Voting reforms proposed

Hartford, Conn. (WTNH) - This past Election Day the city of Bridgeport ran out of ballots at a number of polling places and now Secretary of the State Denise Merrill wants to make sure something like that doesn't happen again.

"No voter who is registered and wants to cast a ballot on Election Day should ever be turned away from the polls. Ever," Merrill said.

On Election Day, some people in Bridgeport were told they couldn't vote because the city ran out of ballots because the local registrars did not order enough. Click here to read more about the Bridgeport's ballot bungle.

Merrill's proposal would mean municipalities must have Election Day emergency plans. And 30 days before the election, municipalities must report how many ballots they ordered. The Secretary of the State can then direct municipalities to order more. Any municipalities that don't report to the state must order enough ballots for every registered voter.

Urania Petit is the Hartford Registrar for the Working Families Party and she likes the idea.

"Basically what we're looking for is guidance because anyone can become a Registrar, but does everyone have the capacity to be able to do the job and do it effectively," she said.

In Bridgeport last year, the problem was President Barack Obama held a rally in town just before the election, and that made for higher than expected turnout. If these changes had been in place, would they have helped?

"You know, hopefully someone would have spotted the notion that the President came to town and therefore maybe we ought to re-look at that. We would have the authority to be able to call them and say, 'Have you considered this in your ballot ordering?'" Merrill said.

The Secretary has some other ideas for the legislature to ponder as well. For one, making it easier to get an absentee ballot. For another, moving the state a little closer to early voting. In other words, giving people some other options besides simply going to the polling place during certain hours on Election Day.