Most fail to provide information voters need to register and vote
Citizens must be better served and municipalities could save money
From the press release:
April 6, 2016: The Connecticut Citizen Election Audit released a study evaluating election information provided to voters by Connecticut’s 169 municipalities. Information was collected by volunteer evaluators just prior to the 2015 November election.
Citizen Audit spokesperson Luther Weeks stated, “Many towns do not provide the information most sought by voters across Connecticut, such as ‘What is on the ballot?’ or ‘Where do I vote?’. Many failed to inform citizens of online registration, which could increase registration and cut municipal expenses.”
Municipal website findings include:
- Only 33% answered “What is on the ballot?”
- Only 56% answered “Where do I vote?”
- Only 58% provided the date of the next election.
- Only 28% provided registration deadlines.
- 5 provided an incorrect election date.
- 2 provided incorrect registration information.
- 51% had no link to Online Registration. 28% had no link to Online Registration or to a Mail-In Registration form.
- Only 17% posted results of their 2014 election.
- Only 15% provided Voter ID information.
Weeks said, “The Secretary of the State’s web has much of this information, yet studies show that voters go first to their local web. Registration information is important for new voters, and all voters want the election date, ‘Who is on the ballot?’, ‘Where do I vote?’ and voter ID requirements.”
The report also includes recommendations to municipalities, the Secretary of the State, and a low-cost sample website for a whimsical town, http://NutmegtonCT.wordpress.com
<Press Release (.pdf)> <Full Report (.pdf)>
