Harvard Kennedy School Shorenstein Center

Reported Voting Issues: Litchfield County, Connecticut

About this Report

This report tracks self-reports of voting-related issues including misleading election messages, intimidation, and voter registration problems to help identify areas that may need a closer look. It is part of the broader 2026 Voting Information Trends Research Initiative, which examines how Americans access voting information and understand key election-related topics ahead of the 2026 U.S. elections.

We include counties where at least 50 people responded to our survey. Of 250 such counties, Litchfield County ranked 170th highest in reports during this survey period. Findings reflect 50 respondents from Litchfield County, Connecticut, surveyed between August 23 and October 26, 2026.

Important Note: This is not a nationally or locally representative sample. Respondents are recruited online, and counties rated higher risk by the Voting Rights Lab are oversampled. Figures are unweighted and reflect only those who responded, not the broader county population. Findings should be interpreted as signals that warrant further attention or verification, rather than as representative estimates or rankings of election administration, election integrity, or the prevalence of voting problems among county residents.

Monitored election problems

ProblemCounts when a respondent reports they…Time window
Registration challenge noticeGot a notice that their voter registration was challenged or canceled, or that they were removed from the rolls.Past month
Conflicting registration informationGot conflicting information about their voter registration.Past week or month
Discouraged from registeringSomeone tried to discourage them from registering or staying registered.Past day, week or month
Misleading calls or textsGot a text, email, message, call or robocall about the 2026 election that felt misleading, coercive or unusual.Past day, week or month
Intimidation or harassmentExperienced or witnessed harassment or intimidation connected with voting or elections.2026 election cycle
Trouble with a voting taskHad trouble registering, checking their registration, or requesting, returning or tracking a mail ballot.2026 election

Table of Contents

Select a name to go to that section.

SectionWhat it shows
Summary of FindingsShare of Litchfield County respondents reporting each problem, compared with the Connecticut and national rates
Week by weekWeekly shares for the three problems asked about in the past day or week
Who reported a problemShares by gender, age, household income, race/ethnicity, education and party
Follow-up detailFollow-up answers for each problem reported by more than 10 people
Connecticut overviewThe same measures for all respondents in Connecticut, for comparison
National overviewThe same measures for all respondents nationally, for comparison
About the surveyWhat the survey monitors, how counties are ranked, and limits of the data

Summary of Findings

24.0% of Litchfield County respondents (12 of 50) reported at least one of six election problems, compared with 26.5% nationally. No single problem is higher than the national rate by more than the margin of error. Statewide, 22.1% of Connecticut respondents (197 of 890) reported at least one problem; the chart shows Litchfield County, Connecticut and national rates side by side. Litchfield County respondents make up 5.6% of all Connecticut respondents (50 of 890) and 0.1% of all respondents nationally (50 of 56,077).

Share reporting each problem, Litchfield County, Connecticut

Figure 1. Share of Litchfield County, Connecticut respondents reporting each problem, with the Connecticut and national shares, Aug 23–Oct 26, 2026. Litchfield County n = 50; Connecticut n = 890 (including Litchfield County, 6% of the state's respondents); national n = 56,077. Margin of error for the county share reporting any problem: ±11.8 percentage points, so the county figure is within the margin of error of the national rate. Source: CHIP50 survey data.

Week by week

Weekly share reporting each problem, Litchfield County, Connecticut

Figure 2. Weekly share of Litchfield County, Connecticut respondents reporting each problem (teal line with circles), with Connecticut statewide (red line with squares, including Litchfield County) and the national share (black dashed line). The shaded band is the 95% confidence interval for the national share, which is the range the weekly figure could vary based on the sample size alone. Hollow points are weeks with fewer than 10 Litchfield County respondents. Weeks start Monday; only problems asked about in the past day or week are shown (conflicting registration information: past week), each person counted once per week. Source: CHIP50 survey data.

Weekly groups in Litchfield County are small (2 to 23 people), and who answered these questions changes from week to week, so treat week-to-week movement as a signal to watch, not a finding. From Aug 23–Oct 12 to Oct 13–Oct 26, the share of Litchfield County respondents reporting any of these three problems went from 4.4% to 16.7% (45 and 18 people): too few people in one of the periods to tell.

