Connecticut Democrats cry foul in Bridgeport mayoral primary.
by Rob Roper
Apparently, many Connecticut Democrats weren’t thrilled at the idea of a convicted felon (and, LOL, seven-term incumbent) winning their primary for the city of Bridgeport’s mayoral race. They were relieved when going to bed on election night that challenger John Gomes appeared to have pulled off a 487-vote victory. But in the wee hours of the morning, the corrupt felon/incumbent Joe Ganim somehow (this author now scratching head, rubbing chin, and peering side-eyed up at the sky) managed to nearly double the challenger’s tally of absentee ballot votes to come out on top by 251.
Now a host of — shall we call them “Democrat election deniers,” or would that be unfair? – are hurling allegations of absentee ballot fraud, and it looks like with pretty good reason. A (actually another) major investigation is now underway.
Like Vermont, Connecticut has, shall we say, extremely lax laws regarding the use and abuse of absentee ballots. In the Gomes/Ganim case the principal target of investigation is a Wanda Geter-Pataky, who is both a city employee and vice chair of the Democrat town committee. Geter-Pataky is also facing charges in an investigation into the misuse of absentee ballots in 2019 where, so the story always seems to go, Ganim lost on election night only to be declared winner when the absentee ballots came in overwhelmingly in his favor.
In this case, according to the CT Mirror, “The State Elections Enforcement Commission… received at least four complaints from citizens and two referrals from the Bridgeport Police Department regarding possible misuse of absentee ballots, including their distribution at senior housing complexes.” At the heart of the investigation is video of Geter-Pataky allegedly stuffing multiple drop-boxes with multiple absentee ballots on multiple occasions.
The way Geter-Pataky’s fraud scheme apparently works is she targets vulnerable citizens, such as the elderly and disabled and those on a rental rebate program using city-owned lists and the personal data contained in them that should have been restricted, according to the woman who runs the rental rebate program. Geter-Pataky then requests absentee ballots for these voters, conveniently shows up to “help” fill out their ballots, and, oh so courteously saving folks a stamp, returns the ballots to a drop box.
Investigators have since discovered that in several instances “voters” did not exist at the addresses where absentee ballots were sent and returned from. But perhaps even more damningly, there was one instance where the absentee voter did live. According to the CT Mirror,
“Denise Solano, a candidate for the Bridgeport city council in the 133rd District, filed one of those complaints with the SEEC. In it, Solano alleges that while she was door-knocking, a woman named Elease Lowery told the Gomes team she had already voted. That complaint further alleged that Lowery told her Wanda Geter-Pataky had already picked up her ballot.
‘She always comes and fills it out for me, and actually I always call my neighbor and she fills it out for the both of us and takes them with her,’ Lowery allegedly told Solano.”
Solano’s complaint further indicates that this elderly voter is under the impression that this is the proper, legal procedure for voting: someone comes to your door, fills out your ballot for you, and takes it away. She was therefore surreally “grateful” for being made complicit in an elections crime.
What does all this have to do with Vermont, you ask? Vermont’s election system is even more vulnerable to this kind of cheating than Connecticut’s and, as such, absentee ballot fraud is more likely to be occurring here, and even less likely to be detected.
In Connecticut, a voter has to request an absentee ballot. In Vermont, “live” absentee ballots are sent to all voters regardless of request. So, Vermont’s versions of Geter-Patakys don’t have to bother with the trouble of committing the illegal act of filling out thousands of fraudulent absentee ballot requests. The state now takes care of that step for them!
This means there are thousands of unsupervised ballots floating around with no voter “security check” in place. Someone who never requested an absentee ballot isn’t likely to report that it’s gone missing. If they do, it isn’t likely to be chalked up to fraud.
In Connecticut someone who moved away isn’t going to request an absentee ballot be sent to an old, incorrect address, but under Vermont’s laws ballots are sent to non-residents at old addresses all the time. Anyone can fill out those “extra” ballots and send them in with virtually zero chance of the fraud being detected, and absolute zero chance of getting caught even if it were.
In Connecticut the law limits who can return absentee ballots on behalf of other voters to family members, police officers, local election officials or someone who is directly caring for someone who is ill or physically disabled. In Vermont, anyone can return anyone else’s ballot. The law limits this kind of “ballot harvesting” to twenty-five ballots per fraudster, but since we have unsupervised drop boxes and the USPS as options for returning fraudulently filled out ballots, there is no real enforcement mechanism for this already lax provision.
