State Senate pro-tempore Martin Looney (D-New Haven) and Senate Majority Leader Bob Duff (D-Norwalk) released a statement today in support of the election results of the 29th Senate District, and in opposition to the district’s Republican candidate Chris Reddy, for his recent attempts to challenge the results. The statement marks the latest in a flurry of discourse surrounding Reddy’s refusal to concede.

“The votes have been counted, and the results are clear: State Senator Mae Flexer won reelection in the 29th District,” read their statement. “Local Democratic and Republican registrars and local political party leaders have stood by the integrity and security of that election.”

Reddy filed a complaint with the State Elections Enforcement Commission (SEEC) on Tuesday, and called on the Secretary of State’s Office to withhold the race’s certification, as a result of what he called “a number of red flags” regarding the elections process, per a post made to his campaign Facebook page. While Reddy has posed his complaints surrounding the election as coming from a place of respect for election integrity, opponents to his claim have claimed it serves only to cast further doubt on the country’s democratic institutions at a time when doubts are already high.

“Continued comments denying reality are, at best, irresponsible and, at worst, dangerous to our democracy and the safety of local officials,” said Looney and Duff. “Republican State Senate candidate Chris Reddy needs to drop this desperate charade, acknowledge that he lost, and accept the will of the people.”

The 29th Senate District, covers entirely or in part the towns Brooklyn, Canterbury, Killingly, Mansfield, Thompson, Pomfret, Putnam, Windham and Scotland. Flexer has served as the district’s senator since winning her first term in 2014. Despite her ten-year incumbency, Reddy’s campaign was the closest to successfully dethroning her; Flexer received 49.8% of the vote, while Reddy received 48.4%, a difference of only 591 votes. Reddy’s grievances regarding the election included the number of same-day registrations recorded in the district as well as campaign strategies used by Mansfield’s Democrat Town Committee and other state Democratic leaders.

“This filing is meant to draw the attention of Connecticut elections officials to some of the shocking information witnessed and recorded, relative to the voting process and ballots cast in Mansfield,” read Reddy’s post. “Voters across the 29th Senate District are dismayed, disheartened and, frankly, angered by what they have seen and heard occurred in Mansfield’s elections, and they want answers to their questions.”

In his affidavit of complaint, Reddy “calls into question” the voting promotion strategies used by Democrats on Mansfield’s UConn campus to entice students to vote. Per his complaint, Reddy claimed that Mansfield DTC paid for door hangers that said “VOTE DEMOCRAT, VOTE ROW A” to be hung across campus, paid for buses to drive students to and from the polling station, and paid for pizza, which was served to students waiting in line to vote by Flexer, Mansfield DTC Chair Ben Shaiken, and Rep. Greg Haddad (D- Mansfield). 

“The facts show a concerted, coordinated effort by CT Democrats to bring potentially ineligible, out-of-state/district college age voters to the polls,” read Reddy’s complaint. “This was done intentionally.”

Reddy also highlighted the fact that Mansfield had 2,522 same-day registration voters on Election Day, constituting the most same-day registered voters of any Connecticut municipality, with New Haven coming in second at 2,058. Reddy’s complaint said he has “valid concerns” that this high volume of same-day registrations could have led to a lax verification process from poll staff, who he claims could have admitted ineligible voters. Interestingly, Reddy’s complaint said that he believes “at least 561 specific individuals were not properly registered.” If this were found to be true, he would still be short 30 votes.

Per the CT Mirror, neither the Secretary of State nor SEEC has the power to reject votes certified by local elections officials in lieu of a court order. Mansfield’s Republican and Democratic registrars issued a joint statement last week in response to Reddy’s various posts casting doubt on the election.

“As Mansfield’s elected registrars, we take incredibly seriously our duty to ensure free, fair and secure elections that comply with Connecticut law,” read the statement. “We are confident the election results in Mansfield are accurate. Protecting everyone’s right to vote is of the utmost importance.”

The Mansfield Republican and Democrat Town Committees also issued a joint statement last week affirming their support for the election results.

“We are confident that the votes cast in Mansfield, including those of approximately 3,000 UConn students, were lawfully cast and properly counted,” read the statement. “We are disappointed that Chris Reddy and his campaign are challenging the validity of Tuesday’s election and attempting to disqualify the votes of thousands of Mansfield citizens.”

Reddy directly responded to this statement in another Facebook post made yesterday morning, challenging the notion that he seeks to disqualify votes.

“Election integrity is not a partisan issue,” read his post. “We merely seek the opportunity to dismiss these concerns for ourselves and for the general public.”

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