For generations, it’s been an open secret that Bridgeport voters suffer under a system of absentee ballot (AB) abuse. Political operatives abuse the AB process by targeting, lying to, and manipulating young, elderly, disabled, low-income, and Spanish-speaking voters for the purpose of controlling their votes. Some people in our political class care more about winning elections than they do about voting rights or the law. Our local democracy is broken. 

In 2019, when Bridgeport Generation Now Votes helped voters sue the Ganim campaign after our mayoral primary, evidence presented at the trial “Lazar v. Ganim” proved that political operatives broke state law. Campaign operatives were paid solely to distribute AB applications; lied to voters about who is qualified to use an AB; forged voters’ signatures and applications; and took voters’ ballots from them; all of which are against state law.

At trial, a young Black voter testified that Alfredo Castillo, then a candidate for City Council, approached him to sign an AB application without informing him of his eligibility. When this voter’s ballot arrived, Mr. Castillo came to his house, asked the voter to sign his name on the envelope, and took the open, uncompleted ballot and left. 

Another voter, an elderly Latino man, testified with the help of a translator at trial that an individual came to his house, helped him fill out his ballot, and then took it with her.

Another voter, an elderly, disabled Black woman, testified that she applied for an absentee ballot, received one and mailed it in. Someone then called asking if she’d received her ballot. Even though she had, the caller said he would send her another one. A man then came to her house, hand-delivered an absentee ballot, and took the completed ballot from her. When presented with the second AB application at trial, she confirmed that someone had forged her signature on that application.

These are shocking and disturbing testimonies, showing clear voting rights violations. It is why we organized in 2020 to secure an independent Election Monitor. And it is why in his 2019 ruling, Judge Stevens said that the “plaintiffs were successful in identifying very serious election law violations”, indicating that the laws on absentee ballots were being exploited. 

Sadly, Bridgeport’s broken democracy was in the news again last week when Judge Stevens threw out the results from the Democratic primary in the 127th State Representative district because of absentee ballot abuse. At that trial, testimony revealed that the Brown campaign manipulated voters into forging AB applications, among other issues. Judge Stevens ruled that the votes that resulted from forged applications could not be counted and ordered a new primary for this Tuesday, October 18th. 

This behavior in Bridgeport is not new: these lawsuits simply bring the truth to light. Bridgeport voters have known for decades that there’s corruption and abuse in our local elections. And it is time for state lawmakers to work with us to end it.  

In order to create an inclusive, multiracial democracy in this state, we need real, structural change. No one should come between voters and our access to the ballot. For Bridgeport voters, that structural change will come through five key reforms. 

We must: 1) expand the role of the Election Monitor; 2) allow early voting and no-excuse absentee voting; 3) restrict the time period that AB applications are available before elections; 4) remove partisan operatives from the absentee voting process; and 5) pass the Connecticut Voting Rights Act to protect Bridgeport voters of color.   

By passing these reforms at the state level, we enfranchise tens of thousands of Bridgeport voters to vote on their own accord and we dilute the power of abusers to manipulate our elections. In fact, in the 2020 Presidential election, thanks to the expanded access of absentee voting, Bridgeport far surpassed other cities with a record 72% turnout! Our voters are educated and motivated, we just need the right environment for free and fair elections. We will work tirelessly during the 2023 legislative session to make that happen.   

Next year, however, is another mayoral election year. So, let the lawsuits of 2019 and 2022 be a warning to any and all campaigns: absentee ballot abuse will not be tolerated and will be challenged in court! 

Callie Gale Heilmann is the co-director of Bridgeport Generation Now Votes. A version of this article ran in The Connecticut Post on October 19th, 2022 and can be found here.