BRIDGEPORT, Conn — A state judge has taken the unusual step of ordering a new Democratic mayoral primary in Connecticut’s largest city to be held after the Nov. 7 general election is completed. The decision comes after surveillance videos showed a woman putting what appeared to be absentee ballots into an outdoor ballot box days before the original primary.
Superior Court Judge William Clark determined the allegations of possible malfeasance warrant throwing out the results of the Sept. 12 primary, which incumbent Bridgeport Mayor Joe Ganim won by 251 votes out of 8,173 cast. Absentee ballots secured his margin of victory.
“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,” Judge Clark wrote in his ruling, adding that the videos “are shocking to the court and should be shocking to all the parties.”
News of the Bridgeport videos has spread through right-wing social media platforms and on far-right media, connecting the controversy to the 2020 stolen election claims.
The new primary date has not been set yet.
Secretary of the State Stephanie Thomas said in a statement:
We’re pleased Judge Clark is protecting the integrity of our elections by ordering a new Primary Election. Per the Court’s decision, the Secretary of the State’s office will confer with the mayoral candidate campaigns, elections officials in Bridgeport, and other officials to determine the date of the new Primary within 10 days.
We will work with the interim election monitor to determine next steps, and we will issue a new election calendar, which will be posted to MyVote.ct.gov once the new primary date has been set.
We hope the city will ensure that all eligible voters are made aware of the new date to avoid disenfranchising any citizens. The Court’s finding that there was a ‘significant mishandling of ballots’ should be of great concern to all. Our office will continue to advocate for policies such as drop box surveillance, a Connecticut Election Court, and investment in voter education – all of which will strengthen our election system.
Ganim issued a statement following the decision as well:
Certainly, today's decision by the court is a substantial one in the court case, and I'll wait to be apprised by the lawyers as to whether or not they want to take an appeal. But what hasn't changed, and what's really important, is this November 7th, Tuesday, in the city of Bridgeport is Election Day. It's a general election for mayor and all the municipal offices. I'm the endorsed Democratic candidate on the top line, and I'm asking everyone to come out and vote in this election. Let's send a powerful message that we want to keep the progress going in Bridgeport.
Ganim’s opponent, John Gomes, whose campaign obtained the surveillance video and released it publicly after the primary, sued city officials and demanded a new primary, or for him to be declared the winner.
"This is a victory for the people of Bridgeport. Our campaign always believed that the integrity of our democratic process must be upheld and Superior Court Judge William Clark agreed," said Gomes in a statement.
Ganim, who was convicted of corruption during a first stint as mayor but won his old job back in an election after his release from prison, has repeatedly denied any knowledge of wrongdoing related to ballots and has raised concerns about other videos which he says show Gomes’ campaign workers dropping in multiple pieces of paper resembling ballots. Gomes has said his staff did nothing wrong.
The Gomes campaign said they sorted through over 10,000 documents and more than 2,000 hours of ballot box surveillance video that was obtained through a subpoena.
The woman seen in the obtained surveillance video is Wanda Geter-Pataky. She is an Operation Specialist for the City of Bridgeport and was placed on leave pending the investigation.
The State Elections Enforcement Commission is also investigating and took at least over a dozen complaints in this case.
Under Connecticut law, voters using a collection box must drop off their completed ballots themselves, or designate certain family members, police, local election officials or a caregiver to do it for them.
FOX61 has reached out to Ganim's office, and the Connecticut Secretary of the State's Office for comment.
This is a developing story.
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