Two months after the election, the final tally in Hartford for the November general election “remains unclear,” according to the report by the City Council’s Committee of Inquiry, composed of six council members, which was formed to look into the problems.
Workplace dysfunction, indifference and power struggles at the Hartford Registrar of Voters office contributed to problems on Election Day, according to a report the city released on Friday.
Among the findings were that voters had been turned away from polling places, at least six of which failed to open on time because voter rolls had not been printed or delivered, the report said. In addition, about 70 absentee ballots remain unaccounted for. Results were filed with the state despite obvious mathematical errors.
On Nov. 4, as word spread that some of the polls in Hartford had not opened on time, state election officials tried to get in touch with the Connecticut city’s three elected registrars, Olga Iris Vázquez, a Democrat; Sheila N. Hall, a Republican; and Urania Petit of the Connecticut Working Families Party. The registrars are responsible for running elections, maintaining voter rolls and submitting results to the state.
Registrars are elected to four-year terms in Connecticut, and receive an $80,000 annual salary plus benefits, city officials said. The registrars in Hartford have “poor personal relationships,” according to the report, and the police were called to the office the day after the election when a shouting match broke out.
Hartford’s charter allows the Council to fire elected officials in some circumstances, and the Council next meets on Jan. 26. All three registrars are up for re-election in November 2016
None of the vote-count problems appear likely to affect the outcome of any statewide race, and no candidate has contested any of the totals from Election Day.
The State Elections Enforcement Commission began investigating a complaint in December about the Hartford registrars, said Joshua Foley, a lawyer for the commission. If the commission finds criminal wrongdoing, Mr. Foley said, it can refer the matter to the chief state’s attorney.
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