A Democratic mayoral primary election in Bridgeport, Connecticut, was overturned by Superior Court Judge William Clark as a result of security camera evidence showing people shoving several absentee ballots into ballot drop boxes.
A judge has just annulled a mayoral primary election in Bridgeport, Connecticut, after Democratic strategists were caught using a ruse known as “ballot stuffing.” Charlie Kirk, the CEO of Turning Point USA, posted a segment of the compromised security video footage on X. A Democrat clerk can be seen repeatedly filling this drop box with illicit votes in a single day on this leaked video.
Kirk also questioned whether ballot stuffing is frequent in American elections, whether this is the first of many cases involving the practice, and whether the Connecticut case will set a precedent for future cases based on the video evidence and the recent court decision.
In his Wednesday ruling, Clark wrote, “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.”
According to The Associated Press, the Connecticut judge’s ruling was released six days prior to the city’s general election. As a result, voters will vote in Bridgeport’s mayoral election on Nov. 7, before later having the opportunity to vote for the Democratic nominee in a rescheduled primary election. The rescheduled primary election date has not yet been set.
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The Nov. 7 election will feature Ganim as the Democratic nominee, David Herz as the Republican nominee, and both Gomes and Lamond Daniels as independent candidates, according to The Associated Press.
Clark explained in his ruling that he did not have the authority to cancel or postpone the general election; nevertheless, the judge said he had seen enough evidence to rule in favor of a new Democratic primary election. Democratic Mayor Joe Ganim initially defeated Democratic challenger John Gomes in a Sept. 12 primary election by 251 votes out of 8,173 total votes, according to The Associated Press.
In his ruling, Clark highlighted evidence of abnormal numbers of absentee ballots in various voting districts, as well as surveillance video footage that showed multiple individuals stuffing stacks of ballots into ballot drop boxes, which is a violation of Connecticut law.
“The videos are shocking to the court and should be shocking to all the parties,” Clark stated.
Following Clark’s ruling, Gomes, who formerly served as the city’s chief administrative officer, said, “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.”
According to The Associated Press, Ganim has repeatedly denied knowledge of wrongdoing with regard to the ballot stuffing case in the primary election; however, the mayor was previously convicted on corruption charges before being elected again after serving time in prison.
In addition to the judge’s ruling that overturns the Democratic primary election results, the State Elections Enforcement Commission is investigating the ballot-stuffing allegations.
“These videos confirm our fears about how absentee ballots can be misused. Now the court has spoken,” state Senate Minority Leader Kevin Kelly, a Republican, said in a statement. “What we need now is trust, faith and confidence in our electoral system.”
American Military News Rephrased By: InfoArmed