Theodore Bromley, Peggy Reeves and Alexander Shvartsman
State Certification Testing of Voting Systems National Conference
June 14-15, 2012, Indianapolis, IN, USA

Abstract

Transition from lever voting machines to electronic voting technology in Connecticut necessitated the development of new policies and procedures by the Secretary of the State (SOTS) Office to safeguard the integrity and security of the new electoral process. Forming a partnership with the University of Connecticut, SOTS Office developed a comprehensive approach that extended the existing electoral procedures to incorporate the use of the new optical scan electronic voting equipment. This paper reports on the overall electoral process in Connecticut that includes new procedures that ensure strict chain-of-custody control of the electronic voting machines, safe-use of the memory cards used to program the machines for each specific district and election, and the audits performed in conjunction with each state-wide election. The comprehensive audits in Connecticut consist of hand-counted audits in 10% of randomly selected districts, and technology audits that focus on pre-election and post-election audits of memory cards. The detailed audit reports are published upon their completion. In addition, technical inspections are performed of any voting machines that possibly may not have operated correctly. The partnership between the SOTS Office and the University of Connecticut is one of the most unique examples of collaboration between state government and academe in ensuring the technological integrity of the electoral processes.

Download full paper: CT-Ind-2012.pdf