Bridgeport city councilman Alfredo Castillo was referred to state prosecutors on Tuesday for potential criminal charges related to allegedly registering a non U.S. citizen to vote in the city’s 2023 Democratic primary and filling out an absentee ballot in that person’s name.
The State Elections Enforcement Commission spent roughly three months investigating those allegations before deciding Tuesday there is enough evidence to recommend Castillo for criminal charges.
The investigation into Castillo’s actions during the 2023 primary stems from a complaint that was filed by Bridgeport resident Arianna Hernandez late last year.
Hernandez, who is a permanent legal resident but not a U.S. citizen, submitted a written complaint to the SEEC alleging Castillo convinced her to sign paperwork to become a registered voter, even though green card holders are not eligible to vote in Connecticut.
She also alleged that Castillo helped her to sign up for an absentee ballot, which he cast on her behalf ahead of the city’s 2023 Democratic primary between Bridgeport Mayor Joe Ganim and his Democratic challenger John Gomes. Castillo was an outspoken supporter of Ganim’s reelection bid.
“I never filled out the absentee ballot, but I signed it because Alfredo told me he would fill it out,” Hernandez wrote in the Oct. 4, 2024 complaint, which was translated from Spanish into English by a Connecticut state trooper.
It is a crime in Connecticut to fraudulently register another person to vote, and it is also a crime for someone to take possession of another person’s absentee ballot, unless they are a family member, caregiver or legal designee for that voter.
Castillo’s attorney, Frank Riccio, did not respond to an email seeking comment on the criminal referral.
This is not the first time Castillo has been accused of committing election-related crimes during city elections.
Castillo, who has served on the city council for several terms, is already facing criminal charges for allegedly taking possession of another voter’s absentee ballot during Bridgeport’s 2019 Democratic primary and filling out that ballot in the voter’s name.
He was also referred for separate criminal charges late last year for allegedly driving voters to polling locations in November 2023 and sitting in the car with those individuals as they filled out their ballots using the curbside voting option.
It’s unclear how quickly state prosecutors will decide whether to charge Castillo as part of the latest SEEC referral.
The Chief States Attorney’s Office has been inundated with criminal referrals in recent months stemming from Bridgeport’s 2023 Democratic mayoral primary.
That primary, which Ganim won on the strength of absentee votes, was overturned by a Connecticut judge due to widespread allegations of absentee ballot fraud. Ganim eventually regained his seat after winning two court-ordered elections in early 2024.
The fallout from the 2023 Bridgeport primary resulted in the largest SEEC investigation in state history, and positioned Bridgeport as a national poster child for election and voter fraud.
But to this point, nobody has been charged or convicted for their actions during that 2023 election.