Former Atlantic City Council president accused of running mail-in ballot scheme to fix 2022 election

A former president and member of the Atlantic City Council who has already served time for bribery has been arrested and charged in connection with an alleged voter fraud scheme involving mail-in ballots.

Last week, 64-year-old Craig Callaway, described as a "political operative" who also once served on the Atlantic City Council, was brought before U.S. Magistrate Judge Matthew J. Skahill in the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey. According to a press release from the U.S. Attorney's Office in the District of New Jersey, Callaway has been charged with one count of "depriving, defrauding, and attempting to deprive and defraud the residents of the state of New Jersey of a fair and impartially conducted election process by the fraudulent procurement, casting, and tabulation of ballots."

For years, failed candidates in and around the Atlantic City area have accused Callaway of running a voter fraud scheme for their opponents. However, this latest charge against Callaway relates only to his alleged actions to rig the election in November 2022.

That fall, Callaway began hiring people to act as "authorized messengers" for those wishing to cast votes by mail, the press release claimed. For $30 or $50, these messengers allegedly took anywhere from one to four vote-by-mail applications from Callaway, signed and submitted them to the county clerk's office on behalf of area voters, and then collected their designated mail-in ballots.

However, rather than return those ballots to the voters as required by law, the messengers instead handed the ballots over to Callaway to fill out as he wished, the press release claimed.

The allegedly victimized voters were none the wiser, as they apparently did not intend to cast a ballot. When approached by law enforcement, at least four alleged victims stated that they did not vote either in person or by mail in the 2022 general election. They also claimed they never authorized a messenger to collect a ballot on their behalf.

"Holding free and fair elections is a bedrock principle of our democracy," said a statement from U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger. "As alleged in the complaint, the defendant attempted to deprive New Jersey residents of a fair election by fraudulently procuring and casting ballots. Today’s charges reflect our office’s commitment to hold to account those who try to undermine the electoral process."

Whether Callaway submitted a plea during the hearing last week is unclear. He faces up to five years and a hefty fine if convicted.

Callaway's attorney, Megan Davies, was unable to provide a comment to the AP when reached, and Callaway did not respond to the AP's request for comment.

In the past, Callaway was largely suspected of engaging in voter fraud to help put Democrats in office, but lately he has been accused of assisting Republicans as well. In 2020, seven South Jersey Democrat county chairmen denounced Callaway's "long and shameful history of interfering in honest and fair elections" and called for fellow Dems to avoid soliciting his services.

Former state senator and attorney for the Atlantic County Democrats Colin Bell seemed to agree. "I believe there was clear and convincing evidence that Mr. Callaway was involved in a voter fraud scheme," Bell said last year. "He has to be stopped from abusing the system."

Callaway does have a track record of extortion and political corruption that goes back decades. While a city councilman in the early 2000s, Callaway was convicted of bribery and sentenced to 40 months in prison.

Before he began serving that sentence, he orchestrated a sex sting to try to force another councilman to resign. In 2006, he rented two motel rooms, rigged them with recording devices, and hired a prostitute to perform a sex act on Councilman Eugene Robinson, who was also a Baptist minister.

Callaway then attempted to blackmail Robinson, threatening to release the tape of the encounter with the prostitute if he did not resign. Robinson instead reported Callaway to the authorities, and Callaway was assessed an additional three-year prison sentence in connection with that incident. Callaway was released from prison in 2010, and Robinson has since passed away.

The following video from June 2021 shows Callaway discussing his life as a Muslim convert:

H/T: Timcast IRL

Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!