FAIRFIELD, CT — The Fairfield Republican Town Committee has filed complaints with the State Elections Enforcement Commission and the Connecticut Secretary of State’s office accusing Fairfield Democratic Registrar of Voters Matt Waggner of mishandling voter registrations.
Local GOP officials claim that Waggner is deleting online voter registrations and then manually inputting the information back into the system.
During a news conference Thursday in front of Fairfield Town Hall, Republican Registrar of Voters Cathy Politi said she and other Republican officials are aware of at least 78 occurrences where this has happened, but added that to her knowledge, all of them are registered to vote.
“These complaints are deeply troubling and cast serious doubt on the integrity of our voter
registration system,” said former state Representative Laura Devlin, chair of the Fairfield
Republican Town Committee, during Thursday’s news conference. “The fact that Mr. Waggner is deleting online voter registrations and re-entering them manually is not only unacceptable, it begs the question of why? We need answers.”
Added Politi, “The process Waggner is using — printing electronic registrations, deleting online records, including the voter’s signature submitted with that registration, and then manually re-entering information — is not only inefficient but also raises serious concerns about the accuracy and security of our voter data.”
When reached by Patch following Thursday’s news conference, Waggner defended his actions, and called into question Republicans’ tactics as the November election approaches.
“I’m not sure what the basis for the claim is,” Waggner wrote in an email to Patch. “The law about our voter registration records is CGS 9-23, which requires that we preserve them ‘in a fire-proof cabinet in the registrars’ office,’ which is the official repository for these applications (which come to us on the computer, through the mail, and in person). Because we receive applications from a number of sources, when a question arises about the current information for a given voter, we consult the paper records to ensure that we are looking at the most recent document. I’ve asked my colleague what law or regulation she believes was not followed, or something that she thinks would have any impact on voters, but she didn’t have any answer.”
Waggner added, “I believe that our most fundamental duty is to protect the public’s confidence in the election process, and despite taking care to never disparage my colleagues, there is obviously a continued effort to create an atmosphere of mistrust and allegations without a basis in fact or law, and I’m at a loss for what I can do to protect the office from these attacks. I’m at a loss as to the purpose of stoking public fear in this way, especially since the documents you were shown demonstrate that the applications in question were properly entered and filed.”
Devlin and Politi showed screenshots of some voter registrations pending processing that carried a date of entry into the online system, but another report from the state Voter Registration System shows changes made with different processing dates.
Republicans learned of the situation when a new local voter went to the Fairfield Registrars’ office to check her registration, which she had submitted online.
“When checked, there was no online voter registration record, however, Mr. Waggner heard the woman say her name and indicated that he had her record,” Devlin said. “He presented her with a printed version and had her sign that copy.”
Waggner said that he has done nothing wrong, and has followed long-standing procedures.
“During the period before the primary, when new online and mail-in applications must be held until the day after voting takes place, I processed voters who changed their address, name, or party as required, and set aside those who were new until 8/14, both printing and saving the original electronic record,” Waggner told Patch. “Having an ‘enter after the election’ basket has been the practice in the office for years, going back to before my arrival in 2009. New voters were accepted and stored in the online system at the proper time, and they were sent approval notices as required.”
Devlin and Politi are calling for accountability, and ask that Secretary of State Stephanie Thomas order Waggner to stop.
Steve Sheinberg, chair of the Fairfield Democratic Town Committee, told Patch that by going after Waggner, local Republicans are trying to do the bidding of the national Republican Party.
“This is part of a long-term strategy by national and local Republicans to undermine confidence in our registration and election process,” Sheinberg wrote in an email to Patch. “Their baseless claims are a deliberate attempt to create chaos and sow doubt in the minds of the public about the integrity of our elections. No allegations were made today suggesting that voters who believe they registered are not, in fact, registered. We believe registrations have been handled properly, and no evidence has been provided to support the RTC’s accusations. Either the RTC does not understand the registration process, or they are deliberately undermining public confidence in our elections.”
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