2012 Election Snapshot: Connecticut

2012 Election Snapshots

Over the past several months, Pew collected data about the 2012 presidential election from nearly every state and the District of Columbia. We used the findings to create a snapshot of each jurisdiction, focusing on how many people voted, how long they waited to cast their ballots, how they cast them, and how many ballots were not counted. These snapshots will be released over the coming months, five at a time, and the Election Data Dispatches will take a closer look at the latest snapshots each week.

2012 Election Snapshot – Connecticut

Few provisional ballots are issued in Connecticut because the state has other ways to accommodate voters with the most common registration problems. For example, voters who have moved within their town can fill out a form on Election Day to change their address and cast a regular ballot. Similarly, unregistered and former residents are permitted to cast special “presidential ballots” for presidential and vice presidential races only.

Provisional ballots are used only in rare instances, such as when first-time voters fail to produce required identification while registering. Ultimately, most provisional ballots in the state are rejected. During the past two presidential elections in Connecticut.

• 715 provisional ballots were cast in 2008, with 63 percent rejected.
• 963 provisional ballots were cast in 2012, with 88 percent rejected.

• 108 issued no provisional ballots in 2008.
• 104 issued no provisional ballots in 2012.

In 2012, more than one-quarter (279) of Connecticut’s provisional ballots were cast in Hartford.

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