OPINION: Stephanie Thomas’ Partisan Meltdown Was a Disgrace—And ROVAC Let It Happen from Dominic Rapini
By Dominic Rapini, ’22 GOP candidate for Secretary of the State, Election Moderator
The job of a Registrar of Voters in Connecticut is, by design, nonpartisan. It’s not glamorous, it’s not highly paid, and for many, it’s not even full-time. These are hardworking public servants—some even volunteers—tasked with safeguarding the most sacred function in a democracy: the vote. They don’t ask for much. A little respect, some professional development, a chance to do their jobs well. What they got last week was a political ambush disguised as a training conference.
At the semi-annual ROVAC (Registrar of Voters Association of Connecticut) conference—a forum meant to be strictly nonpartisan—the state’s top elections official, Secretary of the State Stephanie Thomas, used her platform not to educate or inform but to deliver a campaign-style screed dripping with partisan venom. According to multiple attendees, Thomas veered into outright insult, reportedly referring to President Trump as the “General of the SS”—a not-so-subtle Nazi reference aimed at half the room, which consisted of Republican Registrars of Voters.
This wasn’t a slip of the tongue. It was deliberate. Inflammatory. Divisive. And deeply inappropriate.
What’s worse is the context. This wasn’t a political rally. It was a professional event—one many Registrars were required to attend to maintain certification. Instead of guidance, they were treated to an ideological lecture that mocked their beliefs, distorted facts, and accused them—implicitly and sometimes directly—of undermining democracy simply for holding different political views.
One attendee put it bluntly: “She stood in front of people who just want to do their jobs and effectively called them ‘Nazis’.”
Others walked out. Some sat in stunned silence. Some, out of disbelief, asked if anyone had recorded her. The answer: yes—and that footage is already circulating.
As if that wasn’t enough, Secretary Thomas leaned into fear-mongering around voter eligibility. She claimed, falsely, that married women could be prevented from voting if their ID didn’t exactly match their voter record.
One outraged Registrar responded:
“The married woman can’t vote thing boils my blood! Any person who has changed their name and holds a driver’s license (Real ID or otherwise) knows perfectly well how to verify their name. Stephanie knows how that works. She’s making a choice to scare and confuse women by weaponizing their gender for political gain. It’s unbelievably disgusting. These women trust her, and she’s exploiting that fear. She KNOWS she’s spreading false fear—and she doesn’t care. What kind of person does that?”
This is what passed for “training” at a state-run conference. Facts optional. Smears encouraged.
Thomas’ address wasn’t just offensive—it exposed a fundamental misunderstanding of her role. The Secretary of the State is not a political influencer. She is a constitutional officer sworn to serve all voters and all election officials—regardless of party. But her speech made one thing crystal clear: neutrality is not on her agenda. She also dismissed commonsense election safeguards like voter ID and citizenship verification. Never mind that about 80% of Americans, across party lines, support requiring government-issued ID to vote and believe only U.S. citizens should be allowed to cast ballots.
Instead of listening to the public, Secretary Thomas—like so many progressive ideologues—refuses to even acknowledge the growing evidence of noncitizens being registered and voting. In our own debate, she went as far as to suggest that some voter fraud is acceptable.
Let me be clear: it’s not.
States like Arizona are finally taking action. Following a lawsuit from America First Legal, Arizona counties are now working with the Department of Homeland Security to remove nearly 50,000 registrants lacking proof of citizenship. They’re checking their rolls monthly, as the law requires.
And in Connecticut?
We rely on a checkbox. No documentation. No verification. Just hope and good faith. Suggest adding any proof, and you’re labeled a “fascist.” Or the favorite insult these days—a “racist.”
That’s the atmosphere Secretary Thomas is promoting: where legitimate concerns about election integrity are mocked, and the very officials working to protect the system are smeared.
The Registrars in that room didn’t come to fight culture wars. They came to learn, to improve the process, to better serve all voters. These are civic-minded professionals—part-time, underpaid, and often underappreciated—who believe in the process. Who believe in showing up, doing the work, and keeping politics out of the polling place.
And what did they get? Accusations. Insults. Smirking contempt from the state’s top election official.
And the institution meant to protect them—ROVAC—sat on its hands. No pushback. No correction. No apology. The very organization that claims to represent Connecticut’s Registrars failed to defend them when it mattered most.
Secretary Thomas wasn’t just out of line—she was a disgrace to her office. If she wants to go back to activism, she’s welcome to it. But if she intends to hold constitutional office, she needs to act like it—and that means respecting all voters, all election officials, and the nonpartisan traditions that keep our democracy functioning.
She owes every Registrar in that room an apology.
But more than that, she owes it to the people of Connecticut to get on board with the SAVE Act, clean up our voter rolls, verify citizenship at registration, and finally do the job the state Constitution mandates her to do: ensure free, fair, and trustworthy elections for everyone. Not just the voters who agree with her politics.
And ROVAC? They owe their members a backbone.