Review of 169 municipal election websites shows election
information lacking, yet easily remedied
From the press release:
February 25, 2015. The Connecticut Citizen Election Audit released a study evaluating election information provided to voters in all 169 municipalities across Connecticut. Information was collected by volunteer evaluators in the days just prior to the 2014 November election.
Citizen Audit spokesperson Luther Weeks stated, “Many towns do not provide the information most sought by voters across Connecticut, such as ‘What is on the ballot’ or ‘Where do I vote?’. Many also failed to inform citizens of online registration, which could have saved citizens time and municipal expenses.”
Municipal website findings include:
- Only 28% answered, “What is on the ballot?”.
- Only 56% provided the “Date of the next election”.
- Only 64% answered “Where do I vote?”
- Only 15% posted results for their 2013 municipal election.
- Many with broken links and obviously outdated information
- Many with up-to-date event calendars and front page bulletins, listing current events, and Ebola preparations, that did not list election-day.
The report also includes recommendations to municipalities, the Secretary of the State, and a low-cost sample website for a whimsical town, http://NutmegtonCT.wordpress.com