Latest news with #GovernmentAdministrationandElectionsCommittee
Yahoo
29-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Resolution condemning 1638 treaty that targeted Pequots moves forward in legislature
A state legislative committee has endorsed a proposed resolution condemning parts of the 1638 Treaty of Hartford that aimed to erase the Pequot Indian tribe in the wake of the Pequot War, a pivotal event in state and U.S. history. The Government Administration and Elections Committee voted 14-5 Wednesday night to approve the measure, sending it to the Senate for further consideration. Two members of the southeastern Connecticut delegation, Democrats Nick Gauthier of Waterford and Nick Menapace of East Lyme, voted with the majority. Five of the committee's six Republican members cast the dissenting votes. During a public hearing earlier this month, Sen. Cathy Osten, D-Sprague, who sponsored the resolution, said the state's official condemnation of the treaty's language would 'greatly benefit' state-tribal relations and represent 'an important step forward in attempting to right wrongs of the many people before us ...' Latoya Cluff, vice chairwoman of the Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Council, testified in support of the resolution, as did several academics, including Andy Horowitz, the Connecticut state historian and an associate professor of history at UConn, and David Simon, a senior lecturer at Yale University's Jackson School of Global Affairs. The Mohegan Tribe, which did not offer testimony, supports the resolution as it is written, Chuck Bunnell, the Mohegans' chief of staff, said. In testimony submitted to the committee, Horowitz wrote that certain facts surrounding the Treaty of Hartford, signed Sept. 21, 1638, among the Connecticut Colony and the Narragansett and Mohegan tribes, 'are clear and, to my knowledge, not in dispute.' 'Among these facts,' he wrote, 'are that the Treaty of Hartford declared that 'the Pequots ... shall no more be called Pequots,' confiscated the Pequots' traditional lands, and condemned Pequots either to death or slavery.' Scholars have identified the Pequot War as 'a key event in the history of native dispossession and the rise of slavery in North America,' Horowitz wrote. Cluff, speaking for her tribe, said it survived the 'genocidal provisions' of the treaty and managed to pass down its culture, language and history to future generations — 'often in secret, always with hope.' 'We have reclaimed our lands, revitalized our governance and reinvested in our culture and people,' said the tribe, which owns Foxwoods Resort Casino, in a statement. 'We are proud to contribute to Connecticut's economy, create thousands of jobs, and maintain our sovereign government's relationship with the state and federal governments.' Connecticut's historical treatment of the Pequot War will remain complicated regardless of whether the legislature embraces the resolution condemning the treaty. As Horowitz noted in his testimony, in the early 1900s, state lawmakers commissioned 'An Attack on an Indian Fort,' a stone engraving that depicts the burning of Pequot men, women and children in the 1637 Massacre at Mystic, as well as a statue of Capt. John Mason, the English commander who led the attack. Both pieces are still in place at the State Capitol, the statue on a high perch on the building's exterior. 'Thus, an observer might reasonably wonder whether Connecticut continues to endorse the Treaty of Hartford,' Horowitz wrote.
