3rd time’s the charm? Bridgeport votes again in a mayoral election marred by ballot irregularities

For the third time, voters in Connecticut’s largest city will try to pick a mayor Tuesday in an election upended by allegations of malfeasance involving absentee ballots.

Turnout was expected to be low for the vote in Bridgeport, which is holding a new Democratic primary because results of the first one back in September were tossed out by a judge. That extraordinary invalidation came after surveillance video showed supporters of Mayor Joe Ganim dropping stacks of absentee ballots into outdoor drop boxes.

Because the court decision throwing out the primary results came less than a week before the general election was scheduled, the general election went ahead in November. But the results didn’t count.

The first primary, the general election and Tuesday’s rerun primary have all pitted Ganim against fellow Democrat John Gomes, formerly the city’s acting chief administrative officer. The two Democrats are eligible to face each other in general elections as well as the primary because both appear on the ballot as minor party nominees as well as Democrats.

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Ganim is an incumbent who served seven years in prison for racketeering, extortion and other crimes stemming from his first 12-year stint as mayor. By narrow margins, he got more votes in last year’s two invalidated contests.

Those races are currently the subject of multiple investigations and Tuesday’s primary may not be the final word on who becomes Bridgeport’s next mayor. Superior Court Judge William Clark also ordered a new general election to be held Feb. 27. Unless one of them drops out, Ganim and Gomes both would be on the ballot again as minor party candidates. They would face Republican David Herz and independent candidate Lamond Daniels.

While the race has been overshadowed by the allegations of absentee ballot violations, Ganim has tried to tout improvements made in the city under his leadership, urging voters not to change course. Throughout the campaign, Gomes has called for a more inclusive and transparent city government.

Bridgeport, a heavily Democratic working-class city of 148,000 located about 62 miles (100 km) east of New York City, for decades has been under state and federal scrutiny for alleged irregularities involving absentee ballots. New primaries have been called over the years in state legislative and local city council races because of absentee ballot problems.

Many of the issues relate to a practice known as ballot harvesting, where campaign workers go to people’s homes, help them fill out absentee ballots, and then either mail those ballots in or deposit them in drop boxes.

Connecticut requires people to drop off their absentee ballots themselves, though in some circumstances they can be deposited by family members, police, local election officials or a caregiver.

The security camera videos under scrutiny appeared to show the same people returning to a drop box and stuffing it with papers multiple times.

Ganim denied any wrongdoing personally and accused Gomes supporters of committing the same fraud, which Gomes denied.

Various steps have been taken to restore voter confidence and secure this new primary, including printing serial numbers on both absentee ballot applications and ballots.

Two interim election monitors were assigned by the state to spot-check absentee ballot applications for Tuesday’s election in parts of Bridgeport to confirm they were legitimate. They also worked to educate the public and city election workers about election rules.

The Secretary of the State’s office deployed more than a dozen nonpartisan volunteers to polling places in Bridgeport to record any voting issues that might arise and help file any complaints, if necessary.

Despite efforts to clamp down on possible election misdeeds, both campaigns accused the other of committing violations in the days leading up to Tuesday’s contest.

Last week, Secretary of the State Stephanie Thomas announced her office filed a complaint with the State Elections Enforcement Commission concerning new allegations involving absentee ballot applications.

In a debate on WICC-AM on Monday, Ganim accused Gomes of wrongdoing with absentee ballot applications and Gomes accused Ganim operatives of “harassing and bullying” city voters.

“We need to get rid of the corruption in our city,” Gomes said.

Ganim retorted shortly after, saying “I’m going to not respond to the personal attacks Mr. Gomes is opening.” He later said, “At this point, my urging to Bridgeport residents is to come out and vote on Tuesday despite the weather. We need to clear this up.”