Three Superior Court judges assigned to hear Election Day challenges in Monmouth County met with a top election official two weeks before the May 15 non-partisan municipal elections to discuss claims of fraudulent voter registration in Allenhurst, Deal, and Loch Arbour.
The judges – Linda Grasso Jones, Owen McCarthy, and Kathleen Sheedy – received a private briefing from Christopher Siciliano, the Superintendent of Elections, who told them about allegations that out-of-state residents with summer homes in the upscale Jersey Shore communities created a surge in voter registration, according to persons familiar with the meeting who spoke on the condition of anonymity.
Now, the local elections have become the subject of a criminal investigation by the Monmouth County Prosecutor’s Office, and a lawsuit challenging the validity of the Loch Arbour election results has been filed.
The influx of new voters in time to influence the outcome of local elections caught the attention of election officials. Over 80 new voters were flagged, many sent a domicile questionnaire, and roughly 40 were placed on an Election Day challenge list.
In anticipation of the challenges, Siciliano gave the judges tips on determining proof of domicile while he was concurrently conducting his own probe.
A spokesman for the judiciary, Pete McAleer, acknowledged the meetings took place but said they were more process than substance.
“There was a meeting with the Superintendent of Elections office to talk about procedure and logistics for Election Day to ensure there were an appropriate number of judges and staff available.”
Of the twelve voters who appeared before judges in a bid to cast their votes in person, nine were denied.
Siciliano and Assistant Attorney General Susan Scott, who heads the attorney general’s election unit, were with the judges at a court-sponsored Law Day symposium where McCarthy and Sheedy discussed “interactive case scenarios…based on challenges to an individual’s right to vote” with students in attendance.
Still, the judges likely knew that county election officials would be involved in any Election Day voter challenge; a press release issued by the judiciary the week before the primary election said that the Monmouth County Board of Elections would set up voters seeking to appear before a judge if there is an issue with their registration. The attorney general’s office represents the superintendent and the election board; no voter advocates are in the room.
Citing ongoing harassment of him and his family by residents, former Loch Arbour Mayor Paul Fernicola announced two weeks before Election Day that he was dropping out of the race, even though he was unopposed for re-election to the Board of Commissioners.
The third seat was captured by write-in candidate Saul Tawil, who defeated Fernicola, 104-69.
A group of seventeen Loch Arbour voters want the election overturned after alleging in a lawsuit that more than eighty illegal voters were cast by non-residents. The lawsuit also claims that Tawil, who is now the mayor, did not meet the one-year residency requirement to hold public office.
The judge handling the lawsuit is Grasso Jones, although it’s unclear if the prosecutor’s office will seek to interview her about what was discussed at the private meeting with Siciliano.
At a conference with lawyers today, which Grasso Jones allowed to be on the record, the judge set a rapid schedule of briefings and responses, with a hearing on July 10.
Scott Salmon, the election lawyer who filed the lawsuit, cited “meetings in Brooklyn to register voters.” But his adversary, Raj Parikh, said the “superintendent went over and above what’s normally the process” to validate voter registrations.
“It potentially creates a chilling effect in the eyes of the voter,” Parikh said.