On the November ballot Connecticut voters will decide if they want early voting as most states do, a legislatively approved question shepherded by Secretary of the State Denise Merrill to revise the state constitution. Connecticut is among a handful of states that require excuse-only absentee balloting. Some city campaign operatives by fiat this cycle have declared early voting before the fact, systematically pushing absentee ballots through paid canvassers, in particular the campaign of State Senator Andres Ayala who’s banking a whole bunch of votes before the polls open next Tuesday morning in his Democratic primary against City Librarian Scott Hughes. Early voting will at least level the playing field for operatives following the rules against the envelope pushers.
Former school board member Maria Pereira shares an example of the absentee ballot tactics financed by public money:
I was contacted by a woman from Andres Ayala’s campaign this afternoon. She called to make sure I was voting for him by mailing in my “small envelope.” I replied by asking what “small envelope?” She said, “Everyone that is voting for Andres Ayala is voting by the small envelope.” I asked, “Do you mean an absentee ballot?” She replied, “No, by the small envelope.” I explained, “There are only two ways to vote. You can go to a school and vote or you can vote by absentee ballot.” She replied, “No, everyone that is voting for Andres Ayala is voting by the small envelope.” She then stated, “You are on my list and you were supposed to get the small envelope in the mail.” I asked her, “Are you aware that there are only five specific reasons that someone can vote by mail and that what you are doing is completely illegal? You can be fined up to $5,000 and serve up to a year in prison if convicted of this felony.” I also told her I was going to file a complaint with the SEEC. The good thing is I got her name before I got immersed in our conversation. Here we have a CT State Senator using over $80,000 of taxpayer funds to pay his campaign employees to break a CT State Statute. This has to be an egregious violation of the SEEC.
Town Clerk Alma Maya and Democratic Registrar Sandi Ayala both say their offices have received many phone calls from voters wondering why they have received an absentee ballot. Campaign canvassers knock on doors, pitch their candidate and then say you can vote by mail sign here on the absentee ballot application. Presto, the voter receives an absentee ballot in the mail, followed up by a phone call reminder from the canvasser.
The Andres Ayala campaign isn’t the only one using this tactic, but his campaign is doing this systematically throughout his district, according to many voters.
The candidates will say, oh my, we never train our canvassers to push absentee ballots, only to ask if they need an absentee ballot. So they assume all those 30- and 40-somethings will be sick or away for work on primary day?
Secretary of the State Denise Merrill knows exactly what is going on in Bridgeport. She knows how many elections have been stolen by absentee ballots and yet she does nothing to stop it. Andres Ayala, Christine Ayala, Ezequiel Santiago and many of our council people have won elections via the absentee ballot route even when they lost on the machines.
The only time absentee ballots should be given out is when a person calls or mails a request to the town clerk’s office. Most seniors can get off their asses to go to bingo or the senior center so they can go to the polls. It’s time to stop the stealing of elections.
If Merrill doesn’t finally stand up in this primary, I think every self-respecting Democrat in Bridgeport should vote her down in November. The absentee ballot issue is unbelievable. How long has she been in office? Put up or shut up and btw, skip the billboards.
This is outrageous! Pathetic at best. I am still wondering how that little envelope arrived at home without a request for it. Are signatures being forged? Does Bridgeport get another corrupt black eye?
The canvasser says sign here and drops off the application at the Town Clerk’s office. Sometimes people will sign anything and sometimes they forget what they’ve signed. And maybe, as you point out, someone else signs.
Some do not know what they are signing. Others forget, because it was done a month or two ago. And a big possibility is some are forged. I stopped believing in the SEEC office. They should close that department. I stopped believing a long time ago on the process and what the TC and RV office have sworn to do.
If the SEEC can’t do anything to enforce sanctions on wrongdoers, they should go home. Lydia Martinez has had how many $500 fines? Is she in jail? Worried about going to jail? Nope. The SEEC, Secretary of the State and our CT Attorney General are not, have not, will not, do anything about voter fraud in Bridgeport. Can’t think of a reason why any honest person in Bridgeport would vote for any one of them.
Dead men vote Democrat!