An absentee ballot cast by an elderly Windsor woman who was thought to have been dead may decide the outcome of the disputed Democratic primary for the 5th General Assembly District nomination. That ballot, still contained in a sealed envelope, had not been counted either in the primary or in two recounts because it was marked “deceased.” But Windsor officials discovered Tuesday that the 91-year-old woman who cast the ballot is indeed alive and living in a local nursing home. The uncounted ballot could wind up being pivotal because a recount Monday in Windsor gave challenger Brandon McGee an additional vote, tying his race with party-endorsed candidate Leo Canty at 774 to 774. A recount of absentee ballots in Hartford Tuesday answered a lingering question about the tally, but didn’t change the result.
During the recount in Windsor Monday, lawyers began asking questions about the date of the woman’s death, but couldn’t get an answer or find any record of an obituary. Town officials called the address listed on the woman’s absentee ballot Tuesday morning and learned that she was alive. McGee, of Hartford, filed an elections complaint following the first recount, during which he lost a vote in Windsor. Canty, of Windsor, was declared the winner by one vote. McGee’s complaint alleged that a ballot was lost in Windsor and that absentee ballots in Hartford had been counted improperly. The 5th General Assembly District is made up of three voting districts in Windsor and two in Hartford.
Superior Court Judge A. Susan Peck ordered the highly unusual second recount last week in an attempt to find the supposedly lost Windsor ballot and clear up a question about the number of absentee ballots received in Hartford. Hartford’s town and city clerk, John Bazzano, testified earlier that his office delivered 79 absentee ballots to the registrars of voters’ office, but election officials only counted 78 and were unable to reconcile the difference.
Full Article: Ballot Cast By Woman Thought Dead, – Courant.com.