WASHINGTON, D.C. (Texas Insider Report) — After a sitting City Councilman, as well as the apparent winner for another City Council seat in Paterson, New Jersey were charged with multiple Voter Fraud via Mail-In-Ballot claims, a State Superior Court Judge ruled Wednesday that a new election must be held for the fraud-disputed Council Seat.
The ruling comes weeks after mail-in ballot voter fraud charges were brought against the supposed winner in the May 12th Election, Alex Mendez, who was charged along with current Paterson Council Vice President Michael Jackson, as well as Shelim Khalique & Abu Rayzen. After being charged with Voter Fraud via Mail-In-Ballot in June, all have denied the charges.
While Mendez initially appeared to have won the May 12th Special Election, an investigation was launched after the U.S. Postal Service’s Law Enforcement Branch reported to the N.J. Attorney General’s Office that it had discovered 100s of suspicious Mail-In Ballots in a Paterson, N.J. mailbox – as well as more found in nearby Haledon, N.J.
RELATED: Michigan Rejects More Than 10,000 Absentee Ballots, Including Some From Voters Who DiedLawyers for Mendez’ opponent, sitting Councilman William McKoy, swiftly obtained an injunction preventing Mendez from taking McKoy’s seat and being sworn in after the potential fraud was reported.
Ultimately, 800 ballots were discounted by the Passaic County Board of Elections, and another 2,300 ballots were rendered ineligible after analyzing and comparing the signatures on the ballots with those on file with the Election Board.
A Passaic County report shows that these 3,100 disqualified ballots is equal to more than 22% of the total votes cast in the election.
The N.J. Attorney General's Office released a initial statement on June 25th, 2020, saying in part:
- Michael Jackson, 48, of Paterson — 1st Ward Councilman & Council Vice President
- Fraud in Casting Mail-In Vote (3rd Degree)
- Unauthorized Possession of Ballots (3rd Degree)
- Tampering with Public Records (3rd Degree)
- Falsifying or Tampering with Records (4th Degree)
- Alex Mendez, 45, of Paterson — 3rd Ward Councilman-Elect
- 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)
- Falsifying or Tampering with Records (4th Degree)
“Today’s charges send a clear message: 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.”
"We will not allow a small number of criminals to undermine the public’s confidence in our democratic process.”
The local race has garnered national attention regarding the expanded use of mail-in and absentee voting methods for the upcoming Presidential Election, and President Donald Trump has made reference to the Paterson Election case while arguing for caution in expanding such options prior to State & Local Election Officials having had the time to test or prepared for them.The Trump Campaign and others are suing New Jersey after Democrat Gov. Phil Murphy issued an Executive Order requiring that a a hybrid voting model for November's Election be implemented.
New Jersey State Superior Court Judge Ernest Caposela issued his ruling Wednesday.
