A new Democratic primary has been scheduled in a mayoral race in Connecticut after a state Superior Court judge found that election fraud contributed to Mayor Joe Ganim’s Democratic victory in September.
Judge William Clark determined that Ganim’s primary opponent, John Gomes, had satisfied the burden of proof by demonstrating that there was evidence in the September primary of someone tampering with drop boxes intended for absentee ballots, casting doubt on the outcome of the contest.
Gomes stated “On election day we won with 470 votes and then when the absentee ballot results came in we were at a deficit of 251 votes. And now in light with all the evidence that has been presented. We would definitely like a new primary,”
Here was some of the evidence used to determine fraud took place:
Per The Connecticut Post:
The Democratic rivals for mayor of Connecticut’s largest city will have a do-over primary election at a yet-to-be-determined future date, a Superior Court judge ruled Wednesday.
Incumbent Mayor Joe Ganim defeated challenger John Gomes in the city’s Democratic mayoral primary Sept. 12. Gomes later challenged the result in court after being alerted to video footage “that appears to show a person who is not an election official and who should not possess absentee ballots except her own depositing what appears to be multiple absentee ballots in the drop box at 999 Broad Street on Sept. 5, at about 6:30 a.m., after exiting the building,” according to the lawsuit.
On Wednesday, Judge William Clark ruled in favor of Gomes.
“The court finds the plaintiff has met its burden of proof and established violations in the placing of absentee ballot into drop boxes by partisans who were not designated to handle such ballots and that the volume of ballots so mishandled is such that it calls the result of the primary election in serious doubt and leaves the court unable to determine the legitimate result of the primary,” Clark ruled.
Gomes’ lawyer, William Bloss, said the video evidence was key.