Absentee ballots submitted in Bridgeport are in question … again.
Incumbent mayor Joe Ganim won a Democratic primary election in the city of Bridgeport on Sept. 12.
But his challenger isn’t accepting the results. And now, the state is probing the primary.
Democrat John Gomes petitioned the local Superior Court to make him the winner of the primary – or to hold a new one, saying in a legal filing that the reliability of the results are “seriously in doubt.”
The legal challenge came after a video surfaced last weekend that alleged impropriety at the ballot box.
"Our campaign believes that the integrity of our democratic process must be upheld, and we are deeply troubled by what appears to be voter suppression and absentee ballot fraud in a video,” the Gomes campaign wrote in an email to Connecticut Public. “We call upon the State Elections Enforcement Commission (SEEC) to conduct a swift and comprehensive investigation into these allegations.”
It’s not the first time a Bridgeport mayoral primary ended in controversy. The State Elections Enforcement Commission recently recommended possible criminal violations for people tied to the Ganim campaign for re-election in 2019.
The State Elections Enforcement Commission is now investigating allegations of absentee ballot abuse in the 2023 Bridgeport Democratic primary.
State legislature’s special session continues Tuesday
State lawmakers are expected to vote on several items when they reconvene Tuesday including a proposal to move up Connecticut’s presidential preference primary.
The primary is slated for April 30, 2024 – nearly two months after residents in many states and U.S. territories vote for their party nominees in the 2024 U.S. presidential election.
It could be moved up four weeks to April 2, which would be in line with when New York, Rhode Island and Wisconsin are planning to hold their primaries.
Also on Tuesday, legislators are expected to vote on the nomination of Nora Dannehy to the bench of the Connecticut Supreme Court. Her nomination cleared the state Judiciary Committee earlier this week.
Dannehy, a former federal prosecutor and former general counsel to Gov. Ned Lamont, would replace Maria Araujo Khan.
Justice Khan was appointed in March as a judge on the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.
Frankie & Johnny premieres Fridays at 4:44 p.m. during All Things Considered on Connecticut Public Radio. Connecticut Public’s Jim Haddadin, Lisa Hagen, Ashad Hajela, Bria Lloyd, Chris Polansky, Kate Seltzer, Walter Smith Randolph contributed to this report.
