Connecticut’s House and Senate Republicans called for greater penalties, and increased restrictions on the distribution of absentee ballot applications and ballot drop boxes in the wake of a voting scandal in the Bridgeport mayoral race that made national headlines, during a press conference.
Senate Republican Leader Stephen Harding, R-Brookfield, said the Democrat majority in the General Assembly is trying to sweep the matter under the rug with half-measures passed by the Government Administration and Elections Committee.
“The world is watching Connecticut after those embarrassing Bridgeport ballot stuffing videos went viral,” Harding said. “Don’t be fooled by those who say the legislature is getting to the root of the ballot fraud problems in Bridgeport and elsewhere. Don’t be fooled by Democrats who say election reform and election integrity is their top priority.”
Harding was referring to a 2023 video leaked to Bridgeport mayoral primary candidate John Gomes’ campaign that allegedly showed Bridgeport Mayor Joe Ganim’s campaign staffer Wanda Geter-Pataky stuffing a ballot drop box with absentee ballots. The video set off a media firestorm and lengthy court case that resulted in a primary election do-over, and mayoral election do-over, both of which Ganim won.
But the video also opened up wide debate over how absentee ballots are handled in Connecticut, criminal penalties for voter fraud, and the use of drop boxes which were first put in place during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Republicans seek to prevent the unsolicited mailing of absentee ballot applications by campaigns, put a hold on the use of drop boxes, impose a mandatory one-year prison sentence for election fraud, require the Secretary of State to annually update the voter rolls, and require a copy of identification to accompany absentee ballots. The measure would include a provision to provide free voter IDs and free photocopies by public libraries.
Republicans tried to push some of these measures during a September 2023 Special Session, following the release of the Bridgeport video, but the amendments were blocked.
The push by Republicans also comes following the Government Administration and Elections (GAE) Committee’s passage of two bills related to elections security: one, HB 5498, a lengthy bill that would require ballot drop boxes to be under video surveillance, among numerous other things; and a second bill, SB 390, that would impose mandatory one-year sentences for election fraud.
Sen. Rob Sampson, R-Wolcott, and ranking member on the GAE Committee, said he didn’t want to denigrate HB 5498, which passed unanimously, because there were some good things in the bill, but wants to see it expanded to include these reforms, as well. Sampson said that he agrees that expanding election access is positive but that those expansions don’t include the proper security measures to ensure election integrity.
“I don’t want to come across that we’re not supportive of that legislation (HB 5498), I think it does some good things, it just does not go far enough,” Sampson said, noting that the ballot drop boxes in Bridgeport were monitored by video. “So, I don’t know why anyone would believe that pointing a camera at a drop box now is going to solve the problem.”
“We would like to address the problem in the most significant and proper way possible and that is to address the way our absentee ballot process works in Connecticut,” Sampson said. “It’s a flawed system.”
Sampson said the first step would be cleaning up the voter rolls in Connecticut, noting that voters move or pass away every day, but since the voter rolls aren’t regularly audited or updated, absentee ballot applications are mailed to addresses and people “who do not deserve them.” However, he said the biggest problem is the unsolicited widespread distribution of absentee applications by campaigns or local governments.
Those planning to distribute five or more absentee ballots must register with the town clerk, according to the Secretary of State’s Office. HB 5498 limits the distribution of five or more absentee ballots to an individual “earlier than ninety days prior to the first of issuance of absentee voting sets,” but Republicans argued that wasn’t enough.
“The unsolicitation of absentee ballot application clearly is a problem,” said Rep. Gale Mastrofrancesco, R-Wolcott, ranking member of the GAE Committee. “That one policy alone will definitely deter and make a difference in our elections.”
Despite the increased scrutiny of Bridgeport’s 2023 election do-overs, Connecticut Secretary of State Stephanie Thomas indicated in a press release that she has referred more Bridgeport election complaints to the State Elections and Enforcement Commission (SEEC), which investigates election complaints and can issue penalties.
Thomas indicated her office received reports of voters receiving absentee ballots without requesting them, a campaign offering cash in return for completed absentee ballots, and further “suspicious activity at a drop box,” discovered by surveillance footage. Thomas used the announcement to reiterate her support for HB 5498 “to close loopholes observed by our election monitors.”
“We continue our advocacy for election security and know that the legislature is equally committed to passing legislation that protects the integrity of Connecticut’s electoral process,” Thomas said in the press release.
Thomas opposed SB 390, saying that mandatory prison sentences could be levied against voters who simply made a mistake, could have a negative effect on recruiting election workers, and because there “is little public awareness as to what constitutes a violation,” according to written testimony.
In 2022, Gov. Ned Lamont signed legislation expanding the reasons individuals can request absentee ballots, and there is a referendum question on the 2024 ballot to implement no-excuse absentee ballot voting in Connecticut.
Absentee ballot violations can result in a $2,000 fine by the SEEC and criminal charges for a Class D felony, punishable with imprisonment between one and five years, according to the Secretary of State’s website.
“It’s a completely unfair system and it’s an imperfect system,” Sampson said. “This is being exploited in places like Bridgeport where they are using holes in our system in a big way to cheat and advance their campaign, but it’s happening in other places as well.”
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I will sound like a dinosaur by saying we have gained nothing by eliminating the mechanical voting machines of which us older people grew up with. Yes they took up space to be stored between elections but they were not hackable. If they jammed the results up to that point were recorded and people used another machine. The establishment in control is constantly introducing systems and methods that can be subverted by subtle measures and means. They benefit from a populous that is dubious of election outcomes because it makes people think that they’re vote doesn’t count so more people don’t vote and that mindset becomes a self filling prophecy.