Sen. Sampson Rebuffs Misleading Claims by Southington Democrats

State Sen. Rob Sampson (R-Wolcott), ranking member of the Government Administration and Elections Committee, today rebuffed recent misleading claims by Southington Democrats in connection with his recent press conference calling for strengthened election security.

“I would like to set the record straight regarding the manufactured controversy being raised by the Southington Democrat Town Committee and found in this patch article: https://patch.com/connecticut/southington/gop-senator-blasted-questioning-southingtons-election-integrity

I have never impugned the integrity of Southington’s town clerk, registrars or election workers. The quote from my press conference was accurately stated in the article:

‘The fact is people in the state are not confident in our election process. I don’t know that the circumstances in Bridgeport are that much different from the state. You don’t have to look too far to see elections that are decided by a very small number of votes. In the Town of Southington, in the 2022 cycle, there was an election decided by one vote. And I can’t say with extreme confidence that that election had the right vote tally. I don’t think anyone can.’

“If you watch the press conference, or any of my comments on election integrity over the past several years, you will see I am very clear that the issue is with policies created and passed by elected Democrats on a state level that have opened the door for election integrity issues, mistakes, and even fraud.

“Anyone watching the press conference, particularly elected Democrats at the state level—and in Southington—know that what I say is true, that people do not trust our election process, and that we need action on behalf of our state government to fix it.

“I would be delighted to debate anyone publicly on the subject of election integrity and why it is so desperately needed in our state. Attempting to twist my words into questioning the many hardworking people on the town level who have been forced to run elections under the most difficult of circumstances is completely disingenuous.  Southington voters should take note of who is engaging in extreme rhetoric and misinformation. It’s not me.

“Here is the entire press conference: https://ct-n.com/ctnplayer.asp?odID=23262. It is 30 minutes long and I encourage every citizen, regardless of their party affiliation to watch  and decide for themselves. I encourage anyone with questions or concerns to call me directly on my personal cell phone at 860-508-1969 during business hours Monday through Friday, 9 AM through 5 PM. Truth matters,” he said.