Ballot stuffing concerns forces CT judge to overturn Democratic mayoral election results

BRIDGEPORT, Conn. (TND) — A Connecticut judge on Wednesday overturned the results of a local election after concerns rose over possible ballot stuffing.

Bridgeport’s 2023 Democratic mayoral primary election, which saw incumbent Mayor Joe Ganim defeat challenger John Gomes, will now be redone in the wake of security footage allegedly showing people stuffing ballot boxes with numerous absentee forms. The ruling by Superior Court Judge William Clark comes just six days before the city’s general election.

The volume of ballots so mishandled is such that it calls the result of the primary election into serious doubt and leaves the court unable to determine the legitimate result of the primary,” Clark wrote in his ruling. “The videos are shocking to the court and should be shocking to all the parties.”

Though his ruling could be appealed, it is unclear if city officials will do so. In the meantime, the city’s election will continue as scheduled with Ganim as the Democratic nominee and Gomes as an independent.

“This is a victory for the people of Bridgeport,” Gomes, the city’s former chief administrative officer, told The Associated Press. “Our campaign always believed that the integrity of our democratic process must be upheld and Superior Court Judge William Clark agreed.”

Connecticut law says it is a state felony to be in possession of someone else’s ballot unless you are a “designee” for that person, CT Mirror writes. Any individual who requests more than five absentee ballots is required to report to the town clerk which voters received the ballots.

Anyone in violation of these laws can be fined up to $7,000 and receive up to five years in prison.

Spearheaded by former President Donald Trump, the topic of election integrity exploded following the 2020 presidential election in which a substantial amount of voters submitted absentee ballots. Several major lawsuits were filed alleging corruption and ballot stuffing in several major swing states. There is no proof that widespread election fraud impacted the result of the 2020 presidential election.