Secretary of the State: Get rid of local voter registrars

denise

HARTFORD — Secretary of the State Denise Merrill, the state’s chief elections official, this morning proposed eliminating locally elected voter registrars.

Instead they would be trained Civil Service appointees.

Merrill, in a morning news conference in her Capitol office, cited last November’s Election Day problems in Fairfield, Hartford and Naugatuck as well as the 2010 problems in Bridgeport that left the outcome of the gubernatorial election in doubt for days, as the reason to professionalize local voter offices.

She acknowledged, however, that the proposal to the General Assembly may be opposed by local politicians and town committees.

“It will be a heavy lift,” she told reporters.