| Frequently Asked Questions |
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| Has this been done
before? |
| This is the second time for
Connecticut. In the fall of 2007, fifty-one
volunteers observed thirty-one audits across
Connecticut. Similar programs have been done
is Minnesota and California. We have benefited
by the generous sharing of materials from a program
conducted by the Citizens for Election Integrity
Minnesota and the League of Women Voters of Minnesota. |
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| Should I signup online,
by fax, or mail? |
| If at all possible sign up
online. It will save us time and make sure
your data is entered correctly. With an e-mail
address we will be able to keep you updated more
efficiently. If you cannot signup online, fax
is much faster than mail since the audits dates are
approaching rapidly. |
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| What are the benefits to
observers? |
| Past programs indicate the
greatest benefit is the opportunity to participate
democracy and the election process.
Participants will gain a greater appreciation for
the election process and the work of election staff.
You will also have the feelings of pride from
contribution to assuring election integrity in
Connecticut. |
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| How are the
municipalities and districts to be audited selected? |
| After the election, the Secretary
of the State will hold a public random drawing to
select 10% of the districts in the election to be
audited. Many towns will not have districts
selected. Larger towns may have three or four
districts selected. We expect that forty to fifty
municipalities will be selected -- the random
drawing to determine the actual number. |
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| When and where will the audits be
conducted? |
| The Registrars in each
municipality decide the date, time, and place of the
audit. This year, by law, the audits must be
conducted between Wednesday February 20 through late
February or early March. The
coalition will will work with the Secretary of the
State's office and the registrars to determine the
dates, times, and locations of the audits. |
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| Why can't I attend the
audit in my own city/town? |
| All audits are open to the
public, so you can certainly attend the audit in
your town if you are are available and your town is
selected. The coalition's goal is to have at
least two observers attend each audit that are not
residents of the municipality being audited, to add a to the objectivity and perception of
objectivity to the feedback obtained. Remember most
towns will not be selected for audit. |
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| How long will the audits
last? |
| The audits will vary in length.
It depends primarily in this election on the number
of votes to be counted in each municipality and the
number of election officials. We are requesting
that volunteers commit to be available for at least
one day. The sign-up form asks you to list
dates when you can be available - the more dates you
specify the more likely we will be able to provide
the opportunity for you to participate and the more
of the audits we will be able to observe. |
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| What time commitment is
expected of volunteers? |
| We are asking volunteers to
commit to being at one audit and
to call in to one one-hour conference call training.
When you sign up, you tell us which days you will
agree to be available to participate in the audit.
We also ask how far from your residence you are
willing to drive to observe an audit. Expect
audits to last from five to eight hours from the
time they start. Please provide dates when you
can be available 9:00am to 9:00pm. |
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| When will I find out my
assignment? |
| Our goal is to have all the
dates, times, and locations of the audits as soon as
we can. Although the audits are public, there
are no advanced notice requirements in the law. We
will be asking the registrars involved to provide
dates well in advance of the audits. |
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| When will the training be
held and when will I receive the Observer's Kit? |
We are planning several one hour
conference call training sessions between February
13th and February 19th, some will be during the day
and some in the evening - you will not need a
reservation, just call into one of the sessions.
The Observer's Kit will contain an audit report form
with instructions, a copy of the code of conduct,
and a copy of the official audit procedures.
We will finalize and make the kit available shortly
after the audit procedures are released by the
Secretary of the State's Office. We will also
be mailing name badges to observers to arrive by
February 19th. |
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