Greenwich's RTM Electronic Voting System Had No Flaws Or Defects, Review Finds

GREENWICH, CT — The Representative Town Meeting vote to approve a $500,000 grant from the Center for Tech and Civic Life (CTCL) to the Greenwich Registrar of Voters stands, for now, following a review into the legislative body's electronic voting system.

After the vote during Tuesday night's RTM meeting, several members claimed their vote had not been counted properly.

The meeting was adjourned, and the Town Clerk's Office and Meridia, the voting platform vendor, conducted a lengthy review into the voting process.

The grant, listed as Item 10 on the agenda, passed by a vote of 105 in favor, 101 opposed with five abstentions, will be used "for the purpose of planning and operationalizing safe and secure election administration infrastructure."

There was fierce debate between RTM members over the grant. Opponents primarily argued private money should not be injected into local elections, while proponents said the money was needed to upgrade election equipment and respond to state mandates on early voting.

According to a message which was sent by RTM Moderator Alexis Voulgaris to the full RTM on Thursday night, the review found no issues with the voting system.

"Following an exhaustive review of the voting at Tuesday evening’s RTM meeting, particularly with respect to the vote on the merits of item 10 as amended, I have been informed that the electronic voting system had no flaws or defects," Voulgaris said. "That does not mean, of course, that it recorded a vote from every member who was present at the meeting at the time the vote was taken, or that it recorded every vote that a member might have intended to cast when the vote was taken."

While Voulgaris stated that the vote on Item 10 is final, the vote could be reopened during the March meeting by way of a motion to rescind.

First Selectman Fred Camillo issued a statement on the situation Friday afternoon.

"I am fully aware of the issues surrounding the vote on Item 10 during the RTM’s meeting this past Tuesday and it is my understanding that there is a procedural mechanism by which the vote can be challenged by RTM membership," Camilo said. "Therefore, I will not sign the grant agreement until this has been fully dealt with by the members of the RTM."

Camillo noted that he has "full confidence" in the Registrars of Voters Fred DeCaro, Mary Hegarty and their office, Town Clerk Jackie Budkins and her office, Voulgaris and the entire RTM body.

The electronic voting system successfully made its debut last month after months of testing. This was the first time the results of an agenda item have been called into question.

"I also have full confidence in the voting system which I feel is new and exciting and presents the town with a more efficient way for the RTM to vote. But like all new systems, there are going to be ways to improve it and things have to be worked out with it," Camillo added. "This is something I believe will be a real asset to the town and I believe the RTM will be able to work this matter out no matter which way any upcoming votes on this issue will go."

Members are given a one minute window to cast their vote — either yes (button 1), no (button 2) or abstain (button 3) — via a clicker that has a screen. On Zoom, members can securely cast their votes through an app.

Not every member votes on every issue, Voulgaris said in her message, citing results from other agenda items on Tuesday. Operator error could also have been possible with Item 10, or a member might have thought the button on the clicker was pushed properly but the device never registered being activated.

"It is for these precise reasons that the member has a means to verify that an attempt to activate the device was registered by the system," Voulgaris said.

The clicker shows an "OK" message after a button is pushed during the open voting window, and the corresponding button number shows.

On a large display screen in the room, a member’s name starts out gray and turns blue in real time when a vote is received. When final results are shown, member names are either green for an affirmative vote, red for a negative vote, yellow for an abstention, or gray if a vote wasn't made.

According to RTM rules located on page nine, if any member experiences a problem using the voting system, they must immediately alert the Town Clerk.

Voulgaris said no member made such notice prior to the reading of the final vote on Item 10.

"The reason for that rule is directly related to one of the most important tenets of parliamentary procedure, which is the finality of a vote. After full and fair debate on an issue, particularly a contentious issue where the final vote might be close, the vote on the merits must bring closure to the issue," Voulgaris said.

She noted that there would be "chaos" if the RTM allowed members to wait for the announcement of a final vote before claiming their vote wasn't counted properly.

Voulgaris went on to say that she anticipates the RTM's procedure for conducting electronic voting will be slightly changed as a result of Tuesday's meeting.

Meridia also released a summary of their findings from the review. They suggested that the RTM require members to vote for each item.

Additionally, they said the countdown clock for the voter window should be removed, as vote count, rather than vote duration, should determine when a vote is complete.

View Meridia's full report