Following a disastrous 2014 election day in Hartford when voters were turned away from the polls, state lawmakers have tried to introduce various fixes to the system. And one of them died Monday afternoon.
The bill was introduced by Hartford State Representative Matt Ritter. His bill would allow towns and cities to choose to appoint just one registrar of voters. Current law calls for two. The change would not be mandatory, and it would have to be included in the municipality's charter.
"Let the Hartford voters decide," Ritter said. "And if the Hartford voters say, you know, in our town, we think one non-partisan trained registrar is better for us, then let that will be enacted."
The bill passed unanimously out of one legislative committee. But it then landed in another -- judiciary. That committee is chaired by Hartford state Sen. Eric Coleman. He opposes the bill because it would concentrate too much power in one person.
"I think there's always some effort to drive an advantage in politics," Coleman said. "And, if you make a single registrar, by appointment, then I think that person is susceptible to certain pressures and influences from the people who are responsible for appointing."
Coleman's brother is an appointed deputy registrar of voters in the city -- though both he and Ritter say this bill would not have affected him.
Meanwhile, attorneys for the city's registrars were in court again Monday trying to get a state court judge to stop the city council from trying to remove them. That judge is expected to issue a ruling Tuesday afternoon.
