An image shared on Facebook purports a ballot initiative would allow for the removal of certified seals on ballots in the state of Connecticut submitted to the Secretary of State. 

Verdict: False

The amendment would remove seals on election results delivered to the Connecticut Secretary of State, not ballots. A spokesperson for the state secretary confirmed to Check Your Fact that the amendment does not target voting machines or ballots.

Fact Check:

Volunteers in Nevada started a hand-count of mail-in ballots Wednesday after being the target of voting machine conspiracy theories, according to the Associated Press. A judge in Wisconsin ruled that partial addresses on mail-in ballots would not be counted, CBS reported.

The Facebook post purports Democrats in Connecticut are spearheading a ballot initiative that would allow for the state’s General Assembly to allow early voting and “remove the requirement of a certified seal from certain ballots when submitted to the Secretary of the State.”

Although it is correct that the proposed amendment would allow for the General Assembly to provide early voting in the state, the ballot initiative does not address any seals or markings on any specific ballots. (RELATED: Did Colorado Outlaw Mail-In Ballot Boxes?)

“The reference in the constitutional amendment to seals is a reference to removing antiquated language regarding the use of an old fashioned wax seal that was used in the 1800s,” Desmond Connor, the communications director for Connecticut Secretary of State, in an email to Check Your Fact. “It doesn’t have anything do with seals on voting machines or ballots.”

Connor directed Check Your Fact to a webpage on the Connecticut Secretary of State site. It shows the proposed Constitutional amendment, which reads “Shall the Constitution of the State be amended to permit the General Assembly to provide for early voting?”

Furthermore, Connecticut’s Office of Legislative Research explained that the the text applies to certain copies of election results, not the statutory requirement of the results. There is no mention of the removal of a security seal on ballots, contrary to the post’s claims.

Misinformation and false claim surrounding the 2022 midterms have spread rapidly over social media leading up to the elections. Check Your Fact recently debunked a claim that Dr. Oz received a Nobel Prize.