Readying for ‘ unprecedented’ Election Day
Special monitor appointed in Bridgeport
BRIDGEPORT — Connecticut’s largest city does not have a reputation for smooth elections.
From 2010’ s gubernatorial race when Bridgeport notoriously ran out of ballots, to the ongoing state probe into alleged absentee ballot violations during the 2019 mayoral primary, election day in the city can be rife with uncertainties and problems.
So with an extremely divisive presidential election looming, and normal restrictions on who can vote by mail lifted because of the COVID- 19 pandemic, several steps are being taken to try to ensure the Democratdominated city is well- prepared for Nov. 3.
On Friday, the Secretary of the State’s office announced local attorney and former school board member Max Medina had been appointed as a special election monitor for Bridgeport.
Medina’s position, paid for with federal coronavirus relief funds, was established as part of just- passed special state legislation giving municipal election officials more time to process the anticipated coming avalanche of ballots.
“The monitor will be on the ground in Bridgeport shortly and through election day,” said Gabe Rosenberg, spokesman for Secretary of the State Denise Merrill. “The role is kind of an extension of our office in the town. It’s someone who can say, ‘ This is what election law says’ or communicate with our office to get an official interpretation and make sure everything is going right.”
Medina has experience. He was appointed by a Superior Court judge in 2017 to oversee a redo of a City Council primary that had been decided by one vote. Medina last year was also the lawyer for state Sen. Marilyn Moore’s unsuccessful mayoral bid against incumbent Joe Ganim when the former accused the latter’s campaign of absentee ballot abuses.
Separate from Medina’s appointment, the state also provided Bridgeport with two additional secure drop boxes for voters to submit their absentee ballots rather than mail them. So besides the two drop boxes already installed outside of the downtown government center and City Hall on Lyon Terrace, the Town Clerk has put one outside of the Fire Department Station 10 on Boston Aveenue and one on Ocean Terrace across from Geraldine Claytor Magnet School.
Bridgeport also recently received a $ 350,000 grant from the Center for Tech and Civil Life that the town clerk and the registrars of voters will be using to prepare for and run November’s election. Those offices earlier this week briefed the City Council’s budget committee on their initial plans for the money.
Assistant Town Clerk Christina Resto told council members her office had processed 11,200 mail- in ballot applications and was still receiving requests: “We’re starting to get the ( completed) ballots back.”
She said some of the $ 350,000 grant is being used to pay staff overtime and to hire temporarily seasonal workers. The town clerk’s office has maintained regular hours for the public but personnel have kept working daily until 8 p. m. to handle the crush of absentee voting, Resto said.
“We’re in an unprecedented election. Because of COVID, the volumes ( of mail- in ballots) have increased dramatically,” Resto said. “We’re pounding out these applications and issuing ballots as best we can.”
Some on the budget committee questioned why Bridgeport could not obtain more drop boxes.
“I can’t tell you how many people are so concerned their vote is not going to count if they put it in the mail,” said Councilwoman Maria Pereira. And Budget Committee Co- Chairman Ernie Newton also said there should be more boxes in more neighborhoods.
Rosenberg told the Connecticut Post the funds for the drop boxes that have been installed in Bridgeport and statewide also came from federal pandemic relief: “The reason we can’t do more is we don’t have more money. ... Our office would love to have enough money to sit down and think about what the correct number of drop boxes are going forward and making sure every town has the number they need.”
Bridgeport Town Clerk Charles Clemons said his office did its best to find suitable locations for the city’s four boxes, which are mounted on concrete slabs: “( They) should be in a well- lit area, accessible to the public as well as cameras available 24 hours to ensure the security and safety of those boxes. We surveyed those sites and thought that those ... meet the criteria.”
The Democratic and Republican Registrars, who oversee polling sites, told council members they will be using their share of the $ 350,000 grant for needs like hiring temporary staff, office supplies and extra pandemic- related cleaning equipment.
“We could balance out over $ 200,000,” said Democratic Registrar Patricia Howard.
Neither could state whether the increase in absentee ballots will result in less- crowded in- person polling places, but Republican Registrar Linda Grace noted: “It’s the first time with this rule anybody can vote by absentee ballot, so it’s really unprecedented in trying to determine the percentage. ... We’re staffing to accommodate our polls to the fullest capacity.”
She and Howard are also requesting the city assign police officers to those locations, which would mean more overtime. For example, if there are long lines when the polls close at 8 p. m. Nov. 3, officers may have to stand at the end to prevent any latecomers from joining and trying to vote.
Grace also anticipated more people will take advantage of “curbside voting” at the polling locations because of COVID.
Newton was particularly concerned about calls by Republican President Donald Trump for unofficial election monitors to spread out around the nation and whether that could lead to voter intimidation: “He’s calling for his own ‘ secret police,’ I guess, to monitor the polls.”
Committee members said if the city needs to pay police overtime, that should come out of the regular budget, with the $ 350,000 grant used for any other election- related needs.
Councilwoman Rosalina Roman- Christy said she believed more temporary hires will be needed to count ballots. She said during prior elections there has been a “tremendous amount of work” that runs into the early morning hours, leaving existing staff “exhausted.”
With the directors of Bridgeport’s finance and budget offices participating in the meeting, Budget Committee Co- Chairman Scott Burns concluded, “I think the feeling is let the police money be spent as needed ( out of the budget) and let the grant money be used more directly for the election itself.”
“We definitely want this to go well,” Burns emphasized.