New Haven Independent

Posted by: on whalley | February 6, 2008 3:20 PM

Whaaaa? The big-G made a mistake? Nooooo.

Maybe it's just me but I don't do anything unless I've checked, double, triple and quadruple checked. Especially if any fraction of what I am doing involves the government in any way. From the DMV to the DPS to the fluoride in the drinking water to the IRS, FDA, Dept. of ED and all the way up.

So let's give them health care while we're at it. God forbid they check the wrong box and you loose a kidney or get chemo instead of a tetanus shot. I'll have to ramp up my already orange alert vigilance just to survive routine physicals.

Check your own registration regularly like you would your credit report. You moved here? Check and double check the policies and laws of where you're moving to whether you're spending the weekend there or a decade.

With regards to checking your info. seeing as how those sources are generally government run don't just follow a link to a website and call your research complete. Make sure the information exists in different locations identically and call a few numbers to see if they refer you to the same office of the same people.

Dealing with the government at any level is the single most frightening, uncertain, and potentially deadly thing anyone can do from a simple traffic stop to the DMV to a mistake on your 1040 made 15 years ago that amounts to more interest due to the G-man than you gross in a five year period.

You want to change CT's Primary methods then start calling and writing your reps in Hartford. Dealing with them is just as fun. A man can only get so many written "form" responses and served so much "lip" from office assistants before he just throws his arms up in the air. Maybe they will find your concerns more media-friendly or find some way to tax and profit from them and you'll see results of some sort.

Always be prepared and never assume anything has been done properly unless the job begins and ends at you.

Posted by: Gary Doyens | February 6, 2008 4:47 PM

There are five people working in this office. The voter lists are horribly inaccurate and turnout, except in this last election, are pitiful. This group of folks should be tasked with increasing the voter rolls, educating voters on why they should participate and designing a system so that voters can go on line and see if their information is correct. With all the manpower and benefits in this office, one would think they'd be on top of something so important as our democratic right to vote.

Posted by: cedarhillresident | February 7, 2008 8:54 AM

Gary
Well in one of the biggest elections we did manage to get 18,500 voters out.
http://www.cnn.com/ELECTION/2008/primaries/results/county/#val=CTDEM10

I to had an issue with my son not being registered. Which meant he was unable to not vote on Tuesday. Which he will get fixed. But..
Town halls job in not to educate people to vote it is the ward committees jobs. As a member of Wards 10's ward committee every year we are out there doing change of addresses, change of party..as well as signing up new voters. We in Cedar Hill have doubled our voters in the last Alderman election. Which was not really that many people for our small area but never the less we doubled it. I am hoping to get the cross off list to see how many voted here for this election.

But I totally agree with our inflated tax info and our ability to pay car tax on line we should be able to see if the last thing that is free in this country is the correct info.

Posted by: FairHavenFlyer | February 7, 2008 9:36 AM

Interesting...
I met a friend at the polls who had just been turned away-also because she's listed as registered as an independent. She said- "I thought I was registered as a democrat." She is not a novice as far as voting goes- she just turned ninety! Lifelong democrat can't vote in a primary because she is now an *independent*.
How many times did that happen on Tuesday?