Random Audit Drawing – First to use 10-sided die, rather than barrel

After several years of our asking, Secretary Thomas uses 10-sided die for drawing. This is much more fair, transparent, and random than drawing slips from a barrel. The Secretary gets our applause for this change.

Here are the districts chosen, from the Press Release:

List of polling places to be audited: 

  • Killingly—District 5 – Board of Education Central Office Cafeteria
  • Norwalk – District 1-3 – Kendall School
  • Fairfield – District 133-5 – Fairfield Warde High School
  • Thompson—District 1 – Thompson Library, Louis P Faucher Comm. Ctr
  • East Haven – District 4 – Overbrook School
  • Goshen – District 1 – Camp Cochipianee
  • Trumbull – District 5 – Frenchtown School
  • Greenwich – District 10 – Glenville School
  • Waterbury – District 4-1 – Chase School Gym
  • Wallingford – District 9 – Park and Recreation Department
  • Norwich – Precinct 6 – AHEPA – 110 Community Room
  • Norwalk – District 2-1 – S. Norwalk School/Columbus School
  • New Fairfield – District 2 – New Fairfield Senior Center
  • Southington – District 4 – Kennedy School
  • Stamford – District 915 – Dolan Middle School
  • Bridgeport – Absentee Ballot Counting – Margaret Morton Government Center
  • Bristol – Absentee Ballot Counting – Bristol City Hall, Room G-1
  • Wolcott – Absentee Ballot Counting – Wolcott Town Hall
  • Wallingford – District 4 – Dag Hammarskjold Middle School
  • Torrington – District 2 – Coe Park
  • Waterbury – District 3-5 – Carrington School Gym
  • Waterbury— Absentee Ballot Counting – Waterbury City Hall, Cass Gilbert Conference Room
  • Putnam – District 2 – Town Hall Municipal Complex
  • Waterbury – District 1-1 – Kennedy High School Gym
  • Wallingford – District 1 – Pond Hill School
  • Pomfret – District 1 – Pomfret Community School
  • North Canaan – District 1 – Town Hall McCarthy Room
  • Stratford – District 1 – Lordship School
  • Wallingford – District 8 – Wallingford Senior Center
  • Darien – District 1-1 – Municipal Building
  • New Britain – District 7 – School Apartments
  • Wallingford – Absentee Ballot Counting — Town Hall, Room 315
  • Windsor – District 4 – Windsor Town Hall
  • Washington – District 1 – Town Hall, Main Hall
  • Bridgeport – District 132-2 – Bassick High School
  • New Canaan – Absentee Ballot Counting – Town Hall, Second Floor, Meeting Room
  • Newtown – District 3-6 — Reed Intermediate School Cafetorium
  • West Hartford – District 3 – West Hartford Town Hall Auditorium
  • East Haven – Absentee Ballot Counting – East Haven Town Hall

Alternates: 

  • Suffield – District 1 – Suffield Middle School
  • Coventry – Absentee Ballot Counting- Coventry Town Hall Conference Room
  • Beacon Falls – District 1 – Laurel Ledge School
  • Guilford – District 2 – Abraham Baldwin School
  • Trumbull – District 6 – Middlebrook School
  • Westport – District 2 – Saugatuck Elementary School
  • Danbury – District 5 – War Memorial
  • Bethel- District 1 – Bethel Municipal Center
  • Griswold – District 1 – Griswold High School
  • Coventry – District 2 – Coventry High School
  • Bridgeport – District 134-2- Blackham School
  • West Hartford – District 4-2 – Charter Oak International Academy – Gym
  • Plainville- District 2 – Our Lady of Mercy Parish
  • Cornwall – District 1 – Town Hall
  • Manchester – AB Counting- Manchester Town Hall

This time there were a number of medium and large cities with recanvasses, exempt from the audit. So a higher percentage were chosen from the remaining towns. Also we believe Fairfield is exempt based on a highly publicized recanvass, so at least Suffield will be added from the alternates: <read>

 

About the Citizen Audit

 The Purpose of the Citizen Audit is to increase integrity and confidence in elections, for the benefit of the voters of Connecticut. We provide independent audits, audit observations, and reports focusing on the integrity of elections and election administration. <More about the Citizen Audit>

Voters
Want
To Know:

 

 

 

You can Help Provide Answers!
Volunteer one day as a Post-Election Audit Observer.

The Connecticut Citizen Election Audit coordinates volunteers, like you, to observe the state’s post-election audit of voting machines. Non-partisan volunteers go “behind the scenes” with a checklist of best practices and interview questions. They gather information which is compiled into reports submitted to the public, election officials, and the Legislature.

