CAMDEN, N.J. — A former Atlantic City council president and longtime political organizer admitted in federal court to orchestrating a scheme to procure, cast, and tabulate fraudulent mail-in ballots in the 2022 general election, prosecutors said.
Craig Callaway, 64, pleaded guilty before Chief U.S. District Judge Renée Marie Bumb in Camden, Acting U.S. Attorney Vikas Khanna announced. Callaway, who has been involved in New Jersey political campaigns, admitted to depriving state residents of a fair election by submitting fraudulent ballots.
Beginning in October 2022, about a month before the election, Callaway and his associates recruited individuals in Atlantic City, offering them between $30 and $50 to act as “authorized messengers” for voters requesting mail-in ballots, according to court documents.
These messengers submitted Vote-By-Mail Applications at the Atlantic County Clerk’s Office, signed as authorized messengers, and received ballots for voters listed on the applications. Under New Jersey law, messengers were required to deliver the ballots directly to the voters. Instead, Callaway and his subordinates collected the ballots and ensured they were cast, including in the names of individuals who later confirmed they had not voted.
Prosecutors said many of the fraudulent ballots were ultimately counted in the election. “The defendant admitted to depriving New Jersey residents of a fair election by participating in a scheme to cast ballots for voters who did not vote in the election,” Khanna said.
