Press Releases
01/19/2024
Secretary Thomas Announces Bridgeport SEEC Complaint and Releases January 19, 2024, Bridgeport Mayoral Primary Update
(Hartford, CT) – Secretary of the State Stephanie Thomas today announced her office has sent a formal complaint to the State Elections Enforcement Commission (SEEC) related to absentee ballot circulators in the new Bridgeport mayoral primary. Secretary Thomas also released additional updates on process improvements for that election, set to take place on January 23, 2024.
On Tuesday, January 16, the Office of the Secretary of the State (the Office) formally requested SEEC to perform an investigation of allegations of illegal absentee ballot (AB) application circulation. The complaint was prompted by a photo of an individual who appeared to be circulating AB applications to voters and was not registered with the Town Clerk’s office as a circulator. An election monitor brought it to the attention of the Office after being alerted by a member of the public. In addition to filing the complaint, the Office sent another notice to both campaigns about the requirements for absentee ballot application circulators.
“I greatly appreciate the willingness of others to be a part of the solution by saying something after seeing something,” said Secretary Thomas. “This demonstrates the importance and effectiveness of engaging the public as partners in building secure elections.”
Secretary Thomas and the Office previously issued educational videos and notices to the public on the absentee ballot process, as well as numerous in-person and email explanations to both mayoral campaigns and the public about the legal requirements to distribute absentee ballot applications.
To replicate the success experienced with real-time input, the Secretary and the Office have conducted outreach to recruit on-the-ground volunteer attorneys to assist the election monitors on the new primary day.
At least 14 volunteers are expected to be deployed to polling stations to serve as nonpartisan designees of the Office. They will help with recording first-hand accounts of any issues that arise and assisting with any resulting action that needs to be taken, including filing a SEEC complaint. While the Office has previously invited volunteer attorneys to serve in an on-call capacity, this is the first time the Office has put out the call for onsite Election Day volunteers.
There has been a concerted effort among the Office of the Secretary of the State, Bridgeport election monitors Tim De Carlo and Peggy Reeves, and the city’s Town Clerk and Registrars to continue to identify electoral issues and implement solutions. This week, De Carlo and Reeves made simple modifications on a form that makes it easier for voters to read and understand. Further, the election monitors noticed a high number of AB requests from certain locations in Bridgeport and were directed by Secretary Thomas to do spot checks to ensure the voters indeed requested absentee ballots.
Secretary Thomas also reminded Bridgeport voters to make a plan to vote in person if they are not eligible to vote by absentee ballot: “The polls will be open 6 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Tuesday, and like any election, voters should get ready to vote by checking their polling location in case it has changed and making their plan to vote.”
Members of the public who suspect or witness any voter intimidation, wrongdoing, or other voting irregularities on Election Day should call the SEEC Hotline at 866-SEEC-INFO (866-733-2463) or email elections@ct.gov. The hotline will be active from 6 a.m. - 8 p.m. on Election Day for the public to report any voter intimidation, wrongdoing, or other voting irregularities that they witness or suspect.
Members of the public who suspect any election malfeasance on days other than Election Day should report it directly to the Connecticut State Elections Enforcement Commission (SEEC) by calling 860-256-2940 or completing and delivering a complaint form linked here.
For information about the Bridgeport’s new Democratic mayoral primary, please see the full election calendar here: https://portal.ct.gov/-/media/SOTS/ElectionServices/Calendars/2024-Election/BPTspecialelectioncalendar_Dec-2023.pdf.
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