Mail in Voting is Safe, they said… No evidence of Fraud, they said…
State Superior Court Judge Ernest Caposela ruled on Wednesday that a new election must be held in November for a Paterson City Council seat in New Jersey after the winner of the race and an elected official were charged with voter fraud.
Caposela wrote that the election had been irreversibly tainted and that it “was not the fair, free and full expression of the intent of the voters.”
“It was the right ruling. That past election was fraught with fraud,” Mayor Andre Sayegh told CNN. “The City will comply with the judge’s decision and we created the Mayor’s Election Awareness Team to preserve the value of the vote in Paterson.”
The investigation began after postal workers discovered hundreds of mail-in ballots that were bundled together in a mailbox.
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).
