Stephanie Thomas didn’t look fazed. The U.S. Supreme Court had ruled that the Trump administration can tap Social Security and other sensitive databases to purge millions of voters from the rolls. Not to worry, Thomas said: States would need to ask to participate in that effort. Connecticut ’s not asking. People are worried about soldiers showing up at the polls or other efforts to stop them from voting. Not to worry, Thomas said: Connecticut has a task force weighing any potential threats. And Connecticut’s not a swing state. If fireworks erupt on Election Day, chances are that’ll happen in, say, Ohio and North Carolina, As for figuring out how to navigate new anyone-can-vote-absentee rules, or new-ish early voting rules, Thomas has had staff working on the details and a website with all the deets. Thomas has been in charge of overseeing elections and responding to federal threats for the past four years as Connecticut’s secretary of the state. While running this year’s elections, Democratic Thomas is also running for a second four-year term. Her pitch: She wants to build on improvements she has overseen in state voting systems while helping steer Connecticut through rough national political waters. “People always say, ‘Wow, you signed up for this job at a time that it just seems crazy,'” Thomas said during a conversation Tuesday on WNHH FM’s “Dateline New Haven.” “That is actually what I signed up for. My strength is bringing calm to chaos and order to chaos. I like meeting people where they are. I like proving that government can go to the people instead of the reverse, and I like to make systems better.” That means getting in the weeds — like introducing new voting tabulators, election audits, election-night management procedures, and “electronic poll books.” Some towns already use the electronic system instead of paper to sign you in when you vote. Thomas’s team is now weighing different certified versions to see which would work best for a larger rollout. Similarly, she’s working on how to get ahead of a wave of poll worker reitrements, tapping ideas from peers in other states. (She serves on the executive board of the National Association of Secretaries of State.) During her term Thomas oversaw the roll-out of early voting. This year’s early voting starts Monday, Oct. 19 and runs for two weeks. Thomas also launched a civics-themed program aimed at high-schoolers called Voice CT, which she’s looking to grow. As for battles with the Trump administration over voter ID and citizenship sweeps and threatened military presence at the polls, Thomas said people might be surprised at how many red-state secretaries of the state share concerns of blue-staters. Yes, 13 states have asked to participate in the newly Supreme Court-approved database purges; but other red states have not. Similar bipartisan opposition has surfaced to other perceived infringement on federal intervention in state-run elections. “The headlines would have you believe this is partisan,” she said. “Everyone is equally as concerned when Donald Trump first was threatening to put out an executive order to stop mail-in voting. If you go back and look, you’ll see [Republican Gov.] Ron DeSantis jumped up loud, like, ‘Hey, mail-in voting’s not a problem in Florida.’ Texas, Alabama, all these so-called red states jumped up saying, ‘Hey, mail-in voting is fine in our state.'” Thomas faces Republican challenger Peter Lumaj (who failed to show up for two scheduled “Dateline” interviews) in the Nov. 3 election. Click on the video below to listen to the full conversation with Secretary of the State Stephanie Thomas on WNHH FM’s “Dateline New Haven,” including about what she’s noticing about lawn signs this election season. Click here to subscribe or here to listen to other episodes of “Dateline New Haven.” Click here to download the WNHH FM app. The post Stephanie Thomas Runs On “Calm” Amid Chaos appeared first on New Haven Independent. ...read more read less