The Connecticut State Elections Enforcement Commission will be investigating complaints about possible absentee ballot misconduct in the Bridgeport mayoral primary election.
John Gomes challenged Bridgeport mayor Joe Ganim in the Democratic primary and he is calling for a new election, claiming there was absentee ballot misconduct.
Over the weekend, Gomes’ campaign released what appears to be edited surveillance video from Sept. 5 - ahead of the primary – and claims that the video shows a city hall employee and Ganim supporter making several drops into an absentee ballot box outside the government center.
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In Connecticut, it's only legal for a few select people to handle someone's absentee ballot.
NBC Connecticut has not independently verified the video and she has not returned our phone calls and messages to her.
Bridgeport police said they are investigating the alleged misconduct.
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An iinvestigation is also underway to determine if there was any possible breach to the security video management system.
The Secretary of the State, Stephanie Thomas said her officer does not have jurisdiction to investigate election misconduct and urged the State Election Commission to do everything in its power to move swiftly with their investigation.
On Wednesday, the State Elections Enforcement Commission voted to launch an investigation and authorize a subpoena for all relevant documents regarding the absentee ballots, including absentee ballot application distribution lists, absentee ballot applications, prospective ballot applicant lists and absentee ballot inner and outer envelopes and other documents as the commission deems necessary in connection.
According to Thomas, the Gomes campaign has filed many claims and she's urged the state to provide the necessary resources to speed up the process of the investigation - which could take up to a year to complete.
Ganim previously released the following statement about the alleged incident:
“I want to state unequivocally that I do not condone, in any way, actions taken by anyone including any campaign, city, or elected official, which undermines the integrity of either the electoral process or city property,” he said.
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