  • Who can volunteer? Anyone. You, for example!
  • Where? Throughout the State of Connecticut.
  • When? Generally within the 2nd to 3th weeks following an election.
  • How? Email: Update’at”CTElectionAudit.org

Why Volunteer?
For good Government, to preserve our right to a free and accurate vote!

See the Results of Our Efforts In the Audit Reports Posted at <https://CTElectionAudit.org>

Nov 2022 Post-Election Audit Report

From the Press Release:

Watchdog Group: 24 Audits Since 2007 with Little Improvement

Independent Observation and Analysis of Connecticut’s Nov 2022 Post-Election Audit

HARTFORD: We conclude, based on citizen observations and analysis of official municipal post-election vote audit of the November 2022 election, that it failed to meet basic audit standards

After 16 years with disappointing, locally performed, hand-count audits, we recommend replacement of all local hand-count audits with sufficient and efficient electronically assisted manual audits utilizing the UConn Audit Station.

The non-partisan Connecticut Citizen Election Audit has provided volunteer observation and post-election audit reports since the adoption of optical scanners statewide in 2007. Without the hours and mileage incurred by these volunteers after every election nobody but a few election officials would know the actual quality of the audits performed, while officials would have less motivation toward credible audits.

  • The audits were not conducted and reported as required by law. The Secretary of the State’s Office continues to fail to take responsibility for that failure by local officials.
  • Human error was still considered an acceptable explanation of differences between machine and manual counts. This defeats the purpose of the audits.
  • Weaknesses in ballot chain-of-custody and security procedures necessary for confidence that ballots were not tampered with between the election and the municipal audit counting sessions.
  • The short schedule for audits and dates for electronic audits not announced sufficiently in advance cause both registrars and the Citizen Audit to scramble to conduct and observe audits – they should be added to the annual election calendar months in advance.
  • There were at least three municipalities with new registrars, neither of which had previously performed audits. This resulted in various failures to follow procedures and in one case failure to allow transparency required by the procedures.

The public, candidates, and the Secretary of the State should expect local election officials to be able to organize audits and produce accurate, complete audit reports. The public should expect the Secretary of the State’s Office to take the lead in ensuring that the audit is scheduled in advance, complete, and publicly verifiable.

We are pleased with the following developments:

  • Electronic audits again included random manual verification comparing some paper ballots to Cast Vote Records produced by the audit station.
  • There was a significant reduction in incomplete forms.

We emphasize that this report does not question any election official’s integrity.

All reports and backup data are available online at: https://www.CTElectionAudit.org.

<Press Release .pdf> <Full Report pdf> <Detail data/municipal reports>

Random Drawing of Districts for November 2022 Post-election Audit

On Thursday Secretary of the State Mark Kohler led the drawing of districts for audit.

Here is a list of the selected districts <press release>

Nov 2021 Post-Election Audit Report

From the Press Release:

Watchdog Group: Time to Change Post-Election Audit

Independent Observation and Analysis of Connecticut’s 2022 Post-Election Audit

HARTFORD: We conclude, based on citizen observations and analysis of official municipal post-election vote audit of the November 2022 election, that it failed to meet basic audit standards. Again, the Secretary of the State’s Office failed to require local officials to conduct the audit according to law and published procedures. As a result, voters cannot have confidence in the accuracy of election results when 41% of official audit reports from registrars were incomplete.

After 15 years with disappointing, locally performed, hand-count audits, we recommend replacement of all local hand-count audits with sufficient and efficient electronically assisted manual audits utilizing the UConn Audit Station.

We are pleased that officials made progress in the following area:

  • The UConn Audit Station made progress in counting creased, folded, and colored ballots. In that regard the technology is quite mature.

Yet long-standing problems continue:

  • 38% of official audit reports from registrars were incomplete. Several were insufficient to determine the results of the audit.
  • Weaknesses in ballot chain-of-custody and security procedures remain. Ballot security is necessary for confidence that ballots were not tampered with between the election and the municipal audit counting sessions.
  • 9 districts attributed differences in vote and ballot counts to Human Error. A large increase from the 2 we reported in 2019.
  • Despite progress in 2019 and 2020 in verifiability of the electronic audits, in 2021 those audits eliminated comparing samples of paper ballots to Cast Vote Records.

“After 15 years of post-election audits, the public should expect that officials would have learned how to get it right”, said Luther Weeks, Executive Director of the Citizen Audit, adding “We recommend that using the UConn Audit Station for audits could be an better alternative to hand-count audits which many local officials continue to resist.”

