Who would’ve thunk it, politicians can be corrupt, and mail-in ballots can be problematic. This is just a preview of the upcoming election.
“New Jersey Attorney General Gurbir S. Grewal filed criminal charges against four individuals—including two city council officials—last week for allegedly engaging in voter fraud with mail-in ballots.
Grewal announced the charges at a press conference last week, saying that “if you try to tamper with an election in New Jersey, we will find you and we will hold you accountable. We will not allow a small number of criminals to undermine the public’s confidence in our democratic process.”
The investigation began after hundreds of mail-in ballots were found bundled together in a mailbox in Paterson.
According to a press release from the state, the following four individuals were charged in the case:
Michael Jackson, 48, of Paterson—1st Ward Councilman and Council Vice President, was charged with Fraud in Casting Mail-In Vote (3rd Degree), Unauthorized Possession of Ballots (3rd Degree), Tampering with Public Records (3rd Degree), and Falsifying or Tampering with Records (4th Degree).
Alex Mendez, 45, of Paterson—3rd Ward Councilman-Elect, was charged with Election Fraud (2nd Degree), Fraud in Casting Mail-In Vote (3rd Degree), Unauthorized Possession of Ballots (3rd Degree), False Registration or Transfer (Third-Degree), Tampering with Public Records (3rd Degree), and Falsifying or Tampering with Records (4th Degree).
Shelim Khalique, 51, of Wayne, N.J., was charged with Fraud in Casting Mail-In Vote (3rd Degree), Unauthorized Possession of Ballots (3rd Degree), Tampering with Public Records (3rd Degree), and Falsifying or Tampering with Records (4th Degree).
Abu Razyen, 21, of Prospect Park, N.J., was charged with Fraud in Casting Mail-In Vote (3rd Degree) and Unauthorized Possession of Ballots (3rd Degree).
NBC New York reported that 16,747 vote-by-mail ballots were received but only 13,557 votes were counted. Around 800 votes were not counted because they “were found improperly bundled in mailboxes” and the remaining 2,390 disqualifications were due to signature discrepancies.
“We did not receive vote by mail ballots and thus we did not vote,” one resident told NBC New York. “This is corruption. This is fraud.”
An attorney for Jackson said in a statement to CNN that his client will be fighting the charges.
“He will be contesting all of these charges,” Theodore Kyles Jr. said in a statement. “And I can tell you that Councilman Jackson is a fine public servant with many, many years of distinguished service to the community, even before he was elected to the city council.”
Paul Brickfield, an attorney for Mendez, also told CNN that his client will be fighting the charges.
“He’s going to be pleading not guilty to the charges,” Brickfield said. “He looks forward to being vindicated. He looks forward to being sworn in on July 1 as the duly elected councilperson for District 3.”
There have been numerous examples of voter fraud found throughout the U.S. this year, with a couple of notable cases coming out of Philadelphia and West Virginia.
Jeff Rainforth is the photographer & news editor for Airman Kolfage’s We Build the Wall, Inc.
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