(Rocky Hill, CT) - Chief State’s Attorney Patrick J. Griffin today announced that a Middletown man has been arrested and charged with submitting numerous forged signatures on petitions to the Democratic Registrar of Voters in Middletown in an effort to have his name included on the August 2024 primary ballot for Democratic State Representative in the 33rd General Assembly District in Middletown.
Inspectors from the Statewide Prosecution Bureau in the Office of the Chief State’s Attorney on June 11, 2026 arrested Robert Hoggard, age 33, of Middletown, and charged him with 14 counts of Forgery in the Second Degree, in violation of Connecticut General Statutes § 53a-139, and six counts of Perjury, in violation of Connecticut General Statutes § 53a-156.
In January 2025, the State Elections Enforcement Commission (SEEC) referred the matter to the Division of Criminal Justice, alleging that Hoggard submitted nominating petition pages to the Middletown Registrar of Voters in June 2024 that contained forged signatures and falsified circulator certifications. An investigation showed that in 2024, the defendant sought to run for the 33rd House District as a Democrat but the Democratic Party did not choose him as its endorsed candidate. Connecticut law allows non-endorsed candidates to petition their way onto the primary ballot. In this particular case, the defendant needed to collect signatures from Democratic voters who live in the district. Prior to submission of the petition forms to the Democratic Registrar of Voters, the defendant by law was required to sign before a notary public attesting to the accuracy of the petition’s contents and that each signature on the petition was signed in his presence. Officials reviewing the petitions later received complaints from electors stating that they did not sign the petition.
The Statewide Prosecution Bureau obtained a warrant for Hoggard’s arrest after conducting a criminal investigation into SEEC’s referral.
Hoggard was released on a promise to appear today in Superior Court in Middletown.