The non-partisan Connecticut Citizen Election Audit has provided volunteer observation and post-election audit reports since the adoption of optical scanners statewide in 2007.

All reports and backup data are available online at: http://www.CTElectionAudit.org.

<Press Release .pdf> <Full Report pdf> <Detail data/municipal reports>

Risk Limiting Audit Prototype Observation Report

Summary Recommendations

  • We recommend that RLAs be performed, at a minimum, for the top statewide race (Governor or Presidential Electors) and the closest margin statewide contest not otherwise subject to recanvass.
  • We recommend that all statewide contests and congressional races, not recanvassed, be counted on each ballot selected for audit with RLA statistics calculated for each of those contests.
  • We question if sufficient RLAs can feasibly be performed in Connecticut, unless and until the certification deadline is changed in law and the Connecticut Constitution. We question if RLAs should be performed without equipment that can add unique identifiers to ballots when they are initially scanned in polling places and when they are centrally counted.

Full Report <.pdf>

 

November 2021 Post-Election Audit Random Drawing

The drawing was held on Wednesday 11/16. 33 polling places and 2 central count absentee ballot locations were selected.

September 2021 Primary Audit Drawing

This year’s drawing was different. Based on the law passed this year it finally included centrally counted absentee ballots, an item we have been requesting since 2008. We thank Secretary Merrill for initiating the change this year. Better late than never!

November Election 2020 Audit Drawing

Yesterday we observed the Post-Election Audit Drawing by the Secretary of the State Denise Merrill. 38 districts in 31 municipalities will be audited by no later than December 4, 2020.
The Secretary’s Office is offering electronic auditing to municipalities, subject to scheduling limitations. Official Press Release <read>

September Primary 2020 Audit Random Drawing

Last week we observed the Post-Election Audit Drawing:

 

 

 

Press Release:

Primary Results to be Audited at Selected Polling Locations

A hand count of ballots from five percent of all polling places that use optical scanners to be matched against machine totals, which will affirm the integrity of the vote

HARTFORD- Secretary of the State Denise Merrill randomly selected voting precincts to have primary results audited following the August 11 primary. Five percent of the polling places that use optical scan machines are subject to the audit, as prescribed by Connecticut General Statutes 9-320f. Those hand counted ballots will be matched against vote totals from optical scan machines.

Secretary Merrill said, “Connecticut’s post-primary and post-election audits are essential to ensuring the integrity of the vote. I am grateful to the local election officials who continue to carry out this process in a transparent, professional manner.”

There were 585 polling locations that used optical scan machines on August 11 so the Secretary of the State chose thirty primary and five alternate locations. The results of audits will be analyzed by the University of Connecticut, the Secretary of the State’s Office and the State Elections Enforcement Commission, and then be made available to the public. Connecticut boasts one of the strictest audit statutes in the country and was the first state in New England to require a comprehensive audit of primary results.

List of races to be audited:

  • The races to be audited will be selected locally by the Town Clerk.

List of polling places to be audited:

  • Norwalk- Columbus School
  • New Haven- Ross/Woodward
  • Newington- Elizabeth Green School
  • Darien- District 3- Noroton Heights Fire Department
  • Simsbury- Latimer Lane School
  • Stamford- Domus- The Old Rogers School
  • Middletown- Wesley School – District 9
  • New Haven- King-Robinson School
  • Middletown- Snow School – District 8
  • Darien- District 4- Hindley School
  • North Branford- Stanley T. Williams School
  • Hartford- South End Senior Wellness Center
  • New Britain- Roosevelt Middle School
  • Middlebury- Shepardson Community Center 002
  • Bethel- Stony Hill Fire House -2
  • Bridgeport- Bassick High School
  • Meriden- St. Rose Community Center
  • Hamden- Ridge Hill School
  • Southington- Oshana Elementary School
  • Branford- St. Therese Church Hall (Orchard House)
  • New Hartford- New Hartford Town Hall
  • Middletown- South District Firehouse- District 10
  • Middletown- Bielefield School (Woodrow Wilson Middle School) District 11
  • New Britain- Chamberlain School
  • Bridgeport- Thomas Hooker School
  • Wallingford- Dag Hammarskjold Middle School
  • Middlefield- Community Center Room 2
  • Danbury- Westside Middle School
  • Avon- Firehouse Co #1
  • North Haven- Montowese Elementary School

Alternates:

  • New Haven- Brennan Rogers (Clarence Rogers School 01)
  • Newington- Anna Reynolds School
  • Kent- Town Hall
  • Shelton- Mohegan School
  • Bristol- West Bristol School

###

Gina Atanasoff
Press Secretary
Connecticut Secretary of the State Denise Merrill