To Court: Hrezi to Challenge Primary Petition Process. Democrat Falls 500 Short in Bid Against Larson.

Muad Hrezi fell 500 valid signatures short of the 3,900 required to qualify for the August primary ballot in the state’s First Congressional District. Hrezi said Monday afternoon that his campaign submitted 4,900 signatures to registrars of voters in the district’s 27 towns, not 5,300, as he originally believed.

A hefty 1,500 signatures were declared invalid by registrars. Approximately 100 signatures were rejected in East Windsor and South Windsor because they were delivered to registrars after the 4 p.m. June 7th deadline.

Hrezi filed an action in Superior Court Monday alleging his campaign was hindered by the Office of the Secretary of the State’s two-day delay in providing petitions to the Hrezi campaign. The campaign also claims several of its 12 full-time signature gatherers were out of the hunt for days due to Covid-19 infections.

The obstacles Hrezi faced in collecting signatures provide another reminder that the Constitution State remains the home of some of the most restrictive ballot access laws in the nation. A candidate who does not win 15% of the delegates at a party nominating convention may use the signature collection process, which always proves cumbersome.

A presidential candidate may be required to submit no signatures for a place on the state’s party primary ballot.

Published June 13, 2022.