Sunday morning, Secretary of the State Candidate Corey Brinson was interview by Dennis House on Face The State at WFSB.
Editor’s Note: 2010 Secretary of the State Election
We intend to provide comprehensive coverage of the 2010 Connecticut Secretary of the State race, highlighting news reports, interviews and issues, yet sticking primarily to comments on relevant to election management and election integrity.
Our bias when it comes to choosing a Secretary of the State, is that election responsibilities are the cart, the horse, and most of the content of the office where a Secretary can make differences, both positive or negative.
Connecticut Will Not Be Illinois or New York
Governor Jodi Rell signed the bill for elections to fill Senate vacancies.
Our senators matter. It is worth the estimated $6,000,000 cost of such elections, where our senators make decisions involving billions of dollars and thousands of lives. Such “Special Elections” should not be exempt (as they currently are) from the small cost and huge value of post-election audits. Such elections are not exempt from the risks of error and fraud.
Connecticut Could be Minnesota
Here is an article from the National Journal pointing out what Minnesota demonstrated about absentee ballots which is instructive as we consider expanding their use here in Connecticut:
Connecticut: Land of Steady [and Slow] Habits
Connecticut takes criticism from Brad Friedman for the slow and unpredictable speed of election enforcement. As those of us who have submitted complaints know, they can take a long time to be completed. But as Brad points out, some are resolved much quicker than others.
Courant: Iranians Sure Could Speed Up U.S. Voting System
CTVotersCount readers know we have often criticized Courant Editorials. In this case we are pleased to agree…
Two CT Reps Co-Sponsor Voter Confidence and Increased Accessibility Act
Today Representative Rush Holt introduced a new and improved Voter Confidence and Increased Accessibility Act, H.R. 2894. CTVotersCount appreciates Representatives John Larson and Jim Himes for signing on as initial co-sponsors.
Update: New York Times Endorses Holt Bill: “The House leadership should make passing Mr. Holt’s bill a priority. Few issues matter as much as ensuring that election results can be trusted.”
Iran: Who Won? Who Lost? Was It Stolen? Was It Credible?
For now, we can say that Ahmadinejad seems to have won, one way or another. But winning in a questionable way with the opposition protesting is not a complete win, it may come back and bite sooner or later. Credibility is missing. Without credibility, democracy loses — no matter the intent of the voters — no matter the accuracy of the election.
Help America Vote Act Fails Again
CTVotersCount readers know that HAVA has failed miserably in improving integrity. Its been a costly exercise that has improved voting integrity in some states and reduced it in others.
Now we can add another failure. According to the GAO report, only 27% of polling places actually have no impediments to voting by the disabled. Its worse than that.
Results of Post-Election Audit of the May 4th Municipal Election
This time we agree with the Secretary of the State on the post-election audit results in Naugatuck. Both people and machines can count very accurately. That is what we should always expect of election officials.