Bridgeport

State-appointed election monitor to oversee Bridgeport elections

Peggy Reeves will accompany the Town Clerk’s Office on all absentee ballot pickups and observe the vote tally.

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Among the most notable elections Tuesday is Bridgeport’s race for mayor.

Earlier this month, a judge threw out the results of the Democratic primary and now, the state is implementing more oversight on Election Day to ensure legitimacy.

Peggy Reeves has been assigned as the election monitor to oversee the proceedings. Reeves is an attorney who spent 14 years as a registrar of voters and eight and a half years as the director of elections at the Secretary of the State’s Office.

Following the Sept. 12 primary, Mayoral Challenger John Gomes’ campaign obtained a surveillance video that appears to show absentee ballots being stuffed in a ballot box days before the primary. A judge described the video as “shocking,” and threw out the results.

Gomes is trying to unseat Joe Ganim who has been Bridgeport mayor since 2015. Gomes said the appointment of Reeves is too late.

“We’ve been asking for help from the moment we embarked on this campaign and even afterwards, the help has been very minimal,” he said.

Reeves was appointed by the Secretary of the State. She will accompany the Town Clerk’s Office on all absentee ballot pickups and will observe the vote tally.

Quinnipiac University Assistant Political Science Professor Genevieve Quinn said this is a rare set of circumstances, and explains that voter confidence could ride in the balance.

“It’s very concerning for the people of Bridgeport, and the wider national climate, in terms of how we view elections as a whole,” Quinn said.

On Monday, Gomes was finalizing plans for Election Day, and is hopeful that the primary controversy has inspired his voting base. 

“I think they are tired of the oppression,” Gomes said. “They saw a clear attack on their civil rights here in Bridgeport and I think they will show out [at the polls].”

NBC Connecticut requested an interview with Mayor Ganim but was told he was unavailable in time for this report.

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