Under fire Connecticut mayor ADMITS his campaign in Democratic mayoral primary race engaged in ballot stuffing after staffer was caught on camera filling boxes - but claims rival is ALSO guilty of 'unlawful behavior'

A Connecticut mayor has admitted his campaign engaged in ballot stuffing after staffer was caught on camera filling boxes.

Incumber Bridgeport Mayor Joe Ganim accepted that his team was engaged in 'serious voting irregularities', but also accused his rival of similar foul play.

His admission came after he narrowly 'won' the September 12 Democratic Primary in  against challenger John Gomes by 251 votes.

But Superior Court Judge William Clark ordered a rerun of the election after 'shocking' surveillance footage emerged showing the sabotage.

'As for the September primary, I own the fact that the court found people connected with my campaign engaged in serious voting irregularities,' Ganim said at a press conference, the CT Examiner reports.

But he urged his challenger to be 'honest, trustworthy and truthful' and admit that 'multiple people associated with his campaign engaged in clearly unlawful ballot behavior in the primary as well.'

Ganim stated that his team have since sent video of the alleged ballot stuffing to the Connecticut State Election Enforcement Commission.

He claims the video shows a Gomes supporter 'making 11 trips to the ballot box.' with 'so many ballots in her hand in a pile that she drops them on the ground, picks them back up, clearly visible on the video, and then stuffed them in the ballot box.'

Ganim also hit out at his rival for being 'disingenuous by sending out videos of people putting ballots in boxes from my campaign.'

But he revealed he will not challenge the ruling to toss the result and set a new Primary for January 23.

No new complaints or videos from either side have been received this week, an SEEC spokesman confirmed. 

Gomes sued the city and demanded a new Primary after the footage emerged. 

Judge Clark made the order after reviewing the 'shocking' video and statistics showing that abnormally large numbers of absentee ballots were cast in certain voting districts. 

Under Connecticut law, voters using a collection box must drop off their completed ballots themselves, or designate certain family members, police, local election officials or a caregiver to do it for them.

Judge Clark ruled that just two women made or were directly involved in 15 incidents of drop boxes being stuffed with ballots.

Gomes contends that person is Wanda Geter-Pataky, a Ganim supporter and vice chair of the Bridgeport Democratic Town Committee.

Video appeared to show her dropping absentee ballots into an election drop box outside the Margaret Morton Government Center, where she worked.

In court she refused to answer questions and exercised her Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination.

In a statement to the Examiner, Gomes' team said that Ganim had failed to mention the fresh allegations against him in discussions for a new primary or during the civil trial.  

'Any offender who mishandled ballots in violation of the law should be subject to the penalties outlined in the Connecticut General Statutes,' the statement said.

'There were opportunities to call additional witnesses during the civil trial, and the attorneys for the city declined.

'If today’s statements by the mayor were genuine, it would have been presented to all parties during the discussion for a new primary date. 

'The announcement by the mayor to not appeal Judge Clark’s ruling and the listening tour that began today is a part of a public relations campaign by the mayor to obtain his law license.'

Lawyers for city officials argued in a joint legal brief that the security camera footage doesn't prove anything illegal took place. They said 'not one voter' testified about their ballot being mishandled.

So far, the Bridgeport scandal hasn't involved any allegations that people doctored ballots or created fake votes.

Instead, they involve an activity known as 'ballot harvesting,' where campaign workers or volunteers visit potential voters, persuade them to fill out absentee ballots, and then collect those ballots and put them in drop boxes or send them in via the mail.

Ganim is seeking an eighth term as mayor. He previously served from 1991 to 2003 before spending seven years in federal prison for corruption and extortion charges stemming from his time in office. Voters returned him to the job in 2015 and 2019.

Gomes served in Ganim's second administration as the city's acting chief administrative officer until he was demoted in 2016 and later as an assistant chief administrative officer until his termination in July 2022.

DailyMail.com has approached Ganim and Gomes for comment.