Town Hall Annex |
Groton | S B Butler School |
Haddam | Central Office |
Haddam | Haddam Neck Firehouse |
Hamden | Helen Street School |
Hamden | Keefe Community Center |
Hamden | Miller Library Local |
Hartford | Annie Fisher School - Gym |
Hartford | Burns School - Gym |
Hartford | Campfield Public Library |
Hartford | Dutch Point Community Room |
Hartford | John C. Clark School |
Hartford | Kennelly School |
Hartford | Moylan School |
Hartford | The Learning Corridor |
Manchester | Senior Citizens Center |
Mansfield | Eagleville Fire Department |
Meriden | Nathan Hale School |
Meriden | Washington Middle School |
Milford | Live Oaks School 1a-117 |
Milford | Orange Avenue School |
Milford | West Shore Recreation Center |
Monroe | Fawn Hollow School |
Monroe | Monroe Elementary School |
Monroe | Stepney Elementary School |
New Canaan | New Canaan High School Gym South |
New Haven | John S. Martinez School |
New Haven | Mauro Sheridan School |
North Branford | Jerome Harrison Elementary School |
Norwich | Samuel Huntington Elementary School |
Orange | High Plains Community Center |
Orange | Mary L Tracy School |
Plainfield | 3 Moosup Fire Station |
Plainville | Linden Street School |
Shelton | Mohegan School |
Sprague | Baltic Fire House |
Stamford | Saint Clements Church Hall |
Stonington | Stonington Fire House |
Stratford | Baldwin Center 120 21 |
Stratford | Wilcoxson School 7 |
Tolland | Tolland Town Hall -- (Hicks Gym) |
Trumbull | Tashua School |
Waterbury | Crosby High School |
Waterbury | Kennedy High School |
Waterbury | Willow Plaza Community Center |
West Hartford | Conard High School |
West Hartford | Sedgwick Middle School |
Westbrook | Theresa Mulvey Municipal Center - 1 |
Weston | Weston Middle School - 28 |
Westport | Coleytown Middle School 8 |
Westport | Saugatuck Elementary School 9 |
Wethersfield | Fuller Housing |
Wethersfield | Highcrest School |
Wilton | Middlebrook School - District 3 |
Windsor | 330 Windsor Avenue |
Windsor | Windsor Town Hall |
List of Alternate Polling Precincts chosen:
Town Polling Place
Branford | Indian Neck School |
Bridgeport | City Hall |
Bristol | Northeast School |
Essex | Essex Town Hall 01 |
Groton | School Administration Bldg |
Manchester | Waddell School |
Meriden | New Life Church |
Milford | Live Oaks School |
Montville | Town Hall-Gym-1 |
New Haven | Lincoln-Bassett School |
Thompson | East Thompson Fire Station |
West Hartford | W.H. Health & Rehab Center |
West Haven | Ann V. Molloy School |
West Haven | Mackrille School |
Windsor | Rainbow Firehouse |
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Av Harris
Director of Communications
Connecticut Secretary of the State Denise Merrill
(860) 509-6255 ofc
(860) 463-5939 cell