The Connecticut Bar Association was presented with the National Association of Secretaries of State Medallion Award for its work on elections monitoring in the state.
For several years, the CBA has made volunteer attorneys available to the Secretary of the State on Election Day. In the event that problems arise—and the Secretary’s office deems it necessary to receive independent confirmation—the Secretary can dispatch volunteer attorneys to a particular polling place. The volunteer program was made possible by a public act in 2011.
Secretary of the State Denise W. Merrill said the Connecticut program serves as a national model. She presented the award on behalf of the national group.
Over 100 Connecticut attorneys have volunteered to serve as on-call Election Day observers to ensure compliance with state and federal election laws. The volunteer attorneys have been trained in election administration by the Secretary of the State’s office, and have signed an agreement that they will not act in a partisan way on Election Day.
The NASS Medallion Award was created to honor individuals, groups or organizations with an established record of promoting the goals of the National Association of Secretaries of State.