Who reported a problem

Among groups of 15 or more people, reports were most common among independents and others (26.7%) and least common among high school graduates (17.6%), against 24.0% overall. Reports rose with education. Groups this small can swing a lot with one or two answers.

GroupReportedShare
All respondents12 of 5024.0%
Gender
Female7 of 2924.1%
Male5 of 2123.8%
Age
25 to 444 of 9–
45 to 646 of 2920.7%
65 and over2 of 1216.7%
Household income
Under 25K2 of 1020.0%
25k to under 50k5 of 1338.5%
50K to under 75K1 of 8–
75K to under 100K2 of 8–
100K and over2 of 1118.2%
GroupReportedShare
Race/ethnicity
White or Caucasian10 of 4522.2%
Hispanic or Latino3 of 5–
Black or African American1 of 1–
Other1 of 1–
Native American or Alaska Native0 of 1–
Education
Some High School or Less0 of 2–
High School Graduate3 of 1717.6%
Some College3 of 1520.0%
College Degree4 of 1330.8%
Graduate Degree2 of 3–
Party
Democrat3 of 1225.0%
Republican5 of 2321.7%
Independent/Other4 of 1526.7%

Share reporting at least one of the six problems, by group, Litchfield County, Connecticut, Aug 23–Oct 26, 2026. Race/ethnicity is select-all-that-apply, so one person can appear in more than one group. Shares are shown for groups of 10 or more people. Source: CHIP50 survey data.

Follow-up detail

Follow-up detail is shown for each problem reported by more than 10 people. Not shown: registration challenge notices (0 people), conflicting registration information (no follow-up question), being discouraged from registering (2 people), misleading calls or texts (7 people), intimidation or harassment (2 people) and trouble with a voting task (2 people).

Connecticut Overview

August 23 to October 26, 2026. 890 respondents across Connecticut, including people whose county is not on file.

22.1% of Connecticut respondents (197 of 890) reported at least one of six election problems, compared with 26.5% nationally. No single problem is higher than the national rate by more than the margin of error.

Share reporting each problem, Connecticut

Figure 3. Share of Connecticut respondents reporting each problem, with the national share, Aug 23–Oct 26, 2026. Connecticut n = 890; national n = 56,077. Margin of error for the state share reporting any problem: ±2.7 percentage points, so the state figure is lower than the national rate by more than the margin of error. Source: CHIP50 survey data.

Connecticut: Week by week

Weekly share reporting each problem, Connecticut

Figure 4. Weekly share of Connecticut respondents reporting each problem (red line), with the national share (black dashed line). The shaded band is the 95% confidence interval for the national share, which is the range the weekly figure could vary based on the sample size alone. Hollow points are weeks with fewer than 10 Connecticut respondents. Weeks start Monday; only problems asked about in the past day or week are shown (conflicting registration information: past week), each person counted once per week. Source: CHIP50 survey data.

Weekly groups in Connecticut are small (51 to 303 people), and who answered these questions changes from week to week, so treat week-to-week movement as a signal to watch, not a finding.

Connecticut: Who reported a problem

Among groups of 30 or more people, reports were most common among people aged 18 to 24 (41.9%) and least common among people 65 and over (10.3%), against 22.1% overall. Reports fell with age. By race and ethnicity, reports were most common among Hispanic or Latino respondents (33.3%, 43 of 129), 1.7 times the rate among White or Caucasian respondents (19.6%, 126 of 644), a difference larger than the margin of error; Black or African American respondents (26.1%) fell in between.

GroupReportedShare
All respondents197 of 89022.1%
Gender
Female105 of 52220.1%
Male92 of 36825.0%
Age
18 to 2418 of 4341.9%
25 to 4490 of 29730.3%
45 to 6470 of 36519.2%
65 and over19 of 18510.3%
Household income
Under 25K31 of 19016.3%
25k to under 50k45 of 21121.3%
50K to under 75K38 of 16423.2%
75K to under 100K35 of 14324.5%
100K and over38 of 15923.9%
GroupReportedShare
Race/ethnicity
White or Caucasian126 of 64419.6%
Black or African American40 of 15326.1%
Hispanic or Latino43 of 12933.3%
Native American or Alaska Native3 of 2015.0%
Asian or Asian American3 of 1618.8%
Other3 of 6–
Education
Some High School or Less5 of 3116.1%
High School Graduate63 of 27023.3%
Some College42 of 21319.7%
College Degree65 of 27323.8%
Graduate Degree22 of 10321.4%
Party
Democrat88 of 37623.4%
Republican53 of 22024.1%
Independent/Other56 of 29319.1%

