Nothing is ‘lurking underneath’ grant

Where we differ with some individuals, however, is in accepting as fact a drumbeat of speculation that somehow participating in sharing of best practices with election departments around the country is leading to “infiltration” or “influence” in our office or will provide advantage to one constituency or another.

Greenwich’s Registrars of Voters are not used to being in the news cycle outside of the fall. Having received an offer of a $500,000 grant from a nonprofit, the registrars appropriately put the matter before the Representative Town Meeting, which speaks for the town on the acceptance of all grants and gifts.

There has been a great deal of discussion around the grant. We encourage every citizen to visit greenwichct.gov/vote where there are numerous Q&As written to answer RTM member questions and a link to the Feb. 27 presentation by the registrars which addresses questions raised related to the grant. We welcome questions and we have endeavored to answer with links, quotes, testimony, photos, and other facts. It is impossible, however, to answer speculation that is not based in fact.

The position of the registrars is clear. Should the RTM decide to accept the grant, any spending proposed will have a focus on nonpartisan items related to security, handicapped access, and poll worker training, recruitment and retention.

We respect those who have a philosophical concern about the acceptance of private funds for any purpose in the town. If there were strings attached, these should be highlighted. But the two years since the town last accepted a grant for election purposes have shown that there were no strings attached and no ill effects. Any proposed spending from the 2023 grant will require three layers of approval: the two Registrars, the Board of Estimate and Taxation, and the RTM. This is a process to ensure appropriate oversight over spending.

Here are the commitments we have made to the RTM and to the public in hours and hours of committee meetings.

• No spending would ever be proposed on equipment associated with the counting of ballots, the tabulation of votes, or the reporting of results. Not only is this our commitment, but it is also the law, as these items are approved, tested and supplied by the state.

• No spending would ever be proposed for items that require any but trivial ongoing costs for the taxpayers of Greenwich beyond the term of the grant. never• No spending would ever be proposed for “outreach” of any sort which targets a set of voters. The ROV office has done any “get out the vote” efforts, and we believe that is the job of the candidates and the parties.

Where we differ with some individuals, however, is in accepting as fact a drumbeat of speculation that somehow participating in sharing of best practices with election departments around the country is leading to “infiltration” or “influence” in our office or will provide advantage to one constituency or another. As conscientious registrars we have been pulling ideas from other jurisdictions and nonprofits for years, whether it be cybersecurity education, using our elections to pilot a food drive for Neighbor to Neighbor, examining how to take our poll worker training online, poll worker appreciation events, and researching how to reduce wait times and make the voting process as pleasant and quick as possible. None of these items focus on outcomes, winners and losers. They focus on election administration process.

What has been most disappointing for us is that we seem to have fallen into a place where nothing can be accepted at face value. We are told that it doesn’t seem controversial on the surface but surely there must be something lurking underneath. We’ve been told that the grantor “is playing a long game and will dump you if it turns out they can’t manipulate you.” Live testimony from the members of the board of directors and board of advisors of the grantor is dismissed and ignored. We simply don’t know how to counter that type of speculation when it is contrary to what we have seen in actual interactions with the grantor and the other election officials who are part of the Alliance for Election Excellence.

Regardless of the outcome of the March vote on the grants we remain committed to building up and not tearing down confidence in the election process, the equipment, the professionals and the volunteers who run the elections in our town, state and nation. We will continue to publish our materials online. We will continue to celebrate our poll workers. We will continue to search for ideas on how to improve the voter’s experience. And we remain committed to dialogue. As co-department heads with significant philosophical differences, we know that we can’t move forward without a real exchange of ideas and finding common ground.

To continue to instill confidence in the performance of our elections the registrars have created the Election Academy, which is a detailed look at the processes of cleaning the voter rolls, training poll workers, preparing and testing equipment, and keeping all aspects of the election secure. You are cordially invited to participate in this free program which will run from April all the way through the November Election. Learn more at greenwichct.gov/electionacademy.