The Town Clerk’s Office is sorting through hundreds of absentee ballot applications as staff prepares to issue absentee ballots for the Aug. 14 primary day with most of the action coming from the Democratic contest for State Senate between incumbent Ed Gomes, party-endorsed Ernie Newton and State Rep. Andres Ayala.
So far most of the returned applications are from the Ayala camp that has several seasoned absentee ballot operatives in force. The Town Clerk’s Office has a staff of six checking the applications against a voter list to ensure the applicant is a registered Democrat. Town Clerk staff will begin mailing out the actual ballots on July 24, three weeks prior to primary day, but Town Clerk Alma Maya says the process to prepare the ballot is labor intensive and cautions the various campaign camps about holding back applications for a last-minute dump.
Political operatives may distribute applications but the process to distribute and collect the actual ballot, generally by mail, is handled by the Town Clerk’s Office. Electors can also vote by absentee ballot at the Town Clerk’s Office in City Hall, 45 Lyon Terrace. With city turnouts pathetically low in recent years, political operatives are placing a premium on absentee ballots, many of them targeted to elderly voters. More than 1000 absentee ballot applications are circulating for the Aug. 14 primary, most of them from the Ayala and Newton camps.
A major challenge for the Gomes campaign is trying to stay relatively close to Ayala and Newton via votes by absentee ballot, otherwise the incumbent will be forced to run up substantial gains by the machine totals.
Connecticut’s 23rd Senate District has roughly 28,000 Democratic voters in Bridgeport and just over 2000 in the western portion of Stratford. The Bridgeport portion of the district has the lowest turnout areas of the city. A 20 percent turnout would represent some 6000 votes cast. In a three-way race just 2000 votes could win the primary.
Absentee Ballot is a worthy issue to be looking into. Tonight we will finally initiate our OIB TV segment directly display.
*** I feel sorry for the town clerk’s office staff having to sift through so many bogus AB applications for a primary which will probably have more AB voters than poll voters! But with slap-on-the-wrist fines and lack of real elections enforcement, the model has been cast and the ink’s dry, no? Besides if all three campaign camps decide to do it the wrong way then who’s going to complain to the SEEC? *** FORGETABOUTIT ***
Ralph, you can blame Bysiewicz on the lack of AB reform and policing. Because of her they used the “new machines” for Caruso’s defeat by Finch by under 300 votes. And when there were complaints made, she and her office reacted with extraordinary slowness and disinterest.
This primary gives us a shot at nailing the “political operatives” who regularly cheat and steal at elections. They belong in jail and the sooner we stop using euphemisms to describe them the better–they’re criminals. It’s not relevant whether the winner would have won anyway. What’s relevant is voters are deprived of a real voice, feel disenfranchised and disillusioned and choose therefore not to engage in the community. Not to mention it hinders development because potential developers believe all of Bridgeport is corrupt.
Really appalling is how powerful some–like Lydia Martinez–have become. People on the East Side don’t like or respect her and resent how she pushes people around to get those ABs. Yet they are afraid and unwilling to help file a complaint because she is unrelenting and threatening. Never lets up. Americo Santiago is another one–lives here whenever he thinks he can make some money otherwise does nothing in Puerto Rico. He’d sell his mother for a nickel. He has a solid block of regular AB voters.
The SEEC has no staff, no teeth, no guts. We need a commitment from the state, the feds or a private watchdog group to nail these guys. Can’t happen fast enough or to a nicer group of people.
I need an AB. I’ll stop by the East Side Senior Center tomorrow to get one. I’m sure I can get some help filling it out.
Please do. Then file a complaint and nail these people.
Do not feel sorry for the town clerk office staff. They just hired Americo’s relative to work there.
Nepotism and cronyism all over again … look at how many members of the Democratic Town Committee either work for Bridgeport or have a relative working for Bridgeport.
I feel no pity for the Town Clerk’s office, they are in the bag for the Ayala camp anyway.
Alma–owes her job to Ayala
Rep. Eze Santiago’s girlfriend works there
and recently recruited Americo’s sister also works there.
3 out of 6 for Ayala from the TC’s office …
No surprise–we are talking about Bridgeport where some things never change. “OIB.”
The writer is a retired FBI agent who supervised the Joe Ganim case. Ouch!
Maybe Ed Adams can reach out to some of his former colleagues and help us out on this one. Should be easy pickings for the FBI.