By: Richard L. Smith
U.S. Department of Justice officials said, a former Atlantic City council member admitted to orchestrating a fraudulent mail-in ballot scheme during the 2022 general election. 
Craig Callaway, 64, a longtime political organizer in New Jersey, pleaded guilty in Camden federal court before Chief U.S. District Judge Renée Marie Bumb.
He was charged with depriving residents of a fair election process through the fraudulent procurement, casting, and tabulation of ballots.
“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,” Acting U.S. Attorney Vikas Khanna said. “We are committed to prosecuting those who criminally seek to undermine impartial elections.”
Court documents reveal that beginning in October 2022, Callaway and his associates recruited individuals in Atlantic City, offering payments of $30 to $50 to serve as "authorized messengers" for voters who supposedly wanted to vote by mail.
These individuals submitted vote-by-mail applications to the Atlantic County Clerk’s Office and, if approved, collected mail-in ballots intended for those voters.
However, instead of delivering the ballots to the voters as required by law, the messengers handed them over to Callaway or his associates. 
Many of these ballots were later cast in the names of individuals who confirmed they never voted or authorized anyone to vote on their behalf.
The fraudulent ballots were ultimately counted in the 2022 general election.