Paterson City Councilman Michael Jackson, Councilman-Elect Alex Mendez, Shelim Khalique and Abu Razyen have been charged with criminal conduct involving mail-in ballots during the election.
Jackson, 48, is charged with fraud in casting a mail-in vote, unauthorized possession of ballots, tampering with public records and falsifying or tampering with records.
Mendez is similarly charged with election fraud, fraud in casting a mail-in vote, unauthorized possession of ballots, false registration or transfer, tampering with public records and falsifying or tampering with records. Mendez also allegedly got and submitted one or more voter registration applications that he knew were false, fictitious or fraudulent, knowing the person in the application was not eligible to vote in the election district.
Razyen, 21, is charged with fraud in casting a mail-in vote and unauthorized possession of ballots. He was allegedly seen on video with more than three mail-in ballot envelopes that did not have the bearer portion completed.
Khalique, 51, faces the same charges as Razyen along with tampering with public records and falsifying or tampering with records. He allegedly collected and submitted ballots that were not his and did not identify himself as the bearer when they were delivered to the Passaic County Board of Elections.