HARTFORD — Secretary of the State Stephanie Thomas has randomly selected 44 precincts from the November 5, 2024, Connecticut General Election to have their machine totals audited. There were also 15 alternates chosen in case the selected precincts cannot be audited for any reason.

“Connecticut’s post-election audits are essential to ensuring the integrity of the vote,” Thomas said November 12, the day of the selections. “I also want to thank our election officials and multiple partners who worked hard to ensure that our election was safe, secure and transparent.”

State law requires that five percent of all voting precincts, including central-count locations for absentee ballots or early voting ballots, have their machine totals audited following any election or primary as prescribed by Connecticut General Statutes 9-320f. There were 868 precincts used during Connecticut’s November General Election. The ballots from the audited precincts will be matched against the vote totals from the machines.

Upon completion, University of Connecticut and the Secretary of the State’s Office will analyze the audit results, after which they will be made available to the public.

Newtown’s District 2-6, whose voting takes place at Newtown High School, is one of the 44 locations.

Other locations are located in the following towns: Ashford, Berlin, Bethel, Branford, Clinton, Columbia, Cornwall, Danbury, Darien, East Haven, Ellington, two districts in Greenwich, Haddam, Hamden, two districts in Hartford, Killingly, Killingworth, Lebanon, Ledyard, Manchester, two districts in Middletown, Naugatuck, New Britain, New Fairfield, New Haven, North Haven, Plainville, Seymour, two districts in South Windsor, Southington, two districts in Stamford, Sterling, Stonington, Vernon, Washington, Waterbury, Weston, and Willington.

Alternate locations are in Ansonia, Bolton, two locations in Bridgeport, Durham, New Haven, two locations in Putnam, Seymour, Stafford, Stamford, Stonington, Waterford, West Hartford, and Wilton.

Election Update

A few days earlier, Thomas offered her gratitude toward all of the registrars, the town clerks, the moderators, the poll workers, and her team for all of their hours of extra work, extra training and their service to the voters of Connecticut.

Working in partnership with the Department of Emergency Services and Public Protection (DESPP), the Connecticut Intelligence Center (CTIC), the State Elections Enforcement Commission (SEEC) and many other local, state and federal partners, the election was kept safe and secure, she said November 8.

SEEC received over 700 tickets, 300 on election day alone. In fact, they received calls from Chicago after a news outlet there mistakenly shared their number. The few issues experienced in Connecticut were quickly resolved.

“I am proud to share that overall, we had a smooth election in Connecticut even with the addition of a 14-day first ever early voting period,” Thomas said. “60% of voters wanted early voting. They got it. And it’s been inspiring to see how well received and utilized it’s been.”

This year’s results appeared to come in slowly and can be attributed to several factors including:

*Over 740,000 Early Voting Ballots and over 122,000 Absentee Ballots could not be opened until election day. Those ballots must be fed one-by-one through the tabulator to be counted;

*Limited equipment and long Same Day Registration lines the evening of Tuesday, November 5, also played a roll; and

*Registrars must manually input three types of data — election results, voter statistics, and ballot question results — and that takes time.

“Many people do not realize the extensive work that goes into ensuring every vote is accounted for accurately,” said Thomas. “Our election process is structured to safeguard transparency, accuracy and security. While early voting has been a win for the public it has placed heavy demands on our election workforce.”

The Constitutional Amendment Ballot question easily passed. Thomas, who served in the legislature at the beginning of that effort, said it was “wonderful to see that the end result is greater access for Connecticut’s voters.

“I hope the legislature will work with us over the next year to study and create a holistic system of voting that works for Connecticut,” she added.