Supports Registrar of Voters

You may have recently read the article in the CT Examiner newspaper with regards to an anonymous letter that was submitted to Portland's First Selectman, Town Clerk, and both Registrars of Voters questioning an elected official's residency in Portland. According to the article in the CT Examiner the Democratic Registrar of Voters, along with the First Selectman, Town Clerk and the Republican Registrar of Voters all received an anonymous letter claiming an elected official no longer resides in Portland.

We would like to commend the Democratic Registrar of Voters who chose to file a formal complaint to the State Elections Enforcement Commission (SEEC) for her commitment to the job she was elected to do by her fellow community members. She demonstrated professionalism and integrity to do the right thing knowing she could face backlash from many people who would be supporting a very popular elected official. She did not file the complaint because she was trying to be political, much the opposite. She waited until the election was over and the recount was completed before filing a complaint about a possible residency issue so as to not sway any votes. She did not want to interfere with an election knowing the residency claim may or may not lead to any sanctions.

She filed the complaint because it is her job to ensure all registered voters and elected officials in Portland live in Portland. Does the elected official live in Portland? I don't know. How would the Registrars, First Selectman or Town Clerk know either?

It is not the registrars' job to investigate any allegations themselves. The Registrars’ job is to pass any information along to the SEEC to let them decide, which one Registrar did. But before she did that she first called the SEEC and the Secretary of State's office to make sure she was doing the right thing. As stated in the article, both the SEEC and the Secretary of State's office told her to file a complaint. It is not anyone's place to decide if the allegations in the anonymous letter are true other than the professionals at the SEEC.

We are very proud to know that at least one of our Registrars of Voters is willing to make the tough decisions required of her job. We thank her and applaud her for showing great integrity and commitment to her community. She simply did her job.

Jim Tripp, Chairman
On behalf of the Portland DTC