Ballot fraud claim results in new election as Democratic mayor's primary victory is tossed

A Connecticut superior court judge has thrown out the results of the Democratic mayoral primary in Bridgeport and ordered a new election, following allegations of fraud and a challenge to the results, reported CT Mirror on Wednesday.

Primary challenger Jim Gomes filed the complaint back in September after incumbent Mayor Joe Ganim won by 200 votes in a race that came down to just a few thousand mail-in ballots. Gomes had been leading prior to the counting of the ballots. The outcome raised red flags in particular because State Elections Enforcement officials previously recommended criminal indictment of three Ganim associates over the way they handled absentee ballots in his 2019 election bid.

Before being elected mayor in 2015, Ganim previously served in that same office from 1991 to 2003, but was jailed on federal corruption charges.

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The order for a new election, which directs city officials to set a timeline for a new primary with 10 days, is not necessarily the final say of the courts; attorneys for the city have signaled their intent to file an emergency appeal to the Supreme Court of Connecticut.

Further complicating things, Gomes is also currently running in the general election against Ganim as a third-party candidate, and that election will take place next week. If Gomes wins that general election, he has indicated he will withdraw the challenge against the Democratic primary, as he will simply become mayor in that case, rendering all of this moot.

If Ganim wins the mayoral general election, however, the new primary would go forward, and Ganim's general election victory would only be affirmed if he wins the new primary election; otherwise, a new general election would also have to be held.