Gomes then sued, alleging absentee ballot mishandling and supplying video footage showcasing Geter-Pataky, a member of the Democratic Town Committee, repeatedly dropping absentee ballots into drop boxes or handing them to others, who then did the same.
If I’m interpreting this correctly, it sounds like a couple of election officials just put absentee ballots in with regular ballots instead of… I assume they should have been set aside for vetting? The article doesn’t say what should have happened. The article doesn’t really go into the impact- seems like they just really, REALLY wanted to print a headline about Democrats meddling in the elections process.
When I think of “stuffing” I think of people creating wholly illegitimate ballots, which does not seem to be what happened here.
Also worth noting that this was for the Democratic primary for a mayoral position in 2019, and some of that info probably should have been in the headline.
Ballot stuffing or ballot box stuffing is a form of electoral fraud in which a greater number of ballots are cast than the number of people who legitimately voted. The term refers generally to the act of casting illegal votes or submitting more than one ballot per voter when only one ballot per voter is permitted.[1]
If the absentee ballots they handled were either fabricated or if the voters they were from already voted, then yes it would be “ballot stuffing” but I didn’t see that in the article. Just “mishandling”.
Still best that absentee ballots are handled properly as to show the voter hasn’t voted in person.
Under Connecticut law, voters using a collection box must drop off their completed ballots themselves, or designate certain family members, police, local election officials or a caregiver to do it for them. Clark wrote in his decision that the volume of “mishandled ballots” left the court unable to determine the legitimate result of the primary.
It’s a state law that they aren’t supposed to drop off someone else’s ballot except under very specific circumstances. It’s a dumb law that makes it more difficult for people to vote if they can’t easily get to a polling place or a ballot drop off. But it’s the law so, charge and prosecute them, and redo the election I guess. But hopefully the people of CT will work to change the voting laws.
If I’m interpreting this correctly, it sounds like a couple of election officials just put absentee ballots in with regular ballots instead of… I assume they should have been set aside for vetting? The article doesn’t say what should have happened. The article doesn’t really go into the impact- seems like they just really, REALLY wanted to print a headline about Democrats meddling in the elections process.
When I think of “stuffing” I think of people creating wholly illegitimate ballots, which does not seem to be what happened here.
Also worth noting that this was for the Democratic primary for a mayoral position in 2019, and some of that info probably should have been in the headline.
That’s exactly what ballot stuffing is and why what these folks are charged with is not ballot stuffing:
https://ballotpedia.org/Ballot_stuffing
If the absentee ballots they handled were either fabricated or if the voters they were from already voted, then yes it would be “ballot stuffing” but I didn’t see that in the article. Just “mishandling”.
Still best that absentee ballots are handled properly as to show the voter hasn’t voted in person.
From the AP version of the story:
It’s a state law that they aren’t supposed to drop off someone else’s ballot except under very specific circumstances. It’s a dumb law that makes it more difficult for people to vote if they can’t easily get to a polling place or a ballot drop off. But it’s the law so, charge and prosecute them, and redo the election I guess. But hopefully the people of CT will work to change the voting laws.