The suspicious actions that led to the deeper investigation of Geter-Pataky were related to video of her turning in multiple ballots for which she was allegedly not legally allowed to do so. Since there are no such safeguards in Vermont, not even a requirement for video surveillance of drop boxes, someone in Vermont somehow getting “caught” doing what Geter-Pataky was doing would not generate any criminal charges or spark any further investigation into the nature of how he or she got all those ballots. Nothing to see here, folks! Move along.
Vermont lawmakers have created an election cheater’s paradise: No voter ID of any kind, a blizzard of unclaimed, unsupervised absentee ballots floating around the countryside, voting is increasingly removed from election officials’ oversight, you get a full forty-five days of early voting in which to organize and round up as many unclaimed or unwanted ballots you can find and fill out, and almost no means provided for election officials to detect that your fraud has taken place. If they somehow do, there’s no way to trace the fraud back to you. Let the games begin!
At this juncture, having pointed out all the above, Vermont fraud deniers will argue that people are honest, I’m horrible for suggesting otherwise, and this sort of thing just doesn’t happen here. HA! While I agree most people are honest most of the time – though politics does not generally bring out the best aspects of human nature — as this latest event in Connecticut illustrates, it doesn’t take many bad apples to spoil a full barrel of ballots. In this case it appears it took just one to flip the results of an election in which nearly 8200 ballots were cast.
Next the fraud deniers will defiantly state that there is no evidence of absentee ballot fraud in Vermont. Which is true. But not because it’s not happening; because our lawmakers have made any potential evidence of fraud impossible to detect, trace, or prosecute. Why do you think that is?
Rob Roper is a freelance writer who has been involved with Vermont politics and policy for over 20 years. This article reprinted with permission from Behind the Lines: Rob Roper on Vermont Politics, robertroper.substack.com
Categories: Commentary
Voting in Vermont is a joke.
The rules have been manipulated since the 90s to be so simple to cheat with absolutely no way to verify the vote. Amazingly the politics have railed left ever since the 90s as well. I wonder if there’s a coincidence there (I really don’t)?
Another “conspiracy theory” about to be proven accurate – although the despots are pulling out all the lawfare warfare (and long knives) attempting to stop the Truth from coming out. Keep indicting those who have the receipts – the evidence will be presented in a court of law and it cannot be explained away as “Russian interference” by talking heads at MSNBC or affliated progandists. The real culprits are exposed. Boomerang incoming.
It is discouraging to know how broken the system is and to realize it is by design. The idea of sending out live ballots, whether anyone wants them or not is preposterous. The idea that I don’t even have to identify myself to vote is equally so.
I believe in the sanctity of the election process. If lacks integrity, is there any wonder why more and more people distrust their government?
Amazing that the high quality video that this links to has only 582 views. Has the conservative community been too reliant on Ethan Allen Institute (which champions the speech of Biden voter George Will) to get the message out? I encourage everyone to click the link and watch the video. And we should support VDC and Mr Roper’s Substack account. Any others I should know about?
How many fraudulent votes were there in your town, Rob?
Hard to say. Last election my kids were at college out of state and aren’t really into Vermont politics. Did I vote their absentee ballots which were sent to our house? Did I stand over my wife’s shoulder and tell her who to vote for or else? Did I snag a couple of errant ballots out of the garbage at the post office?…. I guess we’ll never know, will we. And that’s the point.
This is the point. There is no way to know how many fraudulent ballots have been cast. Does this mean an election has been stolen? No. Does it mean an elections hasn’t been stolen. No.
Those who claim the 2020 or 2022 election was stolen are just as guilty of deception as those who claim those elections were fair and accurate.
The accurate claim is that Vermont’s election process is flawed and grossly mismanaged. Of that we have proof.
Post script: In the 2020 election, my town, Westminster, received $5000 – more than $1 per registered voter – from a non-governmental, non-profit organization controlled by Mark Zuckerberg. I can show you the line item in or town budget list of revenues. So the question is, if we know an election process is flawed and mismanaged, and some out-of-state organization provides funding to ‘facilitate’ that flawed process, is that not fraudulent?
I still get ballots for housemates who moved out of state at least ten years ago. Just imagine how many get sent out to college apartment rentals. Last time I went to vote, I even got snotty looks for putting out the Karens in the town clerk’s office, who must have assumed I was a Trump Nazi for not just mailing in my votes.
