HARTFORD, CT — A recently released audit of the State Elections Enforcement Commission says the elections watchdog failed to complete several post-election campaign finance audits in a timely manner.
“Our audit identified internal control deficiencies; instances of noncompliance with laws, regulations, or policies; and a need for improvement in practices and procedures that warrant management’s attention,” auditors wrote in the report.
The audit, which covers the fiscal years ending June 2022 and 2023, reviewed seven and eight candidate committee commission audits and found that the commission issued four of its final summary reports between 132 and 454 days late from the 2020 election cycle. The commission also had not issued eight reports from the 2022 election as of Oct. 9, 2024, auditors noted.
“Additionally, the commission informed us it did not complete 98 of 106 (92%) audits of the 2022 election cycle before the statutorily required due date for candidate committees in the 2024 general election,” auditors noted in the report.
The commission, which is authorized to inspect campaign finance reports and perform post-election examinations of the accounts and records to ensure compliance with campaign finance laws, said it has limited resources to process the statutorily required audits in a timely manner. The issue has also been noted in two prior state audits.
“We disagree with the finding in part,” SEEC officials said in response to the audit. “Due to staffing shortages and changes in the termination date for selected candidate committees
chosen for audit, the staff has less than six months to obtain records and information controlled by committees.”
The required turnaround for the post-election reviews is very short, the SEEC said.
Auditors recommend the commission seek a legislative amendment to current law if it cannot meet the existing statutorily required deadline.
The audit also found that the SEEC did not file six of eight required reports on the status of the Citizens’ Election Fund, which are due in June each year for the previous calendar year.
“SEEC should strengthen its internal controls to ensure it complies with its statutory reporting requirements,” auditors recommended. “The lack of reporting compliance appears to be the result of managerial inaction and lack of staff.”
The agency in its response said it agrees with the finding, and said the delay in reports is due to staffing shortages and “competing obligations.”
“The staffing shortages are permanent in nature,” the agency said in its response. “The agency has appointed an individual staff attorney as our Information Policy Coordinator to mitigate this finding. His duties include coordinating and prioritizing all required reports.”
Other findings include the SEEC’s failure to maintain its software library and failure to implement comprehensive human resources policies and procedures. The audit also noted that the agency did not properly approve of compensatory time and overtime and that 11 out of 18 employees were enrolled in the wrong compensatory time plan.
A newly hired IT manager will help update the software library and HR staff is reviewing and drafting any necessary and allowable modifications to its policies, the agency said. In addition, the agency said it will correct how it approves and handles overtime and compensatory time to ensure collective bargaining agreements are adhered to.
State Auditor Craig A. Miner, who served in the General Assembly during the audit period, recused himself from reviewing and signing the audit report to avoid any appearance of a conflict of interest.
The role of the SEEC is to oversee the state’s election laws, and it oversees an electronic campaign reporting system for all campaign finance filings called eCris. The independent agency investigates compliance with laws for state and local elections, primaries and referendums. The SEEC can hold hearings, subpoena witnesses, require production of records, issue orders, and impose civil penalties, as needed.
The agency, which was founded in 1974 following the Watergate scandal, recently celebrated its 50th anniversary.
