Connecticut's Democratic Secretary of State, Stephanie Thomas, urged voters on Monday to vote in person for the upcoming primary race, citing concerns over potential fraud with absentee ballots.
The primary is scheduled for January 23, and Thomas emphasized the state's efforts to bolster its presence at City Hall. However, she acknowledged that the two officials assigned to oversee Bridgeport's elections cannot manage the entire process alone, as reported by the CT Examiner.
Thomas stated, "Our monitors cannot do it all, and we encourage anyone who can do so to vote in person on January 23rd." She further advised voters who had already submitted absentee ballots but were now having second thoughts, "If someone voted by absentee ballot, but is unsure if they should have done so, they may withdraw their absentee ballot by going in person to the Town Clerks office before 10 a.m. on Election Day, and they may then vote at their assigned polling place," as reported by NBC Connecticut.
This announcement follows a recent incident where a Democratic primary race was overturned by a judge due to alleged cheating by incumbent mayor Joe Ganim, as evidenced by video footage. On election night, Ganim was lagging behind his opponent, John Gomes, by 487 votes, according to ABC 7 NY. However, a surge of absentee ballots the next morning put Ganim ahead by 251 votes. In light of the substantial evidence, Superior Court Judge William Clark expressed serious doubts about the reliability of the election results.
Judge Clark ruled, "The volume of ballots so mishandled is such that it calls the results of the primary election into serious doubt and leaves the court unable to determine the legitimate result of the primary." Ganim, who had previously served time in prison for corruption during his initial term as Mayor, was re-elected after his release, as reported by The Associated Press.
The state legislature had previously decided to appoint an election monitor for the municipal election in 2023 and the state election this year. However, following Judge Clark's ruling, the role of the monitor was expanded, according to the CT Examiner. Thomas reported that two election monitors have been present daily at the Town Clerks office since December 29th, providing training for city election staff and meeting with local leaders to review the election process.
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