Second hearing today in Bridgeport ballot stuffing scandal case

Attorneys have been reviewing the treasure trove of video and documents for the past two weeks.

News 12 Staff

Oct 12, 2023, 12:29 PM

Updated 460 days ago

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Court is back in session in the case of the alleged ballot stuffing in the Bridgeport mayoral race.
Democratic mayoral candidate John Gomes filed a lawsuit after leaked surveillance video appears to show a woman, later identified as a campaign organizer for Democratic Mayor Joe Ganim, stuffing a ballot box outside city hall with absentee ballots following the Democratic primary election.
Gomes led at the polls on primary day, but Ganim won by a margin of 251 votes due to absentee ballots.
In the first hearing two weeks ago, the City of Bridgeport said it would turn over more than 2,100 hours of surveillance videos, showing activity outside all the city's ballot boxes.
Attorneys have been reviewing the treasure trove of video and documents for the past two weeks.
Today, we expect to learn more about the contents of that evidence.
The State Elections Enforcement Committee is investigating the videos and other potential primary violations involving Wanda Geter-Pataky, the woman allegedly in the video.
Gomes is asking to be declared the winner - or for a new primary.
Gomes's attorney has previously said that a new primary before Election Day is "unrealistic," but can happen after, with another general election to follow.
As things stand, both incumbent Ganim and challenger Gomes would be on the ballot -- Ganim as a Democrat and Gomes as an Independent.