RIGHT TO VOTE—YOU CAN TAKE IT WITH YOU!
 

A Connecticut politician once said that when he died, he wanted to be buried in Waterbury, "because in that city the dead can still vote." It was supposed to be a joking reference to Waterbury's checkered political history, but recently a study by University of Connecticut journalism students revealed that in this state, when it comes to the right to vote, you apparently can take it with you to the grave.

The UConn study showed that since 1994 more than 300 dead people are recorded as having voted in various towns and elections across Connecticut. More than 8,500 people listed as deceased remain on the voter rolls, many long after their demise. In one town, 13 dead people were recorded as having voted a total of 38 times. What's going on?

Democratic Secretary of the State Susan Bysiewicz said her analysis of the data reveals no malice and no fraud. Instead, she said it appears that sloppy voter rolls and election day check-offs at the polls have resulted in the embarrassing post-mortem election activity.

Just to be sure, Bysiewicz has asked the State Elections Enforcement Commission to investigate the situation "to determine whether locally elected registrars of voters and town clerks failed to properly remove deceased voters from voter rolls."

She also issued an order requiring municipal officials to immediately provide registrars with death notices dating back for some time in an effort to cleanse the rolls. "The integrity of the voting process is paramount in Connecticut," Bysiewicz explained.

State elections officials will take their own action steps, by coordinating the state's centralized voter registration database with the state's consolidated master death file dating back to 1974. Results of that match-up will be sent to assist local registrars of voters and the Elections Enforcement Commission.

The law requires local registrars to conduct an annual canvass of voters, often by postcard or other methods to determine if persons listed as voters are still in town—and of course, alive. However, the UConn study strongly suggests effective canvass activities are not being used in every town.

Election day errors apparently occurred when polling place volunteers manning the voter rolls accidentally checked off people as having voted when they are dead and should not even be on the lists. UConn researchers believe many errors occurred because of confusion over similar names, but the Elections Enforcement Commission probe could determine if anyone involved in the election process, who had prior knowledge of dead people on the local rolls, took advantage of that information to commit vote fraud.

While Bysiewicz told reporters she believes carelessness is behind many of the problems with dead people on the voter rolls, she does not view the situation as insignificant.

She said she requested the Elections Enforcement Commission probe because "the issue raised suggests broad-scale violation of election laws by local officials." While the UConn study looked at voter rolls in 49 towns, Bysiewicz urges state investigators to check voter data in all of Connecticut's 169 towns.

Bysiewicz noted that 2008 is an important presidential election year that could produce a record turnout of voters. "It is absolutely critical that we have clean voter lists," said Bysiewicz. "Sloppiness will not be tolerated."

Now if the state investigation and follow-up action by local registrars clear up all the errors and produce accurate voter rolls and dead people still find a way to vote in Connecticut, who ya gonna call? Say it with me: "Ghostbusters!"

Posted 4/28/08

Comments or questions?  Contact us at  CTReport@crnradio.com

© Connecticut Radio Network