4 people arrested after investigation into mail-in ballots in 2019 Bridgeport mayoral primary: official – NBC Connecticut

Four campaign workers involved in the 2019 Democratic mayoral primary in Bridgeport are accused and charged with misusing mail-in ballots, the state’s attorney general said.

Chief Prosecutor Patrick J. Griffin said Alfredo Castillo, 52, Wanda Geter-Pataky, 67, Nilsa Heredia, 61, and Josephine Edmonds, 62, all of Bridgeport, were charged with illegal possession of absentee ballots and other election-related offenses.

The arrests followed allegations of improper handling of mail-in ballots in the September 2019 Democratic primary for Bridgeport mayor and an investigation by the state Election Enforcement Commission.

According to an arrest warrant affidavit, Geter-Pataky is accused of failing to sign an absentee ballot application she filled out on behalf of a prospective voter while serving as an assistant and of misrepresenting absentee ballot eligibility requirements when she allegedly told a citizen not to vote in person and that she would pick up the citizen’s absentee ballot. According to the Attorney General’s Office, the citizen later told SEEC investigators that the defendant told her not to speak to anyone about the matter.

They said court documents show Heredia gave prospective voters instructions on which candidate to select on their mail-in ballots and misrepresented the eligibility requirements for mail-in ballots. The defendant also admitted to SEEC investigators that she did not provide the Bridgeport City Clerk’s Office with a mail-in ballot distribution list.

A press release from the Attorney General cites the warrant and says Castillo is accused of failing to maintain a mail-in ballot roll, misrepresenting mail-in ballot eligibility requirements, and failing to sign as an assistant on a mail-in ballot application in August 2019. According to testimony before SEEC on October 21, 2021, Castillo denied helping the prospective voter complete the application, but later admitted to completing portions of the application.

The arrest warrant affidavit also states that Edmonds is accused of being present as four prospective voters filled out their absentee ballots and taking possession of them as she left her home. She is also accused of failing to maintain a list for the distribution of absentee ballots and tampering with a witness for telling her not to testify truthfully in court that the defendant went to her home and took the absentee ballots.

Edmonds, Geter-Pataky and Heredia were also charged with witness tampering, and Geter-Pataky, Castillo and Heredia were charged with misrepresenting the requirements for voting by mail.

Castillo, Edmonds and Heredia were charged with failing to maintain a mail-in ballot mailing list.

Edmonds and Heredia were charged with being present when an applicant filed an absentee ballot, and Geter-Pataky and Castillo were charged with failing to sign an absentee ballot as an assistant.

All four were released on a promise to appear and are due to appear in Bridgeport Superior Court on June 24.

“We only learned from the media that individuals from both 2019 mayoral primary campaigns have been charged with election violations. We have not received any further details beyond those contained in the media reports,” Bridgeport Mayor Joseph Ganim said in a statement.