For the first time on Thursday, a judge began examining evidence in the legal case aimed at reversing the outcome of the Bridgeport Mayoral Primary. The investigation comes in the wake of a scandal that has rocked the state’s largest city, where surveillance footage captured a woman inserting multiple pieces of paper into an absentee ballot drop box just one week before the mayoral primary election.
The Gateway Pundit previously reported that mayoral candidate John Gomes’ campaign released a damning video last month showing evidence of election fraud in the recent Bridgeport Democratic primary. The video has prompted an investigation by the Bridgeport Police Department for “possible misconduct.”
The video on the Gomes campaign’s Facebook page shows a woman dropping stacks of ‘illegal’ ballots into an absentee ballot box outside the Bridgeport government center, where the city’s Registrar of Voters office is located, CT Mirror reported.
The Gomes campaign was able to identify the woman in the footage as Wanda Geter-Pataky, the Vice Chairwoman of the Democratic Town Clerk and a vocal supporter of incumbent Mayor Joe Ganim, who is seeking reelection. Gomes’ campaign claims that the video shows Geter-Pataky dropping off stacks of absentee ballots ahead of the September 12th primary.
“Video surveillance proving that the mayoral election was unequivocally stolen through corruption within City Hall by tampering with absentee ballots,” John Gomes said on his Facebook page.
“This is an undeniable act of voter suppression and a huge civil rights violation. It’s time to restore lasting credibility to our city’s democracy. Once and for ALL. Enough is enough!” he added.
WATCH:
Gomes lost to incumbent Mayor Joe Ganim in the Democratic primary by a narrow margin of 251 votes, according to the most recent preliminary count posted on the Secretary of the State’s website. Ganim won the absentee vote tally 1,545 to 779, while Gomes led on the voting machines.
The Bridgeport Police Department confirmed that they are actively investigating the actions shown in the video.
“The Bridgeport Police Department are actively investigating information regarding possible misconduct based upon a video that has surfaced on social media,” the department told CT Mirror.
The police department is investigating how the video was obtained and released to the public.
“The Bridgeport Police Department immediately initiated an investigation to determine if any criminal wrongdoing has occurred. In addition, an internal investigation is being conducted to determine if any possible breach to our security video management system has occurred,” it added.
Bridgeport Police Chief Roderick Porter said the department takes “these actions seriously and we will pursue possible criminal prosecution and/or administrative discipline as it relates to any such security violations.”
On Thursday, Bridgeport Democratic Registrar of Voters Patricia Howard admitted in court that she had not been following Connecticut law regarding the handling of mail-in ballots. The law mandates that each absentee ballot must be signed off by the town clerk, and if this requirement is not met, the ballot cannot be counted.
During the court proceedings, Bill Bloss, the Attorney for John Gomes, questioned Howard about her awareness of the state’s requirements for absentee ballots:
Lawyer: “Were you aware that the Secretary of State says that an outer envelope, the endorsement of the town clerk, must show the date, the precise time the clerk received the ballot, and the clerk’s signature?
Clerk: Honestly, no.
Lawyer: And were you aware that if the Secretary of Estate says in Exhibit 126, if an outer envelope does not substantially comply with this requirement, the ballot cannot be counted?
Clerk: That’s what it says
Lawyer: Did you know that?
Clerk: Now I do.
Lawyer: Okay, I guess maybe I should ask, did you know that? Did you know that on September 12th?
Clerk: No, I didn’t.
Lawyer: And did you ever instruct your absentee ballot moderator that that was the rule?
Clerk: We go over the manual.
Lawyer: You went over this manual with the absentee ballot moderator?
…
Clerk: Actually, this is new to me about the signature. I’m not clear, so that means I haven’t read the book thoroughly and properly, like I should have in this instance.
WATCH:
BREAKING: Democrat Election Clerk gives BOMBSHELL testimony in court admitting she has not been following the law on mail-in ballots
Connecticut law requires clerks to sign off on each absentee ballot, a ballot cannot be counted if those requirements are not met
This means that… pic.twitter.com/01pkBn44Bs
— George (@BehizyTweets) October 12, 2023
More from FOX 61:
We learned Thursday that not only is there no signature verification, but the city also doesn’t check if people are U.S. citizens or have a way of differentiating between the number of absentee ballots sent back to the through the mail versus put into one of the city’s four drop boxes.
“The number of people and absentee ballots that came in without stamps and postmarks substantially exceeds the number we see on the videos dropping absentee ballots into the drop box,” said Bloss.
“You can suggest a lot of things but the law is the law and Bill can’t just make open needed allegations and think those take the place of evidence,” rebutted Attorney Kennelly.
You can watch the full court hearing here and below:
Hat tip to Behizy for the information.
