Westport Wont Experiment With Touch-Screen Voting Machines
Much to the regret of Town Clerk Patricia H. Strauss, Westport will not be among eight Connecticut communities testing touch-screen voting machines this fall in municipal elections.
The only Fairfield County community chosen for the experiment by Secretary State Susan Bysiewicz was Wilton.
The reason Westport was not among the finalists out of 21 towns and cities vying for the guinea pig role was that it did not apply.
ғIt was a decision by the registrars of voters, Strauss said. ԓThey were very busy updating the voter registration list as a result of the RTM (Representative Town Meeting) redistricting and they had a lot on their plate.
ItӒs unfortunate, but we will still benefit from the knowledge gained from the other communities participating.”
Westport two years ago was one of several Connecticut communities chosen to experiment with a barcode scanning system for absentee ballots. Strauss said the system has performed well and Westport will continue to use it.
Besides Wilton, the other municipalities that will experiment with the new technology include Middletown, Griswold, Hartford, Sharon, Southington, Tolland, and West Hartford.
