A Paterson, New Jersey, councilman and a councilman-elect in the same city, along with two other men, face voting fraud charges in connection with the May 12 special election, the state attorney general’s office said Thursday.
Councilmember Michael Jackson, who serves as the council’s vice president, and councilman-elect Alex Mendez were among the four charged with criminal conduct involving mail-in ballots during May’s mail-in election, which was overshadowed almost from the start by widespread fraud allegations.
The Board of Elections previously said about 800 votes would be set aside and not counted, amid charges they were found improperly bundled in mailboxes in Paterson as well as at a drop box in nearby Haledon.