By Juliette Fairley
Two former Bridgeport, Connecticut, City Council candidates, one from 2021 and the other from 2023, were arraigned on Aug. 12 in connection with the alleged misuse of absentee ballots in the city’s 2023 Democratic mayoral primary, according to court documents obtained by The Epoch Times.
Chief State’s Attorney Patrick J. Griffin announced the criminal charges last week.
Maria Hernandez, 63, was arrested and charged with two counts of improper possession of ballots and envelopes, while Elsie Mercado, 54, was arrested and charged with three counts of misrepresenting eligibility requirements for voting by absentee ballot and five counts of improper possession of ballots and envelopes.
Neither Hernandez nor Mercado responded to requests for comment by publication time. Hernandez ran for the city council in 2023 as an Independent, and Mercado was a 2021 Democratic candidate for the city council.
Their charges stem from a mayoral primary election held on Sept. 12, 2023, in which incumbent Democratic Mayor Joseph P. Ganim emerged as the victor against his Independent challenger, John Gomes, who lost by 251 votes.
Gomes also lost to Ganim in a court-ordered election in February 2024. It was Bridgeport’s fourth election since Connecticut Superior Court Judge William Clark overturned the Democratic Party primary in September 2023 based on allegations of fraud.
The State Elections Enforcement Commission (SEEC) referred the case to the Office of the Chief State’s Attorney for further investigation by the Statewide Prosecution Bureau.
Joshua Foley, the SEEC’s senior attorney and information policy coordinator, declined to comment, and Ganim did not respond to requests for comment by publication time.
“Unfortunately, the Secretary of State doesn’t train the people for the polling on what they should and shouldn’t be doing and some of these may fall under not even working the polls,” Connecticut-based national nonprofit Fight Voter Fraud (FVF) founder and CEO Linda Szynkowicz told The Epoch Times. “So, they may be just out there working for the Democrat Party or the Republican Party.”
In addition to Hernandez and Mercado, Robert Anderson, 63, was charged with three counts of improper possession of ballots and envelopes, two counts of misrepresenting eligibility requirements for voting by absentee ballot and two counts of failure to sign as assister on an absentee ballot.
Silvia Ramos, 60, was charged with two counts of misrepresenting eligibility requirements for voting by absentee ballot, two counts of improper possession of ballots and envelopes, two counts of failure to sign as assister on an absentee ballot, and fraudulent voting.
“Connecticut has a troubling history of politically motivated prosecutions and selective enforcement,” former Connecticut congressional candidate Thomas Gilmer told The Epoch Times. “While these charges are a step toward accountability, the deeper issue is a justice system that has too often protected insiders while turning a blind eye to systemic problems.”
Gilmer, who ran as a Republican for public office in Connecticut in 2020, wants statewide election reforms that include mandating nonpartisan, state-certified training in ballot handling and election compliance for all campaign workers and volunteers.
“Part of the problem is most campaign workers receive informal, internal training—often focused more on winning votes than following election law,” Gilmer added.
All four defendants were released on condition that they not have contact with witnesses in connection with the case.
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