Courant article on Merrill/Blumenthal press conference raises concerns.

In today’s Hartford Courant a report on yesterday’s press conference: Absentee ballot process smooth so far – Blumenthal wants more election funding <read>

Gabe Rosenberg, a spokesman for Merrill, said the $45 million in additional funding would go toward new voting machines, new tabulators, more ballot boxes, voter education and enhanced cybersecurity. He said the funds, if distributed promptly, could ease a potentially chaotic Election Day in November.“It’s going to take along time to count because we don’t have high-speed ballot counters,” Rosenberg said. “That’s something we could buy with that kind of money.”…

As for the security of the new ballot boxes, Merrill said the receptacles were no less secure than a typical mailbox.“Just think of this as a mailbox,” she said. “The usual way you send back your ballot for 100 years is you send it back in the mail. This is just a fancy mailbox, and it’s here for a reason, because many town halls are still not open for business all the time.”

A crisis in nothing to waste, yet spending $45 million between now and November seems a bit excessive, especially when everything is complicated by COVID-19.

[read post] | By on July 14, 2020 - CT, Mail/Absentee Voting, Our Editorials, Post-Election Audits

4th of July Suggestion

As we often do, a suggested reading for the 4th of July weekend.  Today it seems the Constitution is under assault from all sides, with an administration assaulting the rule of law and civil rights advocates identifying its fundamental flaws. Lets refresh ourselves on our purer, more basic rights.

This weekend is a great time to [re-]read the Declaration of Independence. We find it very inspiring to read it sometime around the 4th of July each year.  As we have discussed before, some believe that the right to vote is more fundamental than the Constitution. Here is a link to a copy for your reading <Declaration of Independence>

The Declaration of Independence asserts our rights to determine and change our form of government – without voting integrity we lose that most fundamental of rights.

“The right to vote… is the primary right by which other rights are protected” – Thomas Paine

[read post] | By on July 4, 2020 - National

Comments on new Federal Voting Systems Guidelines

Last week I submitted comments for the State Audit Working Group on the proposed (Voluntary Voting Systems Guidelines) VVSG 2.0 standards which will define future voting system standards. Looking over all the submissions, ours were likely the most extensive detailed comments submitted. In total our submission was about three hundred and fifty pages!

By far the largest number of comments were from disability rights groups and individuals supporting their positions, many redundant. Access for the disabled is one of the most controversial and critical issues.

There are other issues with the proposed guidelines. The proposal is a far from a finished product, with wide-ranging comments. It will be a huge task to complete them, far more challenging to complete well.

[read post] | By on June 29, 2020 - National, Our Editorials, Reports

Block Chain Fantasy…Chained for good!

We told you so.  And now it is final, from the Hartford Courant: With $400M Fintech Village apparently dead, West Hartford Town Council prepares to move on; 

Aug 2019:  West Hartford Scam Playing Out As We Predicted 

[read post] | By on June 25, 2020 - Blockchain, CT

Chickens come home to roost for Stratford Registrar

Last year there were hearings on a close election debacle in Stratford. It looked from the hearings that the registrars and moderator messed up and tried to look good before the General Assembly.  In the end the General Assembly deadlocked and apparently there were no consequences for the Registrars. (See Deadlocked Committee on Contested Elections passes ball to whole House) The House never considered or acted on the deadlocked Committee’s recommendations.

Yet now we learn that the Democratic Town Committee did not endorse the incumbent registrar. (See: CTPost Article which did not mention this past history):

The Demoratic (sic) Town Committee snubbed the party’s incumbent registrar of voters during an endorsement meeting Wednesday, lining up a possible primary in the race.

[read post] | By on May 25, 2020 - CT, CT Skulduggery and Errors

Editorial: Update on Expanded Mail-In for CT and Proposals in D.C.

I am normally opposed to expanded mail-in voting in CT because of proven continuous and recent votING fraud by campaigns and insiders in CT (Which is distinct from votER fraud which for all practical purposes does not exist). Yet in this virus situation, I am in favor of no-excuse mail in voting.

Bottom line: If the state can legally do anything it would be best to leave all current systems in place and hire lots of people to do absentee processing and hope each of the 169 clerks and 338 registrars are up to the jobs of hiring, planning, training, organizing and executing (questionable at best given the years of experience with, never cured, Electoin Day Registration lines in some towns).

[read post] | By on April 25, 2020 - CT, Mail/Absentee Voting, National, Our Editorials

Rant Against Congress’s Plans to Rescue the Election

Both the US House and Senate have proposals to improve our elections in the age COVID-19.  They are huge and dangerous, impossible to implement in Connecticut and many other states by November.

Instead of our usual format here, I will cover them by rants I have posted as comments on Facebook over the last two days. They are just to complex and out of touch with reality to comer in a neat and organized, point by point way.

[read post] | By on March 26, 2020 - CT, CT Law, Mail/Absentee Voting, National, Our Editorials

The challenges of elections in the age of COVID-19

Secretary of the State Denise Merrill has called on Governor Lamont to use emergency posters to expand Absentee Voting.
From CTNewsJunkie  Merrill Calls On Lamont To Allow Absentee Voting For Presidential Primary <read>

This will be complex and expensive. So is operating a safe polling place.

[read post] | By on March 14, 2020 - CT Law, Our Editorials

Testimony on three bills

Last Friday, provided testimony on three bills. As I said in my prepared remarks:

I oppose  S.B.365. As I testified last Friday, we humans have difficulty balancing risks and rewards. This is a case where the added risks outweigh the added convenience.

This bill, while well intended, would remove the valuable fraud detection mechanism of hand-signed absentee ballot applications.

I support  H.B.5414. The bill would have the Judiciary rather than the House or Senate rule on remedies to contested elections

The overall result of systems to adjudicate close elections, as our current system for Senator and Representative, is less trust in the system by the public and candidates.

I would support H.B.5404, IF it were Broadened and Corrected.

My written testimony contains a laundry list of issues such a Task Force should address.

I am concerned that this Task Force needs more time, a significant staff budget to handle all the issues, and also to reimburse experts to provide information, analysis, and suggestions to the committee, in order for there to be a thorough evaluation.

[read post] | By on March 8, 2020 - CT Law, Legislature 2020, Mail/Absentee Voting

Four pieces of testimony on five bills

Last Friday, provided five pieces of testimony on six 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.

This Friday I will be submitting three pieces of testimony on three more bills. The theme also applies to one of them.

[read post] | By on March 3, 2020 - CT Law, Legislature 2020, Mail/Absentee Voting