Bridgeport, Connecticut, has endured a “black eye” after last year’s video of someone cramming absentee ballots into a ballot box during a Democratic primary.
Now, lawmakers of both parties have taken action. On Friday, the state’s House of Representatives voted on a bill to require surveillance cameras at ballot drop boxes… and the Democrat-controlled chamber passed the bill unanimously.
The state’s Democrat-controlled Senate looks likely to pass the bill, given its popularity in the House. The state Senate will end its session on May 8.
Democrat Gov. Ned Lamont said he’s open to signing it. He’s proposed some past measures for election integrity, but he has yet to comment on this particular bill.
“The governor takes any instance of election fraud seriously and believes it’s of the utmost importance for voters to have faith in the election process,” Lamont’s chief spokesperson Julia Bergman told Hearst Connecticut Media Group on Tuesday, after Lamont’s visit to Bridgeport.
“The Office of the Secretary of the State is developing a package of … proposals, and Governor Lamont has directed his staff to work with that office and legislative leaders to help develop any policies that can be enacted to strengthen our election system.”
The bill is called sHB-5498, and all 48 pages of it are available online. The bill requires the state not only to surveil ballot boxes, but also to make the footage publicly available.
“On and after July 1, 2025, each municipality shall provide a video recording device for each secure drop box,” the bill states plainly.
The bill also tightens procedures for obtaining an absentee ballot, and it includes new measures for tracking them.
Supporters said it also contains provisions to address redundancies in voter rolls and speed up referrals of potential criminal violations of election law to the appropriate authorities.
Finally, it allows poll workers to apply to have their home addresses not subject to open records requests for 90 days before and after an election — a measure aimed at protecting them from possible harassment. The bill would result in a misdemeanor charge for revealing a worker’s address after a privacy request.
Democrats and Republicans alike aim to bolster confidence in Connecticut elections following last year’s shocking video.
“This episode was a black eye for the city, for the state, and for the vast, vast majority of election officials, candidates and campaign workers in this state who follow our laws with the utmost integrity and competence,” Democratic Rep. Matt Blumenthal said. “It did reveal to us some gaps in our current laws and measures that we can take to increase the security, transparency and overall integrity and public perception of integrity of our elections.”
Blumenthal made sure to note that there has been no arrest so far in Bridgeport. Also, he claimed there has been no evidence to date that any fake or erroneous ballots were “stuffed” into the ballot boxes.
A judge threw out the results of September’s mayoral primary in Bridgeport after the shocking video surfaced. Authorities are still investigating, and they have yet to charge anyone.
Bridgeport, Connecticut redid their election last night and there's already been allegations of voter fraud. Dead people voting, ballot applications being given out like candy and ballot harvesting. pic.twitter.com/4mrkdJJplI
— Jesse Watters (@JesseBWatters) January 25, 2024
The Democratic governor’s office has expressed dismay at the length of the investigations. According to Blumenthal’s spokesperson, the governor is “particularly concerned with the amount of time it takes to investigate allegations of election fraud and to hold those found guilty of wrongdoing accountable.”
Republican Rep. Gale Mastrofrancesco criticized the bill for not going far enough, saying it should have included more measures to prevent election fraud, such as requiring signatures on absentee ballots be verified. But she said Friday’s bill was a welcome first step.
“This is good stuff for after the fact. It’s a step in the right direction,” she said. “I don’t think it goes far enough. But again, It doesn’t hurt our elections.”
After narrowly losing to incumbent Democratic Mayor Joe Ganim in September, primary opponent John Gomes obtained and publicized some surveillance videos city-owned security cameras showing a Ganim supporter making multiple early-morning trips to stuff absentee ballots into a drop box.
After this apparent violation of state law, Gomes successfully challenged the results in court, and he received his desired result: a new, fair election.
Ganim ultimately won reelection in late February, anyway. By the end, Bridgeport voters had suffered a do-over primary, a general election that didn’t count, and a new general election.
The Associated Press contributed to this article.