Share reporting at least one of the six problems, by group, Connecticut, Aug 23–Oct 26, 2026. Race/ethnicity is select-all-that-apply, so one person can appear in more than one group. Shares are shown for groups of 10 or more people. Source: CHIP50 survey data.

Connecticut: Follow-up detail

Follow-up detail is shown for each problem reported by more than 10 people. Not shown: conflicting registration information (no follow-up question).

Registration notices: who sent the notice

Election office47% (8)
A political party or campaign47% (8)
A private group or organization24% (4)
News or social media24% (4)
Not sure18% (3)

Share of the 17 people asked.

Trouble with a voting task, by task

Trouble registering4% (34)
Trouble checking registration3% (29)
Trouble tracking a ballot2% (19)
Trouble requesting a mail ballot2% (18)
Trouble returning a mail ballot1% (8)

Share of the 894 people asked.

Discouraged from registering: who discouraged them

News or social media35% (14)
A political party or campaign30% (12)
A private group or organization25% (10)
Election office22% (9)
Other10% (4)
Not sure8% (3)

Share of the 40 people asked.

National Overview

August 23 to October 26, 2026. 56,077 respondents who answered all six questions.

26.5% of respondents (14,861 of 56,077) reported at least one of six election problems. The most common were misleading calls or texts (15.7%) and intimidation or harassment (7.7%); the least common was registration challenge notices (2.5%).

Share of respondents reporting each problem, national

Figure 5. Share of respondents reporting each problem, national, Aug 23–Oct 26, 2026. Each person counted once; bases vary slightly by question (56,077 to 56,446). Margin of error for the national share reporting any problem: ±0.4 percentage points. Source: CHIP50 survey data.

National: Week by week

Weekly share reporting each problem, national

Figure 6. Weekly share of respondents reporting each problem, national. The shaded band is the 95% confidence interval for the national share, which is the range the weekly figure could vary based on the sample size alone. Weeks start Monday; only problems asked about in the past day or week are shown (conflicting registration information: past week), each person counted once per week, so weekly rates are lower than full-period rates. Source: CHIP50 survey data.

Misleading calls or texts went from 6.8% in the week of Aug 31 to 11.8% in the week of Oct 19; being discouraged from registering went from 1.9% in the week of Aug 31 to 2.0% in the week of Oct 19; conflicting registration information went from 2.0% in the week of Aug 31 to 2.1% in the week of Oct 19. Weeks have 2,874 to 16,019 respondents (the first, partial week 388), so the margin of error is narrow except in that first week. From Aug 23–Oct 12 to Oct 13–Oct 26, the share of respondents reporting any of these three problems went from 10.4% to 13.9% (44,992 and 16,011 people): a rise larger than the margin of error.

National: Who reported a problem

Among groups of 200 or more people, reports were most common among people aged 18 to 24 (42.5%) and least common among people 65 and over (19.0%), against 26.5% overall. Reports rose with income and education, and fell with age. By race and ethnicity, reports were most common among Hispanic or Latino respondents (33.6%, 1628 of 4850), 8 points higher than White or Caucasian respondents (25.1%, 10421 of 41451), a difference larger than the margin of error; Asian or Asian American respondents (30.5%), Black or African American respondents (30.2%), Other respondents (30.1%), Pacific Islander or Native Hawaiian respondents (29.3%) and Native American or Alaska Native respondents (29.0%) fell in between.

