The Hartford City Council is pushing to remove the city's three registrars of voters as officials probe problems at the polls that caused confusion and delays on Election Day.
A spokesperson for the mayor's office said the city council is meeting Tuesday night to discuss the proposal. The registrars – Democrat Olga Vazquez, Republican Sheila Hall and Urania Petit of the Working Families Party – are at the center of the city's investigation into what went wrong Nov. 4.
The city council's Committee of Inquiry, which was commissioned to examine the issues and formulate a plan to ensure a smoother process next election cycle, released a report Friday that identified "multiple, serious errors" at the polling places, as well as a dysfunctional working relationship among election officials.
"The poor personal relationships between and among the three Hartford Registrars contributed to their failure to carry out their official election duties before and after the November 4 General Election," the report alleges.
According to the mayor's office, the city council is introducing a resolution at a Tuesday night meeting that would bring in outside attorneys to "draft charges" against the registrars and move forward with a plan to remove them.
Hartford Mayor Pedro Segarra declined to offer an opinion on the situation but said he has faith in the committee and its findings.
"I have made my position on this subject pretty clear. I support any decision that prevents our citizens right to vote from being further compromised in any way," Segarra said in a statement Tuesday. "I applaud City Council for taking swift action on this issue."
