Swansenreport

New Jersey Democrat Pleads Guilty to Forging Nearly 1,000 Voter Registration Applications

A former Democratic mayoral candidate in Plainfield, New Jersey has pleaded guilty to forging nearly 1,000 voter registration applications — hauling them to a post office in a garbage bag in a brazen attempt to stuff the ballot box during a 2021 primary election he went on to lose in a landslide.

Henrilynn Ibezim, 71, pleaded guilty April 27 before Judge Candido Rodriguez Jr. in Union County Superior Court to one count of third-degree forgery. New Jersey Attorney General Jennifer Davenport announced the plea Wednesday, saying prosecutors will recommend probation with no prison time at Ibezim’s June 18 sentencing. Fox News

Investigators said Ibezim brought a garbage bag containing approximately 1,000 falsified voter registration applications to an Elizabeth, New Jersey post office, intending to mail them to the Union County Commissioner of Registration. The applications contained the personal identifying information of real individuals submitted without their authorization — and most of the forms were written in the handwriting of only three or four people, none of which disclosed that anyone other than the voter had filled them out. WFMD-AM

The scheme failed spectacularly. Despite forging nearly 1,000 applications, Ibezim received only 103 votes in the primary — finishing fourth with just over 2 percent of the vote. Plainfield Mayor Adrian Mapp won the primary and went on to win re-election that November. Ibezim had originally faced eight counts including election fraud and witness tampering, but those charges were dropped as part of his plea agreement. Newsweek

Attorney General Davenport said in her statement: “It is crucial to our system of government that those who engage in illegal and bad-faith conduct during elections be held accountable. Failing to do so opens the door to a loss of public confidence in the democratic process.” Fox News

The case is a timely reminder — with midterm elections approaching — that voter fraud does occur and is prosecuted when caught. The case was handled by New Jersey’s Office of Public Integrity and Accountability, which was established specifically to investigate corruption and election crimes.

Sources: NJ Attorney General Press Release | Fox News | NBC Philadelphia | News 12 NJ