Last Friday, provided four pieces of testimony onfive bills. As I said in my prepared remarks:
The context for my testimony on four bills is that humans are not good at accessing risks. We can focus excessively on minor, all but non-existent, risks. We often minimize rare catastrophic risks and ignore frequent familiar risks.
We also do a poor job of balancing risks and rewards.
(Click on the bill numbers for a link to my testimony, which contains links to each bill’s status page, which links to bill text)
I support S.B.233. It would eliminate a long-standing civil rights violation and unnecessary Election Day Registration work.
It would remove the cross-check requirement that results in massive extra work for officials, delays for voters, and has led to the civil rights violation.
There is no experience of risks from EDR, without cross-checks, in any state.
This Friday I will be submitting three pieces of testimony on three more bills. The theme also applies to one of them.
I oppose S.B.241. This bill is an example of excessive concern for, all but non-existent, risks.
It would require checkers be appointed for all EDR locations and authorize unofficial checkers. Apparently, the proponents are unaware that there are no lists to check in EDR locations.
I oppose S.J.15 and H.B.5278 as written. These bills are examples of ignoring actual risks that occur frequently in Connecticut – proven risks for expanded mail-in voting in Connecticut.
When Connecticut passed the Citizens Election Program, part of the justification was a history of corruption. Similarly avoiding expanded mail-in voting is justified by Connecticut’s ongoing record of campaign and insider voting fraud via absentee.
I do not oppose all early voting. I support in-person early voting. See my testimony for a low-cost early voting method suited to Connecticut.
I caution that contrary to intuition, the best science indicates early voting, in any form, tends to DECREASE turnout.
I support, only if modified. S.B.234.
This Friday I will be submitting three pieces of testimony on three more bills. The theme also applies to one of them.
