Atlantic City political operative Craig Callaway arrested on federal mail-in vote-fraud charges

Craig Callaway, an Atlantic City political operative whose efforts at vote-wrangling have bedeviled opponents for decades and also been credited with the election of multiple public officials, was arrested Thursday and charged with federal vote fraud related to mail-in ballots.

U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger said Callaway was charged for his role in “procuring, casting and tabulating fraudulent mail-in ballots” in the November 2022 general election.

Callaway, 64, is a former president of Atlantic City City Council and had previously served time for a federal bribery conviction. His arrest is sure to send shock waves through New Jersey and Democratic Party politics, and to fuel wider allegations of voter fraud related to mail-in ballots.

Callaway has been associated with Democratic candidates but recently worked for the campaign of U.S. Rep. Jeff Van Drew, a Republican from South Jersey’s 2d Congressional District, and other Republican candidates.

He was charged in a criminal complaint with one count of “depriving, defrauding, and attempting to deprive and defraud the residents of the state of New Jersey of a fair and impartially conducted election process by the fraudulent procurement, casting, and tabulation of ballots.”

Callaway was released on $50,000 unsecured bond after making his initial appearance Thursday afternoon before U.S. Magistrate Judge Matthew J. Skahill in federal court in Camden, said Matthew Reilly, a spokesperson for the U.S. Attorney’s Office. He could not be reached for comment Thursday.

» READ MORE: Campaign informant: I was paid $30 to hand messenger ballot to Atlantic City Democratic operative

“Holding free and fair elections is a bedrock principle of our democracy,” Sellinger said. “As alleged in the complaint, the defendant attempted to deprive New Jersey residents of a fair election by fraudulently procuring and casting ballots.”

Callaway’s vote-by-mail efforts are well-known in Atlantic County, where he basically sets up shop in the clerk’s office in Mays Landing, ferrying messengers in a white van to obtain mail-in ballots for voters. He has previously defended his actions as working within the state mail-in ballot laws.

His influence was profound.

“He can make or break an election,” said Atlantic County Republican chair Don Purdy, who called the allegations of vote fraud “a shame,” and said neither party “expected anything illegal to be done,” when it hired Callaway.

But his Democratic counterpart, Michael Suleiman, said, “Everyone in Atlantic County knows exactly what Callaway’s operation is and the blatant illegality of it all.”

According to federal documents, about one month before the Nov. 8, 2022, general election, Callaway and others working at Callaway’s direction “approached numerous individuals in Atlantic City promising to pay them $30 to $50 to act as purported authorized messengers for voters who supposedly wished to vote by mail.”

Under New Jersey law, a messenger is required to deliver any mail-in ballot received directly to the voter who requested the ballot.

But the paid messengers, after obtaining the ballots at the Atlantic County clerk’s office, instead turned over the ballots to Callaway, actions that were being watched by investigators. The majority of these messengers, the complaint says, “did not know the voters listed on the vote-by-mail applications for whom they were serving as messengers.”

And the voters, the complaint alleges, did not know there were ballots cast in their name.

The ballots were “ultimately cast in the names of people who have confirmed they did not vote in the 2022 general election,” either in person or by submitting a mail-in ballot, authorities said.

These people said they did not authorize Callaway, his subordinates, or anyone else to cast ballots for them, the allegations state. “Many of these mail-in ballots were counted toward ... the election,” the U.S. attorney said in the statement.

The charge of procuring, casting, and tabulating fraudulent ballots carries a maximum potential penalty of five years in prison and a $250,000 fine, or twice the gain or loss from the offense, whichever is greatest, the U.S. Attorney’s Office said.

Van Drew’s congressional office referred questions to his campaign office, which noted in a statement that Van Drew had received nearly 140,000 votes in the 2022 general election, “only 851 of which came from vote-by-mail ballots in Atlantic City,” and that his margin of victory was nearly 45,000 votes district wide.

“We never have and never would condone any illegal activity,” the statement said. “Mr. Callaway signed the contract for that election, and previous elections, specifically stating that as an independent contractor he ‘agrees all work and services provided shall adhere to all federal, state, and local laws and regulations.’”

Callaway first was hired by Van Drew in 2018 when the congressman was a Democrat.

In 2020, Callaway first worked for Democrat Amy Kennedy in the 2d District congressional primary, then was hired by Van Drew in the general election, where he defeated Kennedy. Van Drew paid him $135,000 in 2020 alone. He also was hired by Van Drew in his 2022 reelection.

Purdy, the local Republican party chairman, said the charge underscores what he considers a “messy” situation with mail-in ballots in New Jersey, where the law allows voters to vote by mail for any reason.

“This thing has been stretched so far out and gives opportunity to do things that aren’t the best and aren’t legal,” Purdy said. “People go in and fill them out, it’s like a candy store.”

Suleiman, the Democratic chair in Atlantic County, said he felt “vindicated from the work we’ve done in combating Craig Callaway,” including getting Callaway barred as an assister in the most recent election and “shaming candidates into not hiring him.”

He said Republican candidates had recently paid “exorbitant” amounts to hire Callaway but acknowledged that both parties had used his services. “Those who hired him cannot plead ignorance now,” Suleiman said.

Callaway is scheduled to appear at a Feb. 17 fundraiser for the conservative Liberty and Prosperity group in Atlantic County, which described him as “one of the best ‘get-out-the-vote’ organizers in America.

“Callaway supports candidates that best represent his views and interests, regardless of political party,” the organization said on its website.

Seth Grossman, the head of Liberty and Prosperity who lost to Van Drew in 2018 when Van Drew was a Democrat, said he was “shocked” by the charge because he believed Callaway typically took great pains to work within the law, and had successfully fought back challenges to his methods.

He noted that Callaway had briefly worked for Democrat John Kerry’s 2004 presidential campaign (he was asked to leave the campaign).

“I’ve been involved in many election challenges and recounts over the years, and in the past Craig Callaway’s work has always been meticulous,” Grossman said. “He was always careful in warning his workers to comply with the law and make sure the voters were properly registered and filled out the form.”

In 2007, Callaway was indicted and ultimately pleaded guilty to his role in a political revenge and blackmail plot in which a city councilman was lured to a motel and secretly recorded having sex with a woman. Callaway pleaded guilty and served a three-year sentence concurrent to the federal prison term in another bribery case.