Lydia Martinez And Absentee Ballots: ‘People Expect Certain Things From Certain People’

When word a few days ago reached admitted absentee ballot cheat Lydia Martinez that the East Side Democratic Town Committee district the city councilwoman controls was officially facing a March 6 primary, she wasted little time doing what she dubiously does best in the city. She walked through the door of the Town Clerk’s Office and signed out 100 absentee ballot applications to spread among “my peoples.”

Now you’d think sanity and common sense would prevail upon a pol who had recently consented to a $500 fine for absentee ballot fraud, but when it comes to the queen of absentee ballots appearances must be maintained. Lydia Martinez is no dummy. She’s a shrewd pol. Her advocates say she’s caring and decent and pays attention to her constituents. Lydia knows her place in city politics. Numerous city pols chuckle that Lydia now seems to feed off her reputation even if it costs her $500 here or there. As one official noted, “People expect certain things from certain people.” Ah, nothing like a political reputation. It’s likely more electors in the city’s 137th District will vote via absentee ballot than actually make it to the polls on March 6. It’s truly amazing how so many of Lydia’s Democratic constituents manage to vote by absentee ballots in primaries that matter versus general elections that don’t.

For background on Lydia’s fine and the written decision by the State Elections Enforcement Commission see here.

State law provides:

No (1) candidate or (2) agent of a candidate, political party or committee, as defined in section 9-601, shall knowingly be present when an absentee ballot applicant executes an absentee ballot, except (A) when the candidate or agent is (i) a member of the immediate family of the applicant or (ii) authorized by law to be present or (B) when the absentee ballot is executed in the office of the municipal clerk and the municipal clerk or an employee of the municipal clerk is a candidate or agent.

State law is also clear that a candidate, or agent of a candidate, or a conduit of the agent cannot conspire to entice an elector to vote by absentee ballot if they are perfectly fit or available to vote at the polls. Maybe this is a good reason for Connecticut to provide early voting. Absentee ballot influence is not an easy thing to prove. So often it requires corroboration of an eye witness, or the statement of an unsophisticated voter, that they received help or were offered something of value to vote a certain way.

It’s legit to inform voters they can vote via absentee if they cannot reasonably make it to the polls. It’s legit to pitch someone who’s voted by absentee in the past, and may do so again, about why they should choose this candidate over that one.

Lydia has a tough primary fight from a slate of seasoned East Side pols, some of whom she booted from the town committee district such as Tito Ayala and Gil Hernandez. The scorched-earth nature of Bridgeport politics is certainly not badminton, although the aerodynamics of political relationships can be as unpredictable as a shuttlecock.

And shuttle is an optimum word in Lydia’s absentee operation. Sometimes it involves constituent ferry trips to Port Jefferson or a bus ride to a casino and at the end of the good time had by all absentee ballot applications magically appear for folks to fill out, returned to the Town Clerk’s Office for the mailing of the actual absentee ballot.

And just think what citywide electors can look forward to as Lydia makes plans to run for Democratic registrar of voters.

Class trip, anyone?