While Trump is wrong to use election fraud in the City of Bridgeport as a prelude for restricting voting rights, Connecticut leaders are also wrong when they respond by pretending that election fraud is only a right-wing talking point. In Bridgeport, election fraud is very real. To me it is personal because in 2023, I stood with other Bridgeport residents after a mayoral primary stolen by absentee-ballot abuse. As some may recall, I was peacefully protesting near Boca Oyster Bar, holding a sign that read “Joe Gotta Go!” when Bridgeport police ordered me to leave. I was on publicly accessible property and exercising my First Amendment rights. I was arrested. A Superior Court judge later dismissed the criminal case against me. That experience proves what Bridgeport residents already knew: when political machines feel threatened, they do not always answer criticism with facts. Sometimes they answer it with intimidation. That is why the recent press conference in Hartford defending Connecticut elections cannot be the end of the conversation. The Secretary of the State is right that Connecticut elections depend on “people, paper, and proof.” But in Bridgeport, proof exists that people forged paper and stuffed the ballot box. A Connecticut Superior Court judge overturned the results of Bridgeport’s 2023 primary after finding that the volume absentee ballots seen on video being stuffed, called the result into serious doubt. The judge wrote that the evidence was “shocking” and that the court was unable to determine the legitimate result of the election. That was not a wild right wing nut conspiracy theory. That was a court ruling. The investigation that followed deepened public’s concerns. Five people were charged with election-related crimes relating to the 2023 primary. The guilty pleas and trials have begun. Bridgeport’s crisis did not begin in 2023. In the 2019 mayoral election cycle, absentee-ballot misconduct also became the subject of criminal charges. So when Bridgeport residents say that two consecutive mayoral races were stolen from people of color, that claim should not be dismissed. Any talk of election integrity should at least give mention to Bridgeport’s woes. Marilyn Moore, a Black woman and longtime Bridgeport leader, challenged the machine in 2019. John Gomes, an immigrant from Cape Verde, challenged the machine in 2023, and his campaign’s challenge led to a court-ordered redo after absentee-ballot misconduct came to light. I reject Trump’s attempt to turn election integrity into a weapon against voters. I oppose restrictions that make it harder for lawful voters to register, vote by mail, or participate fully in democracy. Trump’s executive order sought changes that were overly burdensome, especially Identification requirements for married women and the federal overreach into states sovereign rights to administer elections. Real election integrity should not suppress voters. It should prevent fraud without using fraud as an excuse to silence communities, restrict access, or centralize power in the hands of one president. Rejecting Trump does not require us to pretend what happened in Bridgeport did not happen. In fact, if leaders want credibility when they condemn Trump’s attacks on democracy, they must also be willing to confront corruption, intimidation, and election abuse when it happens inside Democratic cities, under Democratic leadership, and within Democratic political machines. Bridgeport is Connecticut’s largest Black and brown city. Our votes should never be treated as property of a political organization. When absentee ballots are mishandled, and when critics are arrested or intimidated for speaking out, the damage goes far beyond one candidate or one election. The damage is to democracy itself. I have said before that public criticism is not a crime. Police and personnel systems should never be used as weapons against people whose message those in power dislike. It is a message that should be echoed at press conferences about election fraud. Voters should not have to choose between Trump’s false, self-serving narrative and a Democratic establishment that wants to minimize Bridgeport’s pain. The Lamont administration needs to tell the truth The truth is that overall our elections are safe and Bridgeport has suffered real election scandals that deserve serious accountability. The truth is that election integrity and voting rights are not mutually exclusive If Connecticut leaders want claim the moral high ground and stand against Trump, they must prove that their commitment to democracy does not ignore Bridgeport corruption. They must defend voters from federal overreach while also defending Bridgeport residents from local machine politics and having their votes stolen. Anything less is hypocrisy. Connecticut does not need press conferences about trusting democracy. Connecticut needs democracy worthy of trust. Joseph Sokolovic lives in Bridgeport. ...read more read less