Voting Fraud in CT and NH

Major news outlets are reporting that the Connecticut election commission is probing whether there was absentee ballot fraud in the Democratic primary mayoral race in Bridgeport, CT. On September 10, Incumbent Democratic Mayor Joe Ganim defeated CT State Senator Marilyn Moore by a slim margin after handily winning the absentee ballot count and overcoming a deficit in the election-day vote. According to news reports, there are credible allegations that absentee ballots were fraudulently submitted on behalf of Ganim. Sadly, there is a long history of election fraud in Bridgeport. The allegations also echo claims that President Trump made about the New Hampshire presidential vote, which was decided by less than 3000 votes in 2016. Most major media sources ridiculed Trump’s allegations. However, New Hampshire allows same day voter registration, raising the possibility that out of state voters from neighboring states such as Massachusetts or Vermont, which are heavily Democratic and not particularly competitive, may have registered to vote in New Hampshire to have a bigger impact. In 2016, there were 6540 same day registrants in New Hampshire, most of whom did not have New Hampshire driving licenses. As we head towards 2020, we should not dismiss voting fraud claims. We saw concrete evidence of voting fraud in a recent North Carolina election during the mid-terms and now see likely fraud in the Democratic mayoral primary in Bridgeport. We believe that election officials should take these claims seriously and were glad that DNC rejected proposals to allow at home write-ins to the Iowa caucuses. The integrity of the election process is paramount.