Judge Rules that Two Hartford Voting Locations to Remain Open Extra Half an Hour After Fiasco

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Superior Court Judge Carl Schuman ruled Tuesday afternoon that Hartford voting locations at Batchelder School and United Methodist Church would remain open for an extra half an hour after a snafu Tuesday morning in the city.

“This problem is intolerable,” Schuman said about the fiasco.

Several polling locations in Hartford reported that they had not received voter registration lists at 6 a.m., which delayed voting for people. Gov. Dannel Malloy’s campaign legal team brought a lawsuit to keep Hartford polls open for an hour longer.

Malloy’s campaign complaint said that at minimum there were nine polling places where voters could not vote for for at least 30 and up to 90 minutes.

Schuman took a recess to sort out the legal matter and evidence heard in court.

Any ballots received after 8 p.m. at the voting locations must be put aside in case of any future legal action, Schuman ruled.

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Foley’s lawyer Herb Shephardson said that Malloy’s campaign has the burden of proof and that they didn’t meet it in court.

He said the situation its more akin to a voter machine being broken and it doesn’t constitute an extraordinary circumstance, such as what happened in Bridgeport in 2010.

Malloy’s lawyers argued that the polls weren’t open at 6 a.m. because voters weren’t able to vote. They argued the only remedy was to keep the polls open longer.

President Barack Obama encouraged Hartford voters to not be discouraged and to get out and vote, according to the New Haven Register.

Secretary of the State Denise Merrill said she was referring the actions of Hartford’s Registrars of Voters to the State Elections Enforcement Commission for investigation.

Attorney John Gale said in court that he arrived at United Methodist Church as an unofficial checker around 6:10 a.m. and that there was apparent chaos at the polling place because voter lists weren’t present.

A man arrived with the voter lists at 7:11 a.m., Gayle said. The first voter successfully voted about 10 minutes later.

Rick Adler, called by Malloy’s legal team said he was an unofficial checker at Batchelder School and that the moderator said the location didn’t have registered voter lists. About 10 voters were present at the location around 6 a.m. when polls opened. The lists were delivered later on, he said. A number of people expressed frustration and left, according to the witness.

Foley witness Kathleen O’Connor, also an unofficial checker, said that she didn’t observe anyone at Hartford Seminary not being allowed to vote. The voter list was late, but voters were allowed to vote with an ID and address.

At Liberty Christian there was an issue with a memory card, but that didn’t prevent people from voting, she said. Other Foley witnesses also testified.

Hartford Mayor Pedro Segarra said the problems were inexcusable and that his office would be investigating to hold the right people accountable, according to FOX CT.

He also advocated that polls be kept open longer.

Malloy himself was delayed in voting and Secretary of the State Denise Merrill voted by affidavit.