Craig Callaway, 64, is a sought-after political organizer and operative in and around Atlantic City, known for his ability to deliver large blocks of absentee ballots to election officials that often sway the outcome of elections. But he was arrested Thursday and charged with election fraud involving the misuse of absentee ballots — something of which his political foes had long accused him. . . .
Prosecutors said Callaway and others working at his direction paid people $30 to $50 to apply to be messengers for voters purportedly wishing to vote by mail.
They went to the county clerk’s office, signed the messenger portion of the ballot applications and received ballots to be given to the voters listed on the applications.
However, after receiving mail-in ballots, these purported messengers left the county clerk’s office and instead handed the ballots to Callaway or his subordinates, according to the U.S. Attorney’s office.
Many of the mail-in ballots collected by Callaway or his subordinates were ultimately cast in the names of people who have confirmed that they did not vote in the 2022 general election – either in person or by mail, the office said. These voters also said they did not authorize Callaway, his subordinates, or anyone else, to cast ballots for them. Many of these mail-in ballots were counted in the election. . . .
Wayne Parry, “Former Atlantic City politician charged with election fraud involving absentee ballots,” Associated Press, February 2, 2024.
Former Councilman Craig Callaway, who has previously organized mail-in vote initiatives in the city, allegedly paid $30 each to messengers to deliver ballots that were filled out for Democrats, helping Gilliam secure an unlikely victory. . . .
Avalon Zoppo, “A tragic upbringing, fake degree, and FBI raid: Who is Atlantic City Mayor Frank Gilliam?,” The Press of Atlantic City, December 11, 2018.
Craig Callaway is regularly characterized as a “prominent Democrat” and also here. While most of Europe bans absentee ballots, even the ten countries that allowed absentee ballots required that people had to go in person to pick up the ballots and to show a government issued photo ID. So Europe doesn’t face the possibility of this type of even from occurring.
In San Antonio and South Texas where I cut my teeth in politics, the fraud was much simpler. The Democrats simply had a bar-b-que for uneducated, easily swayed poor voters and made sure they had plenty of beer to drink. Then the voters were given $5 and driven to the polls in the back of pickup trucks.
The organizers or “Jefes” hit up candidates and the local party organization for “walking around money” with which to buy the beer and bar-b-que and pay for the votes.
How so I know this? Some friends and church leaders, mostly liberals decided to do something about the longstanding corruption in the city’s political elites by starting a new political organization. And lo and behold a “jefe” appeared at a meeting to explain the system of gathering votes and ask for some “walking around money.” We turned him down and our new group of naive and untested political tyros actually won a couple of races.