Press Releases
12/17/2024
Secretary Thomas Presides Over Connecticut's 2024 Electoral College Vote
(Hartford, CT) –– Secretary of the State Stephanie Thomas presided today as Connecticut’s seven Electoral College members cast their votes for Kamala Harris for president and Tim Walz for vice president of the United States.
“Today we gather to carry out an essential step in the democratic process—formally casting our state’s votes for the President and Vice President of the United States,” Thomas said. “I would like to thank the many people behind the scenes who have spent countless hours working to ensure that our election process was smooth, transparent, and accurate, especially the registrars of voters, town clerks, poll moderators and workers, and my staff. Because of them, voters were able to feel confident in their votes being counted, which encourages them to continue to be part of the electoral process.”
Electoral College members are required by law to vote for the candidates who won the state’s popular vote in the November 5, 2024, General Election. With 992,053 votes (57.4 percent) for the Harris/Walz ticket versus 736,918 votes (42.6 percent) for Trump/Vance, Connecticut voters elected the Democratic Party electors.
Chosen at their statewide party convention earlier this year, Connecticut Democrats selected Dominic Balletto of East Haven, Dorothy Grady of Coventry, David Kostek of Westport, Tiffani McGinnis of West Hartford, Michael Pohl of Manchester, Geraldo Reyes of Waterbury and Kevin Sullivan of West Hartford to serve in the Electoral College.
As outlined in the U.S. Constitution, each state has the same number of electoral votes as its representatives in Congress. With two U.S. Senators and five members of the U.S. House of Representatives, Connecticut is awarded seven electoral votes.
The vote was held in the Senate Chambers at the State Capitol at noon. As electors completed their ballots, Thomas urged them to sign their names carefully “so history can remember you correctly.” The ballots, collected and sealed with wax, will be delivered to Congress where they, along with ballots from all 50 states and the District of Columbia, will be officially counted during a joint session of the U.S. House and Senate on January 6, 2025.
Participating in the ceremony was 2024 Kid Governor Cristiano Almeida of Southington, who was joined by his Cabinet members Alexa Adgers of New Britain, Clare Perreault of Southbury, Max Parisi of East Haven, and Paula Sanchez-Barreto of Bristol to lead the Pledge of Allegiance.
Also present were Faizan Seyal, a ninth grader who won the 2024 Connecticut Civics Bee and represented the state at the national championship in Washington, D.C., who sang the National Anthem; President of the Brother Carl Hardrick Institute for Violence Prevention Leonard Epps, who shared his drumming talent with attendees; members of the Connecticut Army National Guard Honor Guard who presented the colors; saxophonist Jenna Nome, who is a Business Services Analyst at the Office of the Secretary of the State; and the Reverend Erica Thompson, senior minister of Asylum Hill Congregational Church in Hartford, who delivered the invocation and benediction.
(Photos below for use with credit to Brian O’Connor)
Faizan Seyal – National Anthem
Presidential Electors – Tiffani McGinnis, Geraldo Reye, Nick Balletto, Dorothy Grady, David Kostek, Mike Pohl, Kevin Sullivan
SOTS - Stephanie Thomas
Kid Governor – Christiano Almeida
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