Connecticut Approves $6.7 Million for Voting Technology Improvements

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The Connecticut State Bond Commission has approved a $6.7 million program for the Secretary of State to improve voting technology across the state. The Associated Press has more:

More than $6.7 million is being earmarked for improvements to voting equipment across Connecticut.

The State Bond Commission on Tuesday approved funding for the upgrades, which include new voting systems in every polling place for people with disabilities, software upgrades and high-speed scanners to automate the post-election audit process.

Secretary of the State Denise Merrill said the state has worked over the last few years to modernize voting and election administration. She said these latest upgrades will likely result in shorter lines at the polls on Election Day, more accurate voter rolls, faster reporting of election results and a cost savings for cities and towns.

The new technology will allow poll workers to look up voters electronically, rather than using the paper-based system, in time for the 2016 state elections.

Funds for this program were included in a larger state Informational Technology Capital Investment Program (item 10/page 14 at this link) through the state Office of Personnel and Management. The funds will support a wide variety of purchases, and will put purchasing power behind the Secretary’s March 2015 specification for electronic pollbooks in Connecticut.

This action means that the state has roughly a year to purchase, configure and deploy its new technology before the November 2016 general election – and less than that if the goal is to have the purchases in place for the August state primary. It will be a challenge, but one that many other cash-starved states would love to have.

Congratulations to Secretary of State Denise Merrill and her team on securing these funds and kudos to the state for recognizing the need – now the real work (and fun) begins!

Stay tuned …