It is not unexpected that four Democratic campaign staffers in Connecticut, a deep blue state that frequently elects Democrats, were found to have misused absentee ballots. Although the incident happened in 2019, they were apprehended, detained, and charged during the summer of 2024.
In a news statement issued on June 11, the Division of Criminal Justice of the State of Connecticut made this announcement. The news announcement started, “Today, Chief State’s Attorney Patrick J. Griffin announced that four campaign workers who participated in the 2019 Bridgeport Democratic mayoral primary have been charged with crimes related to the misuse of absentee ballots.”
“Inspectors from the Statewide Prosecution Bureau in the Office of the Chief State’s Attorney arrested Alfredo Castillo, age 52, Wanda Geter-Pataky, age 67, Nilsa Heredia, age 61, and Josephine Edmonds, age 62, all of Bridgeport, and charged them with Unlawful Possession of Absentee Ballots, in violation of Connecticut General Statues § 9-146b(d), and other election-related charges,” the press release continued, noting the numerous crimes they had committed. Additionally, three of the four suspects are accused of violating Connecticut General Statute Section 53a-151 by tampering with a witness.
The statement went on to describe the charges against each of the four accused employees: “Edmonds, Geter-Pataky, and Heredia were charged with Tampering With a Witness, in violation of Connecticut General Statues § 53a-151; Geter-Pataky, Castillo, and Heredia were charged with Misrepresenting Eligibility Requirements for Voting by Absentee Ballot, in violation of Connecticut General Statues § 9-135(b); Castillo, Edmonds, and Heredia were charged with Failure to Maintain an Absentee Ballot Distribution List, in violation of Connecticut General Statues § 9-140(k)(2); Edmonds and Heredia were charged with being present when an Absentee Ballot Applicant Executes an Absentee Ballot, in violation of Connecticut General Statues § 9-140(b)e; and Geter-Pataky and Castillo were charged with Failure to Sign as Assister on an Absentee Ballot, in violation of Connecticut General Statues § 9-140(a).
According to the press release, the initial accusations against them were made after it was found during a Democratic Party primary that votes had been handled improperly, which prompted an investigation. It stated: “The office of the Secretary of State filed a formal letter of referral to the State Elections Enforcement Commission, or “SEEC,” in response to claims of improper handling of absentee ballots in the September 2019 Democratic primary election for mayor of the City of Bridgeport. On June 7, 2023, a vote was taken to refer evidence of criminal conduct to the Division of Criminal Justice after the SEEC launched a civil inquiry. The Statewide Prosecution Bureau in the Office of the Chief State’s Attorney accepted the referral.
“According to an arrest warrant affidavit, Geter-Pataky is accused of failing to sign as an assister on an absentee ballot application that she had filled out on behalf of a prospective voter and misrepresenting eligibility requirements for voting by absentee ballot when she reportedly told a citizen not to vote in person and that she would pick up the citizen’s absentee ballot,” the press release stated, explaining what criminality occurred with regard to the ballots themselves. The defendant told the citizen not to talk to anyone about the situation, the citizen later told SEEC investigators.
But that’s not all. “Court records show Heredia instructed prospective voters on which candidate to select on their absentee ballots and misrepresented eligibility requirements for voting by absentee ballot,” the court added, noting that one of the defendants failed to submit a distribution list for the improperly handled ballots. The defendant acknowledged to SEEC investigators that she failed to provide the City of Bridgeport Clerk’s Office with an absentee ballot distribution list.
