Republicans seek bipartisan election reform committee

Republican lawmakers want a bipartisan commission to focus on election reform, with the goal of making recommendations before the next legislative session in January.  

They say the group is needed but the legislature has not done enough to address ongoing election issues in Bridgeport.  

“We have real election integrity issues, things that people are aware of,” Sen. Rob Sampson, Republican of Wolcott, said during a press conference Thursday at the Legislative Office Building.  

The Republican request came just nine days after four Bridgeport campaign workers were arrested in connection with the 2019 mayoral election.  

Those people – including current city council member Alfredo Castillo and Democratic Town Committee Vice Chairwoman Wanda Geter-Pataky – are facing multiple charges, including mishandling absentee ballots.  

Bridgeport’s history of electoral questions – Geter-Pataky was also captured on camera stuffing absentee ballots into a drop box during last summer's Democratic mayoral primary – have garnered plenty of national attention.  

“It is truly embarrassing for our state,” said Sen. Stephen Harding, a Republican from Brookfield and the Senate minority leader.  

Democrats said the group isn’t needed because the legislature already has the Government Administrations and Elections Committee to consider changes.  

“We always stand ready as the chairs and members of the committee to hear testimony and recommendations and proposals,” said Rep. Matt Blumenthal, a Democrat from Stamford and co-chairman of GAE.  

Gov. Ned Lamont, who created a working group to study ranked choice voting, said he’s open to the Republican’s idea. He also agreed with Blumenthal, though, because he believes the legislature has a committee to do the same thing.  

“We can have a special committee and a special bipartisan committee, we can have a lot of committees,” Lamont said. “I think GAE should do their job.”  

Republicans said a new bipartisan group is needed because Democrats dismiss their ideas.  

They’ve unsuccessfully proposed requiring photo IDs for voters and rougher signature verification for absentee ballots, mandatory one-year prison sentences for people convicted of election fraud and other changes.  

“Clean elections in the state of Connecticut should not be a partisan issue,” Rep. Vincent Candelora, the Republican House minority leader, said.  

Blumenthal said the committee considers Republican proposals, including some that got included in broad election bill this year.  

He also said Democrats are against proposals they feel will limit access to voting.  

“We are not going to impose a one-size fits all situation that is going to deprive them of the ability to vote,” he said.  

Blumenthal also said the legislature’s bill this year, which Lamont signed into law, addresses some of the problems in Bridgeport.  

It limits how many absentee ballots a person can request. It also gives election regulators 90 days to decide if a case should be turned over to election regulators.   The State Election Enforcement Commission handed over the 2019 investigation to the state’s attorney’s office last year. Prosecutors took the case over, resulting in this month’s arrests.