Five people now face charges in the Bridgeport absentee ballot investigation we’ve been following since 2023. It’s once again bringing up concerns about the security of our elections.
Five people now face charges in the Bridgeport absentee ballot investigation we've been following since 2023. It's once again bringing up concerns about the security of our elections.
Alfredo Castillo, Wanda Geter-Pataky, Maria Pereia, Jazmarie Melendez and Margaret Joyce are being charged with multiple counts of misrepresenting eligibility requirements of absentee voters and more during the 2023 mayoral primary.
For the full charges of each person, you can check out our previous coverage here.
This development to this years-long investigation is an unsettling reminder for Bridgeport residents when they reflect on this controversy from two years ago.
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"The truth is going to come out sooner or later and it finally did,” Shalinda, of Bridgeport, said.
"I think it's a big problem, I really do,” Anthony Lombardo, of Bridgeport, said.
Geter-Pataky is the vice chair of the Bridgeport Democrats. Castillo and Pereia are Bridgeport City Council members.
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Allegations claim absentee ballots were misused for the primary election between incumbent Mayor Joe Ganim and John Gomes.
Ganim won the first primary, the re-do primary and the general election.
“My office, the state elections enforcement commission and the legislature have been laser focused on Bridgeport,” Stephanie Thomas, Secretary of the State of Connecticut (D), said.
Thomas said many loopholes have been closed since this unfolded, and they impact every town in the state.
She said a new law requires that drop boxes in the state have a camera with footage that is retained -- to allow more cases to use video evidence.
"A number of technical changes were made that, both limit the length of time an absentee ballot application can be used, and also the length of time, in which they are available prior to each given election,” Thomas said.
In November, voters approved a new Constitutional amendment that lets them send in their absentee ballots by mail. There are bills related to this new change in the legislature now.
As this Bridgeport case continues, Thomas said the work to prevent it does, too, proposing a bill herself that seeks to create a bilingual election education campaign and continue using election monitors.
Castillo, Geter-Pataky, Pereia, Melendez and Joyce were released with the expectation they’ll appear in court on March 6.
NBC Connecticut has reached out to both Ganim and Gomes multiple times, but hasn't heard back.
