Tag: 2023 elections

5 tampered with absentee ballots in Connecticut’s largest city, authorities say

Five people including prominent Democratic political operatives in Connecticut’s largest city were arrested Friday on allegations of absentee ballot tampering during a 2023 local election, including accusations that led to a court-ordered rerun of a mayoral election and helped fuel skepticism about voting security in the U.S.

The charges generally allege that the defendants in the Bridgeport case illegally possessed absentee ballots of others, were illegally present when voters filled in their ballots and misrepresented absentee ballot rules to voters. Complaints previously filed with state elections enforcement officials said some voters were pressured into picking certain candidates when they filled out their ballots.

Among those arrested were Bridgeport Democratic Town Committee Vice Chairperson Wanda Geter-Pataky, and Bridgeport Democratic City Council Members Alfredo Castillo, Maria Pereira and Jazmarie Melendez, according to the chief state’s attorney’s office. A Stratford woman was also arrested but contact information for her could not be found and it’s unclear if she has an attorney who can speak on her behalf.

Geter-Pataky and Castillo were previously charged with similar absentee ballot crimes connected to the 2019 election.

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South Texas Judge Overturns City Council Election Due to Voter Fraud and Allegations of Fake Addresses on Voter Registrations

A visiting judge has overturned the results of the November 2023 Edinburg City Council election, declaring Gerardo “Gerry” Lozano the rightful winner over incumbent David White, myRGV.com reported.

The lawsuit, brought forward by challenger Gerardo “Gerry” Lozano, contested the narrow victory of incumbent David White, alleging widespread irregularities, including illegal assistance to voters and the use of fake addresses in voter registrations.

The central issue in Lozano’s suit involved allegations against ‘politiqueras’, paid campaign workers accused of illegally aiding voters both in-person and through mail-in ballots. Some accusations extended to voters allegedly using fake addresses on their voter registrations.

The court’s findings revealed that these politiqueras assisted numerous voters who did not meet the legal criteria for such help. According to myRGV, citing Texas Election Code, assistance at the polls is strictly reserved for voters who are either illiterate or physically incapable of filling out ballots on their own. This assistance can extend to physically disabled voters eligible for curbside voting.

In his ruling, Senior Judge Jose Manuel Bañales confirmed that several voters received unlawful help filling out their ballots and participated in unauthorized curbside voting. Notably, the judge highlighted instances of individuals voting curbside from a van, despite being physically able to enter the polling place.

After conducting a three-day bench trial, Judge Bañales determined that more than a dozen illegal votes had been cast for incumbent David White, surpassing his narrow victory margin.

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Voting Machine ‘Error’ Flipped Ballots In Pennsylvania Election: Report

A “coding error” was to blame for a voting machine flipping votes in a local election in Pennsylvania earlier this week, a mistake that will likely prompt new criticism of such machines and a call to return to paper ballots.

“A coding error in Northampton County, Pennsylvania’s voting machines, caused a significant issue during a recent election. The glitch resulted in votes being incorrectly flipped on a ballot question concerning the retention of two state judges,” Resist the Mainstream reported.

The malfunction affected votes for candidates running for the Pennsylvania Superior Court, Judges Jack Panella and Victor Stabile, according to The Associated Press. Votes marked “yes” to retain one judge and “no” for the other were switched on printouts from touchscreen ballot machines, County Executive Lamont McClure said, per the AP.

The reports said that the problem was significant, affecting more than 300 voting machines. Voters noticed the glitch after seeing discrepancies on printed records. The AP noted that the Pennsylvania Department of State confirmed that the issue was limited to Northhampton County and didn’t occur in any other races.

“Panella’s votes will be returned to Panella, and Stabile’s will be returned to Stabile,” McClure said, downplaying the severity of the malfunction and referring to it as a “relatively minor glitch.”

“The county has pointed to the voting machine vendor, Election Systems & Software (ES&S), as the source of the error. Katina Granger, a spokesperson for ES&S, attributed the mistake to human error and emphasized that it was an isolated incident, affecting only the judicial retention question in Northampton County,” Resist The Mainstream added.

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