An Atlantic County man, Craig Callaway, has been sentenced to 24 months in prison for his involvement in fraudulent mail-in ballots during the November 8, 2022 general election. U.S. Attorney Alina Habba announced the sentencing, highlighting Callaway’s role in undermining New Jersey’s electoral process.
Callaway, a former member and President of the City Council of Atlantic City and a political organizer in New Jersey campaigns, pleaded guilty before Chief U.S. District Judge Renée Marie Bumb. He was charged with depriving and defrauding residents of a fair election process through fraudulent ballot activities.
“Today’s sentence sends a clear message to those who seek to undermine New Jersey’s electoral process: that such conduct will result in serious consequences,” said U.S. Attorney Alina Habba.
FBI Special Agent in Charge Stefanie Roddy stated, “The right to vote is a fundamental aspect of our democracy… voter fraud will not be tolerated in New Jersey.”
Court documents revealed that starting around October 2022, Callaway and his associates approached individuals offering payment to act as authorized messengers for mail-in voters. These messengers were instructed by Callaway or his subordinates on how to handle Vote-By-Mail Applications at the Atlantic County Clerk’s Office.
New Jersey law requires messengers to deliver mail-in ballots directly to voters and certify this delivery. However, instead of delivering them as required, these ballots were handed over to Callaway or his team.
Many collected ballots were cast without voter authorization and counted towards the election results despite being unauthorized by voters who confirmed they did not participate in the election.
Alongside his prison term, Chief Judge Bumb sentenced Callaway to three years of supervised release.
U.S. Attorney Habba credited various agencies including the FBI under Special Agent Stefanie Roddy; Atlantic County Prosecutor’s Office; Atlantic City Police Department; New Jersey State Police; U.S. Department of Labor; Department of Agriculture; and United States Postal Inspection Service for their roles in investigating leading up to today’s sentence.
Assistant U.S. Attorney James H. Graham represented the government while Megan J. Davies served as defense counsel for Callaway.
