From Connecticut Secretary of the State Denise Merrill:
Secretary of the State Denise Merrill announced today that her office will once again be opening the election hotline in coordination with the State Elections Enforcement Commission (SEEC) to respond to potential problems at the polls for the upcoming state and federal primaries on Tuesday August 14, 2012. To report Primary Day issues or concerns dial 1-866-SEEC-INFO (1-866-733-2463) or send an email to elections@ct.gov. Both the hotline and email alert will be monitored throughout the day by staff from both agencies.
“Though we do not expect any issues, our offices are prepared to address concerns should anything arise on Primary Day,” said Secretary Merrill, Connecticut’s chief elections official. “Voters have multiple ways to contact our offices should there be any problems this Tuesday with the state and federal primaries. I encourage voters to contact us through e-mail or call our offices from their mobile devices or land line if there are any problems to report. Through our combined efforts and resources, my office and the State Elections Enforcement Commission should be able to immediately respond to any situation.”
Voters who utilize the hotline or email may report concerns anonymously, but are asked to state the town and polling place where the incident occurred and provide as many details as possible. This will assist SEEC and the Secretary of the State’s staff address the problem and find a solution as quickly as possible. In addition to the email and telephone hotline, the Secretary of the State’s office and SEEC will hold three separate conference calls during the day on Tuesday to share information about potential problems or complaints at the polls, and coordinate the appropriate responses.
Secretary Merrill today unveiled a new, free Google polling place locator app that can be easily accessed on the www.sots.ct.gov homepage. To use the online app, citizens can type in their address and find where their polling location is, a map detailing its distance from their home and directions to the location.
“This is another great example of technology making it easier than ever to take part in the democratic process,” said Secretary Merrill. “By providing this free service to anyone with Internet accessibility, I hope many voters take advantage of easily finding their polling location and go out and vote!”
This app has been made possible through Connecticut’s partnership with the Pew Center on the States’ Voting Information Project (VIP), a service that uses the latest technology to help voters easily find the information they need to cast a ballot. Through VIP and their partnering with technology companies like Google and Microsoft, Connecticut voters will now have an accessible tool to help them navigate the upcoming election. For more information about this program please visit votinginfoproject.org.
Secretary Merrill encourages everyone to visit www.sots.ct. gov to learn how to register to vote, find polling locations and view candidate lists. Only registered Democrats and Republicans can cast a ballot in the primary. Eligible voters have until 12:00 p.m. today August 13th to register to vote and unaffiliated voters face that same deadline to enroll with a major party. Polls will be open from 6:00 a.m. until 8:00 p.m. on August 14th, 2012.
*** Here’s a problem for you SEEC, and primary day is not even here yet! Widespread AB fraud in Bpt across the board, pick a candidate, run a routine AB check. Actual active voter turnout projection tomorrow 18% to 20%. Like Murphy, it’s “work in progress,” no? *** FORGETABOUTIT ***
Thank you Denise Merrill. You took your happy pill and all is well in OZ. Are you kidding me??? Report our problems on primary day? Where have you been on ABs? Not like you don’t have friends in Bridgeport who can tell you how it works … not like there haven’t been dozens of calls asking for some kind of intervention. Americo Santiago and Lydia Martinez are the Prom King and Queen of ABs. Don’t you maybe think this is something besides a corsage and tiara? Like maybe fraud the SOS should pursue with the SEE? Or tell you what, do nothing but issue bulletins … special. Just don’t rue the day with the rest of us.
The first link on the SOS web page is not really a polling place look up … it checks voter registration info and tells you where to vote.
The mapping app sort of works. For some strange reason, Google does not recognize my address (but the Post Office does!) and therefore cannot tell me where to vote.
As is so often true, inadequate, dependent on others and no way to correct errors.
Oh well. Watching from afar.