Connecticut Republican leaders have requested a federal investigation into the integrity of the state’s electoral system, citing alleged election crimes in Bridgeport.
5 individuals have been arrested final week following an investigation into the dealing with of absentee ballots in the course of the 2023 mayoral election cycle in Bridgeport.
Inspectors from the Workplace of the Chief State’s Lawyer arrested Wanda Geter-Pataky, 68, Alfredo Castillo, 53, Maria Pereira, 57, Jazmarie Melendez, 26, and Margaret Joyce, 45.
Republican leaders within the Connecticut Common Meeting wrote to U.S. Lawyer Common Pam Bondi formally requesting an investigation into whether or not election crimes in Bridgeport are half of a bigger, coordinated effort to defraud voters statewide, in line with officers.
Castillo, a Democratic metropolis councilman in Bridgeport, was amongst these arrested and faces a number of election-related prices. Republican lawmakers are urging federal officers to look into whether or not ways similar to poll tampering, forgery, coercion and extra are getting used elsewhere in Connecticut.
“Councilman Castillo’s own words suggest a broader operation at play, involving efforts to benefit high-profile Democratic candidates at the state and federal levels,” Home Republican Chief Vincent Candelora stated in a press release. “We cannot ignore the possibility that these corrupt practices extend beyond Bridgeport.”
GOP leaders within the state additionally point out that the legislature hasn’t enacted election safeguards within the wake of the Bridgeport investigation.
NBC Connecticut has reached out to Democratic leaders and the Secretary of the State for remark however haven’t but heard again.
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