HARTFORD — A group of incorrect ballots were delivered to a Hartford polling location Tuesday morning, the moderator for that location confirmed to FOX 61.
The Rawson Elementary School on Holcomb Street was given some incorrect ballots when they opened at 6 a.m.
Merrill’s spokesman, Patrick Gallahue, says the wrong ballots were delivered to Rawson and voting went on for more than an hour before the problem was discovered. Gallahue says the ballots contained the wrong candidate for the state legislature and those votes will be discounted.
But, a polling moderator tells Katie Corrado that the error was caught and people trying to vote were able to get correct ballots and vote accurately. The issue was noticed when people tried to feed their ballots into the voting machine and the machine said “invalid.”
The majority of the ballots delivered to Rawson were accurate and the rest of voters were able to complete the process.
Here are some tools to help you navigate your way on Election Day:
Hotline:
Secretary Merrill has released the voter hotline with the State Elections Enforcement Commission. Members of the public should use the state’s 866-SEEC-INFO (1-866-733-2463) hotline or email elections@ct.gov if they encounter any irregularities at the polls. The hotline and email address will be monitored throughout the day by the State Elections Enforcement Commission and the Secretary of the State’s office.
Voter ID:
Secretary Merrill is also reminding voters to bring with them some form of identification when they cast a ballot. A driver’s license will suffice in all cases but if a voter does not have a government issued photo ID then a bank statement, utility bill, pay stub or other forms of identification are also acceptable. Voters should go online to see a complete list of acceptable forms of voter identification.
Secretary’s Legal Assistance Project:
Volunteer attorneys from the Connecticut Bar Association will be on call throughout the state to respond if asked by Merrill’s office. The designees will only be dispatched to a polling place if a particular problem is reported to the Secretary of the State’s office and Merrill determines it is necessary to receive independent confirmation. Designees have no authority in the polling place other than to observe the local administration of elections and report back to Merrill on the compliance with state and federal election laws. The volunteer attorneys have been trained in election administration by the Secretary of the State’s office, and have signed an agreement that they will not act in a partisan way on Election Day. In total, more than 100 Connecticut attorneys have volunteered to participate in the program, and are ready to serve in communities all over the state.
Election Day Registration:
People intending to register to vote on Election Day are being urged to go to the Election Day registration site early. Election Day Registration permits anyone to register and vote in person on Election Day who meets the eligibility requirements for voting in Connecticut and is not already registered, or is registered in one town but has moved to another town. Election Day registration is not available at your polling place, but is available at a designated Election Day registration location in each town, beginning at 6 a.m. and ending at 8 p.m. Please plan to arrive early in the day as there may be long lines. You must be registered by 8 p.m. in order to vote. You will need to provide proof of identity and residency. A list of Election Day registration sites is available here.
You can find your polling place, Election Day registration site, voter lookup tool and more here.
