Judge Orders Due-Over Election For Paterson After Mail-In Voter Fraud Charges

the staff of the Ridgewood blog

Paterson NJ, State Superior Court Judge Ernest Caposela  has ruled  that a new election must be held in November for a Paterson City Council seat after the winner of the race and an elected official were charged with voter fraud.Judge 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.”

The investigation began after postal workers discovered hundreds of mail-in ballots that were bundled together in a mailbox.  In June, Attorney General Gurbir S. Grewal announced voting fraud charges against 1st Ward Councilman Michael Jackson, 3rd Ward Council-Elect Alex Mendez and two other men. On behalf of McKoy, Salmon filed a successful injunction to stop Mendez from being sworn into office late June.