Connecticut will have new voting tabulators before next year's presidential election — as long as Gov. Ned Lamont (D) adds the purchase to next month’s Bond Commission agenda.
Lamont said he will be bringing it to the commission in October, and the new machines will be ready by next November.
“We're gonna get it done in the Bond Xommission, and we're gonna get it done in time for the next election,” Lamont said. “These voting machines have worked pretty well for the last 25 years, but we're gonna get the new ones in place.”
The legislature has authorized the state to borrow $25 million to replace the machines, which have been known to jam and break down in the past.
A coalition of advocacy groups, including the ACLU, AARP and former Secretary of the State Denise Merrill, have pushed for the new tabulators.
They want them as soon as possible so election officials have time to train on the machines.
According to Merrill, the state’s push to get people to the polls will be for nothing if the old machines malfunction during next year’s election.
