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May 27, 2009
Supporters Say Fraud Unlikely In Election Day Registration
Wednesday May 27, 2009
During last night's marathon debate on Election Day registration, which passed the House, but not with enough support to override a potential veto down the road, Rep. James Spallone, D-Essex, the chief proponent, said states that have had Election Day registration for about 30 years, such as Wisconsin, Minnesota and Maine, have not had problems with fraud.
Under the Connecticut proposal, if a registrar suspects fraud, a vote would not be cast and the case would be brought to the State Elections Enforcement Commission, which could refer cases to the chief state’s attorney for prosecution.
Rep. Chris Caruso, D-Bridgeport, said the key is to increase participation. He noted that Hawaii recently experimented with telephone and computer voting. He called concerns about fraud “weak at best,” as a reason to oppose the bill.
“This legislation does what it has to do: it puts in the oversight that’s needed,” Caruso said. “I think the time for Election Day registration has come. What’s so wrong with the word convenient? We should make it more accessible.”
Rep. Andres Ayala Jr., D-Bridgeport, asked a half dozen pointed questions of Spallone and said he’s concerned about the validity of voters trying to sign up at the last minute and the strain on local voting officials.
“Elections in Bridgeport seem to be a full-contact sport in many incidents and one of my concerns is the registrars of voters will be used,” Ayala said, criticizing the lack of state resources included in the bill for implementation of the changes.
He detailed incidents on the days of presidential elections in Bridgeport City Hall that “the lines start from the town clerk’s office and they stretch to the opposite end of the building and often out of the building itself, which can create chaos.”
Rep. John W. Hetherington, R-New Canaan, said that lawmakers have to balance the integrity of the system with the issue of convenience.
“It seems to me that this measure goes to the direction of not having adequate safeguards,” Hetherington said. “Is there any indication that the vote is being suppressed? Why do we conclude that it needs to be easier to vote? I submit it doesn’t.”
“The last thing we need to do is foist additional mandates, unfunded, on our municipalities,” sasid Rep. David K. Labriola, R-Naugatuck. “I predict there will be a lot of problems with fraud and abuse.”
He said there seems little public interest in the issue. “Where’s the outcry?” Labriola asked. “It’s voter apathy that’s the problem.”
Rep. Livvy R. Floren, R-Greenwich, said the bill has evolved over the nine years she and other lawmakers have worked on it.
“In my opinion, the time for Election Day registration is today,” said Floren, who was the only Republican to vote for it.
Rep. Margaret Reeves, D-Wilton, said that the states with the top turnout rates have Election Day registration. “Yes, it’s a change and not every single registrar is going to like it,” Reeves said.
Rep. Emil Altobello, D-Meriden, said he believes that the legislation, if approved by the governor, could not take effect this year because state statutes indicate that towns and cities don’t have to adopt laws that create new fiscal mandates on municipalities unless they are signed into law within five months of a new local fiscal year.
Rep. Mary Ann Carson, R-New Fairfield, said she was worried about the logistics of enforcing the rules against campaigning within 75 feet of a polling place, given the small size of her hometown’s town hall.
“All in all I think this is very cumbersome,” she said, adding that registrars need more time to double check whether new voters had cast ballots elsewhere the same day. “We need to serve with integrity and I believe the integrity of the voting system would be better served if there were more time to make these checks.”
Democrats who voted against the legislation included Ayala, Rep. Terry Backer, D-Stratford, Rep. Barbara L. Lambert, D-Milford, Rep. Carlo Leone, D-Stamford and Rep. Joe Mioli, D-Westport.
Posted by Ken on May 27, 2009 10:28 AM
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