The Connecticut Secretary of State's Office warned voters Monday. Concerns about election fraud and encouraged residents to vote in person.
according to press release Democratic Secretary of State Stephanie Thomas is urging voters from her office to head to the polls instead of filling out absentee ballots in the January primary in Bridgeport.
Thomas noted that while the state is working to increase its presence at City Hall, only two officials will be overseeing elections in Bridgeport. CT examiner report. She said, “You can't do everything.”
“If you are able, we encourage you to vote in person on January 23rd. If you voted by absentee ballot but are unsure whether you should have done so, please vote in person before 10 a.m. on Election Day. You can go to City Hall and withdraw your absentee ballot and vote at your designated polling place,” Thomas said.
In November, a judge ruled to vacate Bridgeport's sentence. Democratic primary election Following allegations of absentee voting fraud. Mayor Joe Ganim initially appeared to be winning his re-election campaign, but was accused of fraud by his primary opponent, John Gomez.
Gomez's lawyers presented 180 pieces of evidence and video evidence to the court. The 18-minute video reportedly shows Wanda Getter Pataky, vice chair of the Bridgeport Democratic Town Committee and city operations specialist, stuffing a stack of ballots into a drop box. He was reportedly shown handing a ballot from his desk to another person. Eneida Martinez, a former city council member, was also allegedly arrested while depositing her ballot.
“Mr. Ganim was also right to be “shocked'' after watching the video clip of the evidence shown to him while on the witness stand,” Judge William Clark said. I have written. “The video should be shocking to the court and shocking to all parties.”
“The volume of misprocessed ballots in this manner casts serious doubt on the outcome of the primary election and leaves the courts unable to determine the legitimate outcome of the primary election,” Clark wrote. It was decided that
Ganim appeared to have won the primary by 250 votes for the first time after a large number of votes were mailed overnight. On election night, Ganim was trailing Gomez by 487 votes. The mayor denied involvement in any apparent election fraud.
City and state officials were ordered to work together to plan a new primary election.
Ganim, who was first elected mayor in 1991, had been in office for 12 years at the time of his arrest on bribery charges. Associated Press report. He resigned his position and spent seven years in prison after being convicted of extortion, extortion and other crimes. In 2015 after his release, he was re-elected to his previous position.
Public Affairs Director Tara Chozette told the CT Examiner on Monday that Bridgeport has a history of alleged absentee ballot fraud.
“Allegations of absentee ballot fraud in this city date back decades, so in-person voting is just one of many tools available to Bridgeport voters to combat the problems Judge Clark's order calls for. “It is important to know that there is no 'need to be addressed,'” Chozet said.
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