GroupPeopleShare
All respondents56,07726.5%
Gender
Female32,59424.6%
Male23,48329.1%
Age
18 to 243,00042.5%
25 to 4420,21632.0%
45 to 6421,42623.0%
65 and over11,43519.0%
Household income
Under 25K14,92422.3%
25k to under 50k15,84024.7%
50K to under 75K10,77127.8%
75K to under 100K6,12430.5%
100K and over7,82832.6%
GroupPeopleShare
Race/ethnicity
White or Caucasian41,45125.1%
Black or African American9,96630.2%
Hispanic or Latino4,85033.6%
Native American or Alaska Native1,86929.0%
Asian or Asian American1,64830.5%
Other47830.1%
Pacific Islander or Native Hawaiian31429.3%
Education
Some High School or Less2,60519.1%
High School Graduate17,57423.2%
Some College14,40425.8%
College Degree16,72430.0%
Graduate Degree4,77032.7%
Party
Democrat20,12929.2%
Republican17,07326.4%
Independent/Other18,81423.6%

Share reporting at least one of the six problems, by group, national. Race/ethnicity is select-all-that-apply, so one person can appear in more than one group. Source: CHIP50 survey data.

National: Follow-up detail

Follow-up detail for respondents nationwide who reported each problem. Not shown: conflicting registration information (no follow-up question).

Registration notices: who sent the notice

Election office46% (647)
A political party or campaign28% (394)
News or social media22% (308)
A private group or organization21% (299)
Not sure14% (191)
Other3% (45)

Share of the 1,401 people asked.

Trouble with a voting task, by task

Trouble registering3% (1,789)
Trouble checking registration3% (1,689)
Trouble requesting a mail ballot2% (1,041)
Trouble tracking a ballot2% (1,039)
Trouble returning a mail ballot1% (656)

Share of all 56,446 respondents asked.

Discouraged from registering: who discouraged them

News or social media35% (749)
A political party or campaign32% (684)
A private group or organization27% (584)
Election office25% (544)
Other10% (210)
Not sure10% (206)

Share of the 2,161 people asked.

About the survey

The 2026 Voting Information Trends research Initiative tracks how people get voting information and monitors possible election-related problems reported at the county level. We focus on issues respondents say they have personally experienced or observed, including misleading election communications, intimidation, voter registration problems, and difficulties completing voting-related tasks. The goal is to identify signals that may warrant closer attention.

We survey about 1,000 U.S. adults each day through an online, nonprobability sample covering all 50 states and Washington, D.C. State-level quotas are used for race, ethnicity, age, and gender. We also collect additional responses from selected counties identified as higher risk by the Voting Rights Lab (VRL), whose 2026 risk index considers factors including electoral competitiveness, election laws and procedures, litigation, and concerns involving state and local election actors.

How to read this report

Counties with at least 50 respondents are ranked by the share of unique respondents reporting at least one monitored problem during the data-collection period. We also report results for individual problems, weekly trends, demographic groups, and when sample sizes allow, additional follow-up detail.

Weekly trends are shown only for questions that ask about experiences in the past day or week, and each respondent is counted once per week. Figures include a 95% margin of error based on sample size. We describe a county as higher than the national rate only when the difference is larger than that margin.

When a respondent selects a problem but then states in an optional written follow-up that nothing actually happened, we recode the response as not reporting the problem. These contradictions are identified using a large language model (LLM) assisted coding and reviewed by a member of the research team.

About the data

These results are signals, not estimates of prevalence. The survey is not nationally or locally representative, and results should not be used to estimate how common a problem is in the country or in any county. Figures are unweighted and describe the people who responded. Unlike individual reports found on social media, these responses come from a standardized survey using the same questions and time periods across respondents, allowing us to compare patterns across places and against a national benchmark.

The purpose of the survey is to identify issues that may warrant independent investigation or verification. Election officials, journalists, and other organizations can then assess those reports and respond when appropriate.

Because the data are self-reported, a response does not by itself verify that the reported problem occurred. Respondents may also interpret questions differently from researchers. For example, some reports of “misleading calls or texts” describe campaign messages rather than false voting information, and some registration notices may come from campaigns or advocacy organizations rather than election offices. These findings should therefore be treated as signals of where to look more closely, not counts of verified incidents.

Use of AI in this report

The research team wrote and reviewed the “About the survey” section. The summaries of the results are filled in automatically from templates built with AI. All numbers come directly from the survey data. Automated text can contain errors, so readers should check the summaries against the tables and charts.