Feds fund Election Day monitor for Bridgeport

HARTFORD — Bridgeport would get a federally funded Election Day monitor under legislation aimed at helping expedite absentee ballot processing.

The legislation, which was overwhelmingly approved in the state House of Representatives late Wednesday afternoon, does not name Bridgeport specifically. It refers to a city with a population of more than

140,000. Bridgeport, the largest city in the state, is the only municipality that fits the definition.

The bill, which heads to the state Senate later this week, passed 139-5 after a brief 45-minute debate.

The city has a history of election problems including absentee ballot irregularities, most recently in the

2019 Democratic mayoral primary, which remains under investigation by the State Elections Enforcement Commission.

The bill, which was introduced in the House about 5:15 p.m., indicates that the monitor, who would be contracted under the federal aid the state received under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act, would have a variety of duties including conducting inspections and investigations related to the way the city handles the election.

Overall, the bill is aimed at making it easier for local election officials to open the outer envelopes that contain the inner envelopes that contain completed absentee ballots. Those are slated to be opened on Oct. 30, before the Nov. 3 election.

The state expects a record amount of mailed-in ballots in the lingering coronavirus pandemic.

Rep. Dan Fox, D-Stamford, co-chairman of the Government Administration and Elections Committee, said that, so far, 355,000 ballot applications have been returned to local voting officials, who are sending back ballot forms.

“Those numbers are growing on a daily basis,” Fox told lawmakers.

Fox said in an interview on the House floor that the monitor section of the legislation was inserted into the bill at the request of the Bridgeport delegation.

“They will be keeping an eye on election activity and irregularities, monitoring the process and getting in touch with the Secretary of the State if needed,” Fox said, stressing that the State Elections Enforcement Commission is the overarching regulatory authority.