In an odd twist on convention, Bridgeport, Connecticut will hold a Democratic primary election after next week’s general election.

Superior Court Judge William Clark ordered the unusual remedy after reviewing surveillance videos in which a woman appeared to be stuffing absentee ballots into an outdoor ballot box before the original Sept. 12 primary.

Incumbent Democratic Mayor Joe Ganim won that primary, defeating challenger John Gomes by 251 votes out of a total of 8,173 cast.  The number of absentee ballots in that primary exceeded Ganim’s margin of victory over Gomes.

“The volume of ballots so mishandled is such,” Clark wrote in his ruling, “that it calls the result of the primary election into serious doubt and leaves the court unable to determine the legitimate result of the primary.”  Since the court was unable to determine who would have won the primary absent such fraud, Clark ordered the primary be repeated.

In the meantime, though, next week’s general election for mayor is expected to proceed as originally scheduled.  Gomes, who will appear on that ballot as an independent, will face Mayor Ganim and Republican challenger David Herz, as well as a fourth “petitioning candidate,” Lamond Daniels.

The rebooted Democratic primary will be held afterwards, at a date not yet known.  What happens after that is not yet clear.

 

Update:  Mayor Ganim narrowly won the general election on Nov. 7.  The judge on Nov. 18 ordered a new Democratic primary to be held on Jan. 23, 2024.  Ganim won this rematch by approximately 1,000 votes, although for now a new general election is still scheduled for Feb. 27.  Gomes is currently listed on the general election ballot as an independent, along with Herz.