<Full Report (.pdf)> <Press Release> <Backup Data>
Citizen Study Finds State Audit Flawed From the Start
Post-Election Audit Flawed from the Start by Inaccurate List of Election Districts
Based on concerns with the integrity of the random drawing in previous elections, the Coalition initiated a project to thoroughly check the integrity of the list of districts in the drawing for the November 2013 election.
Coalition spokesperson Luther Weeks noted, “The credibility of our elections depends on the integrity of the Post-Election Audits. The integrity of the audits in-turn depends on the integrity of the drawing.”
The report found,
- Fewer discrepancies in the random drawing list than were found in November 2012 and efforts by the Secretary of the State’s Office to improve the accuracy of the list.
- Seventeen (17) voting districts missing from the drawing list or recanvass list. The selection of two (2) fewer districts for audit than required by law.
- The audit law calling for the random selection and auditing of 10% of voting districts is not being faithfully executed, leaving the integrity and credibility of the audit and our election system open to question and expose it to the potential of future manipulation.
- The law intended to fix past problems is not being followed. — A failure rate of 67
- Fully complying with the law is complicated by the loose definition of voting district in the law.
Tom Swan, Executive Direction, Connecticut Citizen Action Group, added, “These problems can be fixed. The report includes recommendations to the Legislature and Officials for effective and efficient ways to provide accurate lists, and remedies when errors occur.”
Cheri Quickmire, Executive Director, Connecticut Common Cause, said “We look forward to working with the Secretary of the State’s Office to assist in choosing effective remedies to result in an accurate random drawing.”