Yahoo
25-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
CT ballot fraud saga leads GOP to alert Bondi after 150 charges lodged, Dem reforms ‘miss the mark,' they say
Ballot fraud concerns stretching back to a judicially-overturned 2023 election in Connecticut's largest city have led state lawmakers to spar over how to reform the system after dozens of criminal charges were lodged in the latest cases there. On Monday, Republican leaders told Fox News Digital they have asked Attorney General Pam Bondi to probe whether "election crimes in Bridgeport" that led to the indictments are "part of a larger, coordinated effort to defraud voters statewide" – adding that Democrats' two new election reform bills drafted in response to the latest case "miss the mark." "Connecticut has made embarrassing international news for absentee ballot fraud caught on viral video," state Sen. Rob Sampson of Wolcott and Senate Minority Leader Stephen Harding of Brookfield said in joint comments to Fox News Digital. Sampson is currently the ranking Republican on the bicameral Government Administration and Elections Committee considering the bills. 4 Ct Dem Operatives Charged In Absentee Ballot Misuse Probe "Everyone saw it," the Republicans said of various CCTV tapes from Bridgeport showing city Democratic Party official Wanda Geter-Pataky allegedly engaging in ballot-stuffing, inserting large numbers of ballots into a drop box outside city hall. Read On The Fox News App Reports at the time characterized the effort as one seeking to benefit Mayor Joe Ganim against challenger John Gomes, and the controversy ultimately spilled into the 2024 court-ordered "redo" between the two men. Sampson and Harding said legislative Republicans wrote to Bondi to formally request a federal investigation into whether "election crimes in Bridgeport are part of a larger, coordinated effort to defraud voters statewide." They added the two bills presented in committee on Friday – SB 1515 and SB 1516 – are woefully inadequate and do not meet the moment. SB 1515 would establish a Municipal Election Accountability Board, which would provide oversight of towns and cities' elections and related referenda. SB 1516 would "expand certain post-election procedures" relating to the correction of ballot returns, and better regulate "curbside voting" – including prohibiting a worker from sitting in a voter's vehicle while they fill out their ballot – and how soon certain criminal convicts could circulate nominating petitions. It also would install an election monitor for larger cities effective for the 2025 off-year elections and prohibit commercial use of certain voter registration information. "We have Democrats from Bridgeport traveling to the capitol to push for the state and individual campaigns to be removed from the absentee ballot process. Empowering the state government in this area is not the solution," the GOP leaders said. "Connecticut Democrats have shown no appetite for adopting our commonsense reforms." Watters: Voter Fraud Needs To Be Investigated A representative for House Speaker Matt Ritter, D-Hartford, directed Fox News Digital to the Senate, where Senate President Pro-Tem Martin Looney of New Haven did not respond. Much of SB 1516's recommendations mirror those of Secretary of State Stephanie Thomas, according to a Senate representative. In the lower chamber, House Minority Leader Vincent Candelora called election fraud a "serious problem" in the state, in comments to Fox News Digital. "Residents know it and so does this nation," said Candelora, R-East Haven. Candelora said bad actors must be told they will face jail time if they commit electoral hijinks. "Until the legislature sends that message, those intent on cheating will always find a way," he said. Earlier this month, five Democratic officials – including Geter-Pataky – were charged with about 150 election-related offenses all-told, according to the Connecticut Post. Connecticut Gov. Ned Lamont, a Democrat, previously dismissed claims the "potential corruption" was tied to early voting and absentee balloting. "I think it's people who do the corrupting," Lamont said. According to the conservative Heritage Foundation's "Voter Fraud Report," Geter-Pataky made "10 drops either directly or indirectly" and another woman made five separate ballot drops during Bridgeport's 2023 mayoral primary. Meanwhile, the judge who overturned the election ruled the "volume of ballots so mishandled is such that it calls the result of the primary election into serious doubt and leaves the court unable to determine the legitimate result of the primary," and called videos of the situation "shocking." A Connecticut Post report on the slew of charges from earlier this month said the "vast majority" are lodged against Geter-Pataky, while other defendants include council members Alfredo Castillo and Maria Pereira. Gomes appeared to disagree with Republicans' aversion to the bills, telling the Hartford Courant the municipal accountability board outlined in SB 1515 is needed. He pointed to the criminal complaint, which reportedly outlined an allegation Geter-Pataky was permitted by town clerks to insert a ballot into a tote being used to empty a drop box. Fox News Digital reached out to the Justice Department for comment on the request for Bondi's article source: CT ballot fraud saga leads GOP to alert Bondi after 150 charges lodged, Dem reforms 'miss the mark,' they say
Fox News
25-03-2025
- Politics
- Fox News
CT ballot fraud saga leads GOP to alert Bondi after 150 charges lodged, Dem reforms ‘miss the mark,' they say
