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Judge rules Bridgeport's primary race for 127th House seat can't be challenged

Phil Roeder
/
Wikimedia Commons

The winner of the Democratic primary in Connecticut's 127th state house district is still unknown. A Superior Court judge has ruled incumbent state Representative Jack Hennessy can contest the results of a second hand count, but not the ballots themselves.

The ruling was a blow to Hennessy, who was first elected to represent the North End of Bridgeport in 2004. His lawyer planned to show alleged irregularities in a handful of absentee ballots and applications in court this week.

After the low turnout election on August 9, Hennessy's challenger — Bridgeport City Councilmen Marcus Brown, was up by five votes. The close count triggered an automatic recount, which put Hennessy on top.

Brown appealed and the judge ordered a second recount by hand. Brown had two more votes than Hennessy.

The total number of cast ballots was different in each vote tally.

Hennessy appealed, alleging certain absentee ballots and applications were improperly handled. The hearing continues on Thursday.

Desiree reports on the lives of military service members, veterans, and their families for WSHU as part of the American Homefront project. Born and raised in Connecticut, she now calls Long Island home.