0 Connecticut Citizen Election A

0	*Connecticut Citizen Election Audit Coalition*
0		0		0

Coalition Report Feb 5, 2008 Presidential Primary:

Connecticut Citizens Post-Election
Audit Observation Report 4/3/2008

The Report <read .pdf>

From the Press Release and Summary:

Coalition Releases 2^nd Post-Election Audit Report:
Procedures Alone Insufficient For Effective Election Audits

Coalition report on post-presidential-primary audits finds inadequate adherence to procedures and recommends additional changes in the law.

We report the good news that procedures have been significantly improved and that discrepancies noted in the counts in February post election audit were much lower than November. We are also pleased to report that, for the most part, registrars fully supported the portion of the procedures providing significantly improved observation opportunities for observers. These procedures allowed us to visually verify that ballots were being counted accurately and totals reported were accurately accumulated from those counts.

Unfortunately, now that procedures have been improved, the audit observations have exposed the lack of understanding of those procedures, lack of understanding of the principles behind the procedures, lack of attention to those procedures, and apparent lack of ability for election officials to follow those procedures.

The February audit observations leave us with the information necessary to vouch for the accuracy of the hand-counting results we observed. However, many of the audits, as observed, leave us uncertain as to whether an error or fraud would have been detected in an audited race where we were not present to observe. We also question the security of the chain of custody to protect the integrity of ballots before the audits and to protect the integrity of ballots and tabulators after the audits such that further audits and investigations could effectively be performed.

Coalition Report Nov 6, 2007 Election:

Connecticut Citizens Post-Election
Audit Observation Report 1/16/2008

The Report <read .pdf>

Statistics Summary <read .pdf>

Statistics Detail Data <view .xls>

(Note: The statistics detail is an Excel spreadsheet
with multiple worksheets. We have seen
problems viewing it with some browsers.)

From the Press Release:

Coalition Says Changes Needed in Election Audits

Four good government groups have proposed 18 recommendations to improve the state’s post-election audit process to assure the integrity of the vote in Connecticut.

Hartford, Connecticut -- Today the Connecticut Citizen Election Audit Coalition recommended 18 steps to a more effective and meaningful post-election audit process for all future elections in the state. The group’s report summarized the observations of more than 50 impartial citizen observers at 31 state-mandated post-election audits conducted by local officials following November’s municipal elections. Observers came from the membership ranks of the coalition partners—the League of Women Voters of Connecticut, Common Cause Connecticut, the Connecticut Citizen Action Group, and CTVotersCount.

Coalition spokesperson Luther Weeks noted, “Many of the audits, as observed, leave us uncertain as to whether an error or fraud would have been detected in an audited race in this election. More rigorous controls and consistency in manual counting procedures are needed throughout the state, along with follow-up investigations to explain variations in the tallies to attribute discrepancies either to machine or to human error. ”

League Vice President Cheryl Dunson stated that, “in light of the growing use of electronic voting technology throughout the country, elections officials and good government groups are re-examining their election operations. The coalition recommends that the Secretary of the State provide local elections officials with specific directions for auditing and reporting, make a full public report of all post-election audit results, and establish clear criteria for further investigation of audit discrepancies”. The group urged state elections officials to seek out national efforts on “best practices” for conducting audits and ensuring maximum transparency in the audit process.