Going back to 20** my wife and I noticed one very big problem. How is it that a state that has let’s say a small town with only 2 people working able to count at a minimum 1000 ballots in 20 minutes. That was when the muslim was running against Hillary. Somehow she won the state of VT. We were told how much we were bigots and we were crackpots. A lawyer in Danby dumped us because my wife stated on her then myspace page. “as the muslim lies, people die” and we were labeled nuts and was dumped as a client. (which I found out later was against the law, but who was going to do anything about it) Years later we would ,no could not /will not accept his apology that she was and still is RIGHT ( can you say fast and furious to start). Now we see what life as a democracy really is like.
We see the two tier justice the lies, the scams, the smug smiles, all done by, not thugs in the street or the mafia but our own progressive democrat gubment. I will not even bring up LAWFARE.
The same gubment system that brought you Hitler, Mussolini, MOA, Stalin, The Final Solution and on and on or the failed eugenics ,now planned parenthood and also the trans-pedo cult. OH let’s not forget C19 and the “vaccine” All done by people they say we “voted” for. sure.
Watch the video… I moved and after askingg my tc how to handle was told I would be taken off my small town roster(900 voters), there would be NO FORWARD and register in new location… this end September 2022. OCT 2022 received forwarded ballot which I still have. A deceased family member received ballot as well… passed away same small town 2016 and notified by me with thanks for receipt of sympathy card … MAIL IN NEEDS TO STOP 🛑
When I moved to VT in the early ’70’s, it was very republican and very logical. Things have really changed so much and not for the good. I thought it was just because the smart ones died or moved and left the stupid ones in charge. But maybe they just decided to fix the elections. Since most Vermonters were honest to a fault, they would never suspect voter fraud, not ever here in VT.
College students must vote by absentee ballots in their home town, NOT THE TOWN YHEY ARE ATTENDING SCHOOL IN.
Who’s going to pass that sensible legislation? The extremists already voted in by those students? By the people and for the people only works if the People aren’t naïve, gullible idiots.
If you are serving our country overseas, or you are physically incapable of going to your local polling facility, then do a “requested ” mail-in ballot, and only these two options, are the only valid mail-in scenarios !!
All others need to go to their local poll, show an ID, and cast their ballot any other form of voting is just a way to have fraud, yes there are some that will do whatever to stay in power, just look at Vermont’s political landscape, how many times have you sat and wondered or just said how did that happen ??
Vermont is in debt, taxpayers overtaxed, and millions in unfunded liabilities, and now you know how, wake up people.
Shakespeare said it quite eloquently: “To vouch this is no proof, Without more wider and more overt test Than these thin habits and poor likelihoods Of modern seeming to prefer against him. ”
In other words, come up with solid proof! Convince the judge and jury. Or drop it.
Alternate option, develop a solid case and convince the legislature to revise the law.
Corruption in elections, be it Democrat OR Republican, needs to be rooted out. Unfortunately, both sides of the extremes want to defend their own corrupt candidate.
Hand balloting on Election Day with very few requested only absentee ballots is the way to go. With voter ID. None of these electronic machines. Hand counted only. Our machines do give a big green check ✅ when you put ballots in the machine, but I wonder if I entered a blank piece of paper, I’d get the same result.
There was reporting that in Phila., in some districts, Trump received no votes at all? Is this real? Likely fraud was involved.
When obamagod ran the second time, I saw crawl across the screen the ticker tape proclaiming him the winner. TWO WEEKS BEFORE WE VOTED.
Honestly, after the last BIG LIE I decided why bother???
I’ve had enough From what I have experienced, it’s not that Vermonters are soooo honest they cannot comprehend this kind of theft. The progressives will simply take what they can get, by hook or by crook. The others will simply complain at home.
I have personally gone to republican meetings. Barely anyone there. Barely anyone willing to make a fuss.
I have also seen for myself that when an honest true conservative tries to run, their efforts are blatantly painfully sabotaged, even squashed by their own party.
AND-I have seen no where anyone acknowledging our election was NOT stolen Our country was overthrown. OVERTHROWN.
So here’s me telling the great Commie State of Vermont: Good for you-you “won” You have taken my vote over and over. I will not try anymore.
Headline: Connecticut Court Overturns Fraudulent Election Due to Ballot Box Voter Fraud – Will Michigan Be Next or Will They Allow the Lawlessness to Continue?
“Superior Court Judge William Clark ordered a new election to be held, citing bombshell video evidence of election fraud as the basis for his decision. The ruling has far-reaching implications, not just for Bridgeport but for the entire country, as it sets a precedent for ongoing and future cases involving mail-in ballot fraud.”
It’s everywhere.