West Hartford Selected for Election Results Audit

In a random drawing of all the precincts that took part in the Nov. 5 election, West Hartford was selected to have two of its totals audited. 

The precincts - King Philip School District 1 - and Bristow Middle School District 2 (named an alternate precinct) will have their votes hand counted to ensure the integrity of the voting results, which were machine tabulated.

 “Now that the votes are counted and the recounts complete, we now must take the step of auditing the machine totals from Election Day to ensure the accuracy of our optical scanners,” said Denise Merrill, Connecticut secretary of the state in a press release.

The audits, commanded by state statute, must take place between Nov. 20 and Dec. 13, in 73 precincts. The Town Clerk of each community selected for an audit will choose three local races for the audit. 

The state's election law, which Merrill heralds as the toughest in the nation, details the process:

“The manual audit… shall consist of the manual tabulation of the paper ballots cast and counted by each voting machine subject to such audit. Once complete, the vote totals established pursuant to the manual tabulation shall be compared to the results reported by the voting machine on the day of the election or primary. The results of the manual tabulation shall be reported on a form prescribed by the Secretary of the State which shall include the total number of ballots counted, the total votes received by each candidate in question, the total votes received by each candidate in question on ballots that were properly completed by each voter and the total votes received by each candidate in question on ballots that were not properly completed by each voter. Such report shall be filed with the Secretary of the State who shall immediately forward such report to The University of Connecticut for analysis. The University of Connecticut shall file a written report with the Secretary of the State regarding such analysis that describes any discrepancies identified. After receipt of such report, the Secretary of the State shall file such report with the State Elections Enforcement Commission.”