Earlier this month Connecticut Secretary of the State Susan Bysiewicz began an aggressive propaganda campaign instructing voters to register with the Democratic and Republican parties ahead of the state’s August 10th primary elections. Byscewicz launched the effort at a press conference flanked by leaders of the Democratic and Republican parties and political establishment. In response to this partisan political push, Daniel Reale, an independent libertarian candidate for Congress in the state’s 2nd CD, has now lodged a formal complaint against Byscewiz with the Office of State Ethics, the State Elections Enforcement Commission and the Federal Election Commission.
The complaint, a copy of which was sent to Poli-Tea, charges Bysiewicz with using state funds and resources to boost enrollment in two specific parties, misusing public funds to influence the outcome of federal and other elections, misusing the official seal of the Secretary of State’s office for this purpose, and substantially complicating the ballot access petition efforts of third party and independent candidates for office in the state. Contacted via email, Mr. Reale says his ultimate goal is to “make sure the Secretary of State stops using public money and resources for political ends.” (Read the full interview with Mr. Reale at Third Party and Independent Daily.) Asked what prompted him to lodge the complaint, he writes:
I’m opposed to the Secretary of State misusing her seal and public money in order to work on behalf of the Republicans and Democrats. Contrary to popular belief, the Secretary of State’s office is not a political action committee. At the very least, the whole exercise is a political contribution to both major parties.
Reale said the Secretary of State’s propaganda campaign was unexpected only in its brazenness:
Bysiewicz has been crossing into a legal gray area for years, using her office in ethically questionable ways to say the least. While I found this to be morally objectionable, these were the sort of things you couldn’t legally hang your hat on. But I didn’t expect something this egregious in terms of ethics, elections, misapplication of public resources and political action committee violations – all in the same package.
Confronted with criticism of her “Affiliate and Participate” campaign, as it’s called, Bysiewicz has previously denied charges that she is engaged in a recruitment drive for the Democratic and Republican parties . . .
Read the whole thing. The post goes on to document the Democratic Secretary of State’s hostility toward minor parties, independents and unaffiliated voters.