Madison Woman Faced 1-2 Year Sentence for Testing Voting System

A Madison, Connecticut, woman faces criminal charges for attempting to vote twice in this week's election, a move state officials say was illegal regardless of her intent. Deputy Secretary of the State Jennifer Barahona addressed the incident at a press conference on Tuesday, urging voters to stop conducting independent tests of voting systems.

Barahona stated that attempting to test the system is not a harmless experiment. She said voting more than once is voter fraud and is illegal. In Connecticut, the offense can result in a fine between $300 and $500, one to two years in prison, and the loss of the right to vote.

Documents reviewed by Connecticut Public identify the voter as Terri LaChance, a 65-year-old registered Democrat in Madison. A town registrar contacted the Secretary of the State's Office to raise concerns about LaChance's actions during the early voting period on Nov. 1. A letter from the registrar includes a statement from LaChance, who said she decided to see if it was possible and how far she would get if she tried.

LaChance told Connecticut Public in an interview that she grew concerned about election security after seeing social media posts claiming voting machines change votes. She said she returned to her polling location on Nov. 1 after her initial vote. Her license was scanned, a sticker was printed, and she signed twice before receiving a second ballot.

LaChance said she alerted an election worker that she had previously voted. She believes she could have cast another vote if she had not said anything. State election systems are designed to prevent double voting. Matthew Clyburn, assistant director of communications for the Secretary of the State's office, said the statewide voter registration system records when a voter casts a ballot during early voting. That record prevents the voter from voting again during early voting, by absentee ballot, or on Election Day.

Alexander Russell, director of the University of Connecticut Center for Voting Technology Research, noted that each town also uses a physical poll book to track registered voters. He said people are crossed off in the poll book as they vote to prevent double voting. Election experts and state officials have said issues with voting machines are usually caused by calibration problems or human error.

The Madison incident was one of at least two in Connecticut that raised concern about improper voting activity. In October, a woman with short-term memory issues checked in to vote two days after successfully voting early at the same location. An election official wrote that the woman did not understand she was in line to vote again or if she remembered voting. The election worker did not see that the Connecticut Voter Registration System showed she had already been issued a ballot.

An early voting label was printed for the October incident, and the woman signed before another ballot was issued and put into the tabulator. At the end of the day, the tabulator counted one more ballot than the early voting report recorded. Poll workers found the woman's name was not on the report, but her electronic record showed she had been issued a ballot two days prior. The early voting moderator asked state officials for help because they could not adjust the tabulator count.

The Secretary of the State's Office referred both incidents to the State Elections Enforcement Commission for review. A representative for the commission said it cannot comment on any matter unless the commission opens an investigation. The commission is scheduled to meet next on Nov. 18.