Voter fraud claims spur investigation in Palisades Park

PALISADES PARK — The Bergen County superintendent of elections is investigating fraud allegations involving mail-in ballots in the borough's primary election.

Councilwoman Cynthia Pirrera and her running mate Jae Park, who both received nominations from the Democratic committee, filed a claim against challengers Councilman Frank Donohue and his running mate, Board of Education President Stephanie Jang. 

Pirrera and Park claim that on June 10, associates of Donohue and Jang went to a county-owned senior housing facility in town, set up tables in the lobby, then went door to door asking residents to come fill out ballots in the lobby. 

The associates handled and, in some cases, completed the ballots, according to the complaint.

Donohue and Jang said the claims are "fraudulent accusations" and that although they were at the senior building, they followed the rules "rigorously." 

“Both sides have gone there multiple times to speak with voters and present our case,” Donohue said. “That day we were there, and if anyone needed any assistance we would help them, but not with voting, only questions.”

It's legal to help a voter complete a mail-in ballot, but the person giving the help must acknowledge it by signing an affidavit.

Donohue said when he did help, he made sure to write his name on the affidavit portion of the ballot, which he believes he did about four times. He said some residents had questions about the envelopes and spelling.

Jang said she has been to the senior building many times in the past month to deliver meals and masks, and that it wasn't uncommon for people to approach her to talk and ask questions. Jang, who also speaks fluent Korean, said she assisted people when they asked and wrote her name on the affidavit portion of the ballot 10 times.  

"I put my name down and followed everything by the book," she said

The primary election, typically held the first Tuesday in June, was postponed to July 7 by Gov. Phil Murphy due to the coronavirus pandemic, in hopes that people could vote in person. Last month, however, Murphy announced that the primary election would be conducted using primarily mail-in-ballots.  

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In a letter sent by their attorney Stephen Pellino, Pirrera and Park called for an investigation into what happened, “enforcement action against the actors, and those who they support,” and for the ballots from residents in the senior building to be segregated for scrutiny and possibly challenge.

“In today’s day and age, this is a serious thing, and if you can’t win fairly, you shouldn’t be in it,” Pirrera said. “I’ve been around a long time, on the council for 17 years, and I find this disturbing and plan on following through to make sure that if something was done illegally, it was investigated.”

Bergen County Superintendent of Elections Patricia DiCostanzo said Monday that she had been in touch with Borough Clerk Gina Kim and would be looking into the matter. She noted that voter fraud is a crime punishable by fines and possible jail time.

The borough investigation

In a report filed to the county, Kim said she visited the building on June 10 but asked for assistance when her own efforts came up empty. 

“At this time, I am unable to ascertain what degree of mail-in voter fraud may have occurred,” Kim wrote in a letter to DiCostanzo.

“I was unable to determine the number of ballots, the names of those voters and the degree of voter fraud that has occurred during this incident as the members of the campaign group were unwilling to cooperate with my investigation and disclose the actual number of ballots they had tampered with.”

She wrote that shortly after 2 p.m. she received a complaint of potential mail-in ballot fraud, and as the chief administrative officer of elections, she notified the Board of Elections. She was told that “anyone who touches the mail-in ballot needs to fill out the affidavit portion of the ballot.”

After that conversation, Kim went to the building with three police officers and found that it was locked.

They were let in by a campaign worker. Kim said that she could not verify whether the campaign workers were just assisting or filling out the ballots. She was told that the event would be wrapping up within the hour and left.

Kim then got a call from DiCostanzo, who relayed that a complaint had also been received by the county. DiCostanzo gave Kim instructions on how to investigate.

Kim returned to the senior building to find out if the campaign workers had a letter of approval from the Bergen County Housing Authority. They did not, she said. Kim told them to leave and stop filling out ballots. 

She also asked the campaign workers if they kept a list of those whom they had helped and was told they did not.

Kim called Councilman Chong Paul Kim, who serves as the senior center director. Despite workers' claiming that the councilman knew of the event, he denied that.

"Absolutely not. That was a lie," he said. "I gave no verbal permission, I wasn't there and I touched no absentee ballots."

The clerk said she heard on June 11 from Deputy Mayor Jongchul Lee, who had been told by a resident in the senior building that a campaign worker came to her door, asked if she received her ballot and then took her down to the community room, where the worker filled out the entire ballot and had her sign her name.

A vote-by-mail scandal last spring ended the career of then-Elmwood Park Mayor Frank Caramagna, who was charged with interfering with the election process by improperly filling in mail-in ballot applications and certifications in the 2017 race. He resigned the mayorship and was ultimately accepted into a six-month Pre-Trial Intervention program.

Katie Sobko is a local reporter for NorthJersey.com. For unlimited access to the most important news from your local community, please subscribe or activate your digital account today.

Email: sobko@northjersey.com  Twitter: @katesobko