Bridgeport's Voting Scandal: A Case of Local Politics or Widespread Voter Fraud?
Following allegations of ballot-stuffing caught on camera, a judge orders a re-run of the Democratic primary in Bridgeport, Connecticut.
- Leaked surveillance footage showed several people stuffing ballots into Bridgeport's voting drop boxes, leading to allegations of voter fraud.
- The alleged ballot-stuffers included allies of Bridgeport's Mayor, Joe Ganim, who won the Democratic primary in September over his rival John Gomes by a narrow margin.
- The videotape led a judge to rule that the primary results could not be trusted, ordering another election. The Democrats will re-run their primary.
- Mayor Ganim has a controversial history in local politics, having been convicted on racketeering and corruption charges and spent seven years in federal prison before winning back the mayor's office in 2015.
- Despite the controversy, experts and political operatives say that the unique circumstances of politics in Bridgeport - rather than grand unified theories of voter fraud - are a much better explanation of recent events.