Gov. Malloy's lawyer, Bill Bloss, said Hartford had systemic problems at as many as 15 polling places.
A Connecticut judge ordered two Hartford polling places to stay open a half hour late until 8:30 pm on Tuesday because of Election Day problems, which Democratic Governor Dannel Malloy's campaign said deprived people of their right to vote.
The two polling places staying open slightly longer are Batchelder School on New Britain Avenue, and United Methodist Church on Farmington Avenue.
Malloy's campaign said several polling stations in Hartford failed to open on time at 6:00 am Tuesday because voter registration lists weren't ready as required, prompting many people to leave without voting, and causing delays of up to 90 minutes for those who stayed.
A lawyer for Malloy's Republican opponent, Tom Foley, argued there was no evidence anyone was prevented from voting and the polls should close at 8:00 pm as required. Polling showed Malloy and Foley in a tight race and both campaigns focused much attention on urban voters.
Malloy was one of the people affected, and said some people weren't able to vote. His lawyer, Bill Bloss, said Hartford had systemic problems at as many as 15 polling places. He asked a judge to keep polls in the city open until 9:00 pm, an extra hour.
"Cases like this don’t make for great litigation, because people are trying to run an election," Bloss said. "They’re trying to get people into the polls, and you’re trying to prove a case at the same time that you’re trying to allow people to vote. For us to have offered more evidence as to those other 12 polling places, we would’ve had to have pulled in the moderators to actually testify, and that’s just not fair to the city of Hartford."
In a statement, Secretary of the State Denise Merrill said Judge Schuman asked her office to investigate the circumstances surrounding why voter lists were not distributed to all Hartford polling precincts prior to polls opening for the general election today at 6:00 am.
"The bottom line is that every single voter in Hartford who is eligible to vote today and wants to cast a ballot will get to vote, no matter what," Merrill said. "The situation in Hartford this morning was absolutely unacceptable. Voters in Connecticut rightly expect that when they go to their polling place they should be able to vote without disruption. Once all votes are cast tonight, my office will absolutely investigate why Hartford was not prepared for Election Day. Those found responsible will be held accountable."
Merrill added that her office "is referring these circumstances and the apparent gross dereliction of duty by Hartford’s Registrars of Voters to the State Elections Enforcement Commission for further investigation to determine if any state election laws were violated."
Hartford city officials told WNPR's Jeff Cohen that the problem in the city early on Tuesday was limited to just a handful of polling places, at worst.
Listen below as Cohen explains the issue on Tuesday afternoon with WNPR's Ray Hardman:
This report includes information from The Associated Press.
