Fairfield Election: State's Attorney Says 'No Indication' Of Burglary

FAIRFIELD, CT — Connecticut State's Attorney Joseph Corradino said in a statement Friday that while the investigation into a possible burglary at the Fairfield facility where election machines and ballots were held, there is "no indication" that a break-in took place.

Additionally, it does not appear that any ballots were compromised, as the town prepares for a recount next week in the First Selectman's race and two others.

"Although this is still technically a pending investigation, there is no indication that a burglary of the facility was committed nor is there any reason to believe that the ballots were compromised," Corradino said. "The Fairfield Police Department acted promptly to insure both the integrity of the election and the investigation. It is important that people have confidence in our democratic system."

The election equipment and ballots were secured at the Bigelow Center for Senior Activities, where beginning at 10 a.m. on Tuesday, the recount will take place.

Democrat Bill Gerber holds a 42-vote lead over incumbent Republican Brenda Kupchick for the First Selectman's post, following Tuesday's election; Gerber garnered 8,966 votes to Kupchick's 8,924 votes.

Below is the full statement from State's Attorney Joseph Corradino:

On Thursday, November 9, 2023 at approximately 3:30 P.M. Fairfield Judicial District State’s
Attorney Joseph T. Corradino was contacted by Fairfield Police Chief Robert Kalamaras
concerning a possible burglary into a Town of Fairfield facility in which municipal election
ballots were stored pending a recount in the November 7 town elections.

In the interest of transparency, Chief Kalamaras sought an outside investigation into any
potential criminal activity, including any compromise of the ballots. Fairfield Police secured the
scene, pending a hand-off to outside investigators. State’s Attorney Corradino and a police
inspector from his office responded to the scene and the Connecticut State Police Western
District Major Crime Squad was summoned to conduct the investigation.

The facility has a dual lock system, which requires both the Democrat and Republican Registrar
of Voters to be present to unlock the storage facility. Both registrars were summoned to the
scene and were present during the investigation.

Connecticut State Police Detectives processed the scene, which concluded at approximately
10:00 p.m. It was determined that there had been no break-in of the facility. All of the bags
containing ballots were still sealed, although verification from the Town Clerk was expected to
be conducted on Friday, November 10. At 11:00 p.m. State’s Attorney Corradino was advised by
CSP personnel that there was no indication of criminal activity at the ballot storage site.

“Although this is still technically a pending investigation, there is no indication that a burglary of
the facility was committed nor is there any reason to believe that the ballots were compromised,”
said Corradino.

Corradino said that he has been in contact with the State Elections Enforcement Commission and
the Secretary of State’s Office, and that upon completion, the investigative report will be
forwarded to the Commission.

“The Fairfield Police Department acted promptly to insure both the integrity of the election and
the investigation. It is important that people have confidence in our democratic system,”
Corradino said.