Supreme Court Ruling Reignites South Windsor Voter Disenfranchisement Fight

SOUTH WINDSOR, CT — The Connecticut Supreme Court ruled Tuesday that a South Windsor Democrat who was denied a Town Council seat despite receiving more votes than any Republican can continue his legal challenge, reopening a dispute over the town’s 2025 election.

The ruling reverses a lower court decision that had thrown out the case brought by Harrison Amadasun. The Supreme Court sent the case back to Superior Court for a full hearing on whether the election was handled properly.

Amadasun received 3,847 votes in the Nov. 4, 2025, Town Council election. Even so, he was not seated. Instead, the final council seat was given to Republican Rick Balboni, who received 2,937 votes.

The dispute centers on how South Windsor Town Clerk Bonnie Armstrong applied recently approved changes to the town charter. Those changes limited one party’s majority on the council to five seats instead of six.

A Superior Court judge had ruled that Armstrong was simply following the charter and could not be challenged under election law. On Tuesday, the Supreme Court disagreed, ruling that Armstrong was acting as an election official and that her decision must now be reviewed in court.

Justice Steven D. Ecker referred to Armstrong’s decision as a “split decision,” meaning she applied the charter changes to some results but not others. Chief Justice Raheem L. Mullins said a written decision explaining the ruling will be released later.

Democrats argue the charter changes were supposed to take effect in 2027, not immediately after the election. They point to meeting recordings, minutes, and a newly released video from the bipartisan Charter Review Commission as evidence of that intent.

The ruling came a day after Democrats raised the issue during Monday night’s South Windsor Town Council meeting, where speakers said nearly 4,000 voters were disenfranchised when Amadasun was denied a seat.

The case will now return to Superior Court, where a judge will decide whether the town clerk’s actions improperly changed the outcome of the election after the votes were counted.