Ballot fraud concerns stretching back to a judicially-overturned 2023 election in Connecticut's largest city have led state lawmakers to spar over how to reform the system after dozens of criminal charges were lodged in the latest cases there. On Monday, Republican leaders told Fox News Digital they have asked Attorney General Pam Bondi to probe whether "election crimes in Bridgeport" that led to the indictments are "part of a larger, coordinated effort to defraud voters statewide" – adding that Democrats' two new election reform bills drafted in response to the latest case "miss the mark." "Connecticut has made embarrassing international news for absentee ballot fraud caught on viral video," state Sen. Rob Sampson of Wolcott and Senate Minority Leader Stephen Harding of Brookfield said in joint comments to Fox News Digital. Sampson is currently the ranking Republican on the bicameral Government Administration and Elections Committee considering the bills. "Everyone saw it," the Republicans said of various CCTV tapes from Bridgeport showing city Democratic Party official Wanda Geter-Pataky allegedly engaging in ballot-stuffing, inserting large numbers of ballots into a drop box outside city hall. Reports at the time characterized the effort as one seeking to benefit Mayor Joe Ganim against challenger John Gomes, and the controversy ultimately spilled into the 2024 court-ordered "redo" between the two men. Sampson and Harding said legislative Republicans wrote to Bondi to formally request a federal investigation into whether "election crimes in Bridgeport are part of a larger, coordinated effort to defraud voters statewide." They added the two bills presented in committee on Friday – SB 1515 and SB 1516 – are woefully inadequate and do not meet the moment. SB 1515 would establish a Municipal Election Accountability Board, which would provide oversight of towns and cities' elections and related referenda. SB 1516 would "expand certain post-election procedures" relating to the correction of ballot returns, and better regulate "curbside voting" – including prohibiting a worker from sitting in a voter's vehicle while they fill out their ballot – and how soon certain criminal convicts could circulate nominating petitions. It also would install an election monitor for larger cities effective for the 2025 off-year elections and prohibit commercial use of certain voter registration information. "We have Democrats from Bridgeport traveling to the capitol to push for the state and individual campaigns to be removed from the absentee ballot process. Empowering the state government in this area is not the solution," the GOP leaders said. "Connecticut Democrats have shown no appetite for adopting our commonsense reforms." A representative for House Speaker Matt Ritter, D-Hartford, directed Fox News Digital to the Senate, where Senate President Pro-Tem Martin Looney of New Haven did not respond. Much of SB 1516's recommendations mirror those of Secretary of State Stephanie Thomas, according to a Senate representative. In the lower chamber, House Minority Leader Vincent Candelora called election fraud a "serious problem" in the state, in comments to Fox News Digital. "Residents know it and so does this nation," said Candelora, R-East Haven. Candelora said bad actors must be told they will face jail time if they commit electoral hijinks. "Until the legislature sends that message, those intent on cheating will always find a way," he said. Earlier this month, five Democratic officials – including Geter-Pataky, who was repeatedly covered on Fox News Channel's "Jesse Watters Primetime" – were charged with about 150 election-related offenses all-told, according to the Connecticut Post. In an exposé last year, Watters reported Geter-Pataky had participated in several "get out the vote efforts" over the years and was subject to at least two different election-related probes at the time. "Is Wanda a bug in the system or is Wanda the system? We need cameras everywhere. We need cameras on the drop boxes, in the election centers and in the countingrooms. They make police wear body cameras: We should strap body cameras to election officials," the host suggested. In September, a "Jesse Watters Primetime" correspondent confronted Pataky, who did not offer comment. Connecticut Gov. Ned Lamont, a Democrat, previously dismissed claims the "potential corruption" was tied to early voting and absentee balloting. "I think it's people who do the corrupting," Lamont said. According to the conservative Heritage Foundation's "Voter Fraud Report," Geter-Pataky made "10 drops either directly or indirectly" and another woman made five separate ballot drops during Bridgeport's 2023 mayoral primary. Meanwhile, the judge who overturned the election ruled the "volume of ballots so mishandled is such that it calls the result of the primary election into serious doubt and leaves the court unable to determine the legitimate result of the primary," and called videos of the situation "shocking." A Connecticut Post report on the slew of charges from earlier this month said the "vast majority" are lodged against Geter-Pataky, while other defendants include council members Alfredo Castillo and Maria Pereira. Gomes appeared to disagree with Republicans' aversion to the bills, telling the Hartford Courant the municipal accountability board outlined in SB 1515 is needed. He pointed to the criminal complaint, which reportedly outlined an allegation Geter-Pataky was permitted by town clerks to insert a ballot into a tote being used to empty a drop box. Fox News Digital reached out to the Justice Department for comment on the request for Bondi's help.
