At its March 13, 2014 meeting, the Cumberland County Board of Elections reported on its investigation of four alleged fraudulent ballot cast in the November 5, 2013 Commercial Township election.  The minutes of that meeting, on-line here, confirm that the Board’s investigation was prompted by an Open Public Records Act request filed by John Paff, who serves as Chairman of the New Jersey Libertarian Party’s Open Government Advocacy Project.

According to the minutes, Paff’s inquiry concerns ballots cast by four voters who may have not been residents of Commercial Township when the ballots were cast.  Paff had been contacted by residents of Commercial Township were were concerned that fraudulent ballots may have been cast in the election for Township’s mayor, where Judson Moore edged out LaRae Smith by a vote of 427 to 413.

The voters investigated by the Board, along with their addresses as shown in Board of Election records, were:

  1. Charles D. DelRossi, 1789 North Ave, Port Norris.
  2. Leslie R. Hanby, 1935 Strawberry Ave, Port Norris.
  3. Charles A. Moore, 2317 Market St, Port Norris.
  4. Cheryl A. Robbins, 6216 Brown St, Port Norris.

DelRossi, Hanby and Moore had cast their ballots at the polls and Robbins had submitted a mail-in ballot.

According to the meeting minutes, the Board sent certified letters to the Commercial Township addresses for each of the four voters.  None of those letters were returned as being undeliverable.  Of the four voters, Robbins contacted the Board and explained that she had two residences, but that her principal one was in Port Norris while DelRossi furnished a copy of his driver license showing his Port Norris address.  The Board, however, referred Hanby’s and Moore’s cases to the Cumberland County Prosecutor because “Hanby’s driver license shows that he moved out of Commercial in June 2012” and Moore didn’t respond to the certified letter although he did receive it.

Readers are reminded that the Board’s referral of Moore’s and Hanby’s matters to the Prosecutor does not mean that either submitted a fraudulent ballot.  All that is known at this point is that the Board found that Hanby’s driver license did not reflect a Commercial Township address and that Moore did not respond to the Board’s letter.

Anyone with in information regarding whether or not any of the four voters did or did not reside in Port Norris on November 5, 2013 is invited to contact John Paff at [email protected] or P.O. Box 5424, Somerset, NJ 08875. 

Chairman of the New Jersey Libertarian Party's Open Government Advocacy Project. Please send all comments to [email protected]