West Haven Republican Barry Lee Cohen, who lost the city's mayoral race by just 32 votes, has filed a lawsuit over the results, claiming there were issues with the handling and counting of absentee ballots.
The civil complaint, filed in New Haven Superior Court Monday, names as defendants Democratic Mayor Nancy Rossi as well as both the Republican and Democratic registrars of voters and other officials involved in elections.
Cohen and his attorneys claim that election officials improperly handled absentee ballots, accepting some that should have been rejected and not following state requirements regarding the processing and handling of the ballots.
There were 7,999 in-person votes cast in West Haven's election, with 3,865 for Rossi and 3,937 for Cohen. However, Rossi won the election with the addition of the 702 absentee ballots, with 393 for the incumbent mayor and 297 for her challenger. After a recount, Rossi secured 4,275 votes and Cohen had 4,243 votes, a margin of just 32 votes.
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Cohen is calling on the court to set aside the election results and either declare all of the absentee ballots void, then declare him the winner, or to set aside the election results, declare the absentee ballots void and order a new special election for the office of the mayor.
NBC Connecticut has reached out to Rossi's office and the West Haven Registrar of Voters for comment.
