Ballots From Elections In Stonington And Groton Will Be Hand Counted

Last week’s municipal elections in Stonington and Groton may be over but there are still votes to count.

On Tuesday, May 10 three precincts from the 14 communities that held municipal elections on May 2 were randomly selected for auditing. The three precincts selected were District 2 and the William Seely School District 4 in Groton and the in Stonington.

Ballots from those precincts will be hand counted between May 17 and May 31. Connecticut state law requires the hand count of 10 percent of polling places in all elections and primaries.

“On May 2 voters went to the polls across Connecticut to choose public servants to fill very important roles in local government,” said Secretary of State Denise Merrill. “No matter how big or small the election, our audit law exists to hold our election process accountable and reassure the public to have continued confidence that all votes were recorded accurately.”

After the audit the University of Connecticut will analyze the results and then present them to the Secretary of the State’s Office and the State Elections Enforcement Commission and the public.

The precincts in Groton and Stonington were chosen from a pool of 24 precincts that did not include precincts that required a recount of counted ballots or were originally counted by hand.

Center School District 3 in Woodbridge and Griswold Town Hall in Griswold were selected as alternate precincts in case one of the precincts in Groton or Stonington is unable to conduct the audit.

In total 14 Connecticut municipalities held elections on May 2 including the towns of Andover, Bethany, Naugatuck, Union and Woodbridge, the Boroughs of Litchfield, Newtown, Stonington, Bantam, Danielson, Fenwick, Jewett City, Woodmont and the City of Groton.

Information provided by a press release from the Office of the Secretary of the State of Connecticut.