CTVotersCount.org

Improved election reporting on the way

Luther Weeks — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 14:15:42 +0000

But big changes are coming, including a precinct-by-precinct election reporting system that the state hopes to test in April and use publicly in August to gather unofficial results during the expected primaries for U.S. Senate and state legislative races.

This sounds like the kind of change we called for during the 2010 election for Secretary of the State

Doug Chapin: New Pew Report Details Progress on Military, Overseas Voting

Luther Weeks — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 10:22:49 +0000

It really is remarkable how far this issue has come in about three years; Pew's election team and its huge coalition of partners including OVF, the Pentagon's Federal Voting Assistance Program and the Uniform Law Commission (whose Uniform Military and Overseas Voting Act is one ongoing vehicle for state and local reform) should be deeply gratified at everything they have accomplished.

Coalition Nov 2011 Audit Observation Report – Data Available for Public Review

Luther Weeks — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 14:56:18 +0000

Coalition finds continuing problems with audit integrity
Provides calculations and official data on the web for public review and verification

For the first time, in the interest of public information and transparency, we are making all official municipal audit reports and the data we complied available for everyone to review on the web. Citizens can see the reports from their own town, other towns, and perform their own audit of the Coalition’s data entry and calculations based on those official reports. The November post-election audits still do not inspire confidence because of the continued:

Lack of integrity in the random district selection and race selection processes.
Lack of consistency, reliability, and transparency in the conduct of the audit.
Discrepancies between machine counts and hand-counts reported to the Secretary of the State by municipalities and the lack of standards for determining need for further investigation of discrepancies.
Weaknesses in the ballot chain-of-custody.

Patriocracy: A lesson in information and misinformation

Luther Weeks — Sat, 21 Jan 2012 20:21:09 +0000

Duncan Buell points out that non-science nonsense slips into the movie Patriocracy. It is an ever present danger. Our minds are easily tricked.

Hacked newspaper recommends online voting

Luther Weeks — Thu, 19 Jan 2012 15:00:24 +0000

They also forget absentee voting fraud in Connecticut, while their print edition confuses tech-savvy with technical expertise.

Gov, SOTS call for election day registration, online registration, and amendment for absentee voting

Luther Weeks — Mon, 16 Jan 2012 16:34:54 +0000

CTVotersCount has long been in favor of Election Day Registration (EDR) and concerned with the risks of unlimited absentee voting. We also strongly support online voter registration, not to be confused with online voting which we and many others oppose. Studies show that EDR increases turn-out, while absentee voting decreases turn-out, the stated goal behind the measures proposed in today's press conference.

Voting Problems For Persons With Disabilites Probed In West Hartford

Luther Weeks — Sat, 14 Jan 2012 14:25:02 +0000

Voters should not have to put up with this system. All voters with disabilities deserve a better system. Pollworkers should not have to put up with this system, they deserve a system that is reliable. Yet, pollworkers should be careful to treat each voter with dignity even if they are themselves frustrated.

Some (more) concerns with the National Popular Vote

Luther Weeks — Mon, 09 Jan 2012 14:34:22 +0000

We are glad to see Democrats raising concerns with the National Popular Vote Agreement. Both political sides and those who support or oppose the Agreement create an unending stream of issues supporting their case. Some issues are objective, others are subjective, and others are subjective and speculative. Many issues raised have merit and are worth discussing.

The Courant hits some good points, yet ironically misses the mark on election accountability

Luther Weeks — Wed, 04 Jan 2012 10:01:59 +0000

Starting the year with a focus on accountability, the Courant Editorial Board overlooked integrity when it editorialized on elections. They also presented some ideas that we can and have supported

Courant declares Government Accountabiliy priorty for 2012 – we applaud

Luther Weeks — Mon, 02 Jan 2012 10:01:10 +0000

Like state employees, most election officials aim for integrity. All must be accountable for fully following laws and procedures. Elections should be independently audited to provide the value, integrity, and confidence the public deserves and democracy requires.