Secretary of the State Stephanie Thomas apologized earlier this week after making a comparison to Nazi Germany. It happened at the annual training event of local registrars of voters.
Secretary of the State Stephanie Thomas issued an apology earlier this week after comparing President Donald Trump’s election policies to Nazi Germany.
She made the comments while talking about Trump’s election executive order during an annual training event for registrars of voters earlier this month.
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WATCH HERE“Any private citizen can turn you in for making the mistake,” she said in remarks recorded at the event. “I'm probably going too far – it sounds a little bit like the SS to me.”
That prompted Thomas to send a lengthy apology Monday to the Registrars of Voters Association of Connecticut.
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SIGN UP “I understand if my comments made you feel something, that was not my intent,” she wrote. “Because it wasn't my intent, you have my apologies if you felt personally attacked. That could not be further from my goal. I do not look at this group as Republican and Democrat, I look at the group as election administrators. I can see how some Republicans thought my comments aimed at them, but they were not. They were aimed at policies.”
ROVAC Executive Vice President Annalisa Stravato, also Wilton’s Republican registrar, said Thomas’ comments “pierced a very delicate veil of trust” and that her apology wasn’t strong enough.
“She basically was providing a word salad of an apology,” Stravato said.
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Each town has a Democratic and Republican registrar of voters. ROVAC President and South Windsor Democratic Registrar Chris Prue did not respond to a request for comment.
Stravato said the secretary of the state typically talks at the event to educate registrars on new laws, and that Thomas should have refrained from political statements.
Thomas said she wrote the email after hearing from three Republicans who were upset by the comments. Stravato said many also left the training early because they were upset.
“When we walk into our offices, when we talk into our registrar of voters' conference, it demands that we hang our political hats at the door," Stravato said.
Thomas said in her email that her comments were about Trump’s order and the SAVE Act, a congressional proposal with similar requirements.
Trump’s order would require only in-person registration to vote. It would also set criteria for proof of citizenship.
Connecticut requires proof of citizenship to register, but Thomas warns that Trump order and SAVE set stricter criteria.
She’s said several times she’s worried the higher standard could hurt people who have changed their last name or people who don’t have easy access to those documents, such as people in nursing homes or military personnel serving overseas.
“When are we going to prioritize American citizens instead of making them jump through hoops,” she said while testifying before a Congressional hearing last week on election security.
Stravato said she supports the order as a way to ensure election integrity.
“There is nothing more sacred, in my opinion, than our ability to cast a vote,” she said. “It's the beginning of the democratic process."
Connecticut is part of a multi-state lawsuit seeking to block Trump’s executive order, which includes deadlines requiring some of those changes to happen this summer.
A federal judge said Thursday that she hopes to rule next week on whether to impose a temporary injunction blocking those deadlines while the case makes its way through court.
