Press Releases
12/14/2020
Secretary Merrill Presides Over Connecticut's 2020 Electoral College Vote
HARTFORD – Secretary of the State Denise Merrill today presided over the vote of the Electoral College. As the winner of Connecticut, the state’s seven electors cast ballots for Joe Biden for president and Kamala Harris for vice president.
“The vote of the Electoral College marks the ceremonial end of the 2020 election and is a part of the peaceful transfer of power that is the hallmark of our American democracy,” said Secretary Merrill. “In the face of a once-in-a-lifetime global pandemic, everyone in Connecticut, from state government to local election officials to the ten thousand volunteers who stepped up to be democracy heroes, was able to work together and hold an election where every eligible voter was able to register and cast their ballot, without putting their health at risk. The registrars of voters, town clerks, moderators, poll workers, and all the volunteers in each town deserve our gratitude for all their hard work over the last nine months. And of course, thank you to the voters, a record number of whom cast their ballots and made their voices heard in 2020.”
The vote was held in the Senate chambers at the state Capitol at noon. Attendance was limited and social distancing protocols were followed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
As set forth in the U.S. Constitution, the number of electoral votes is equal to the number of representatives in Congress. With two U.S. Senators and five members of the U.S. House of Representatives, Connecticut is awarded seven electoral votes.
A slate of seven electors were chosen by their political parties for election on November 3, 2020.
With 1,080,680 votes (or 59.24 percent) for the Biden/Harris ticket—versus 715,291 votes (39.21 percent) for Trump/ Pence—Connecticut voters elected the Democratic Party electors. The state’s seven electors are: Susan Barrett (Fairfield); John Kalamarides (Wilton); Dana Barcellos-Allen (Avon); William Smith (Hartford); Myrna Watanabe (Harwinton); Anthony Attanasio (Niantic), and Dominic F. Balletto Jr. (East Haven).
After the votes were cast, the ballots were wax-sealed by staff of the Secretary of the State’s office. They are then delivered to Congress, where a joint session of the House and Senate will take place on January 6, 2021 to officially count the ballots from all 50 states and the District of Columbia.
The midday ceremony was broadcast live on CT-N and featured the following guests in a virtual/socially distant setting and video compilation: the pledge of Allegiance by students from Danbury’s Alternative Center for Excellence, West Hartford’s Saint Thomas Apostle School, Darien’s Middlesex Middle School, and Waterbury’s H.S. Chase School; the National Anthem by UCONN’s Conn-Men A Cappella Group; America The Beautiful by vocalist and songwriter Nahla B. Ward; Lift Every Voice by State Troubadour Nekita Waller; instrumental contributions by musician Jenna Nome; as well as the Invocation by Bishop John Selders, ordained minister of the United Church of Christ and Organizing Pastor of Amistad United Church of Christ in Hartford. The Benediction was delivered by Pastor Liza Arulampalam of Riverfront Family Church and Church of Christ Congregational Newington.
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