Dr. Henrilynn Ibezim has been charged with telling campaign workers to complete hundreds of fake voter registration applications and mail them to election officials in Union County and allegedly bringing a large white garbage bag stuffed with almost 954 voter registration forms to the post office.
Ibezim was challenging Plainfield Mayor Adrian Mapp in the 2021 Democratic primary.
“Attempting to tamper with an election result through fraud impairs the ability of legitimate voters to choose their representatives, a cornerstone of American democracy,” said Attorney General Matt Platkin. “It also undermines the legitimacy of government and the public’s confidence in their elected officials and in elections generally. My office will vigorously pursue these crimes to protect New Jersey’s electorate from being defrauded and to safeguard the integrity of our institutions.”
Prosecutors claim Ibezim showed up at the Elizabeth Post Office with voter registration forms that had the same handwriting.
He is charged with election fraud, criminal attempt to commit false registration or transfer, tampering with public records, falsifying public records, forgery, and hindering apprehension or prosecution.
“The defendant allegedly resorted to fraud in an alleged attempt to unfairly prevail in this election,” said Tom Eicher, the director of the attorney general’s Office of Public Integrity. “This desperate attempt to artificially and illegally inflate support for his candidacy was designed to not only cheat his political opponents out of a victory, but also to cheat the people of Plainfield out of their right to choose their elected officials.”
Ibezim finished fourth in the primary with just 103 votes. Mapp defeated Richard Wyatt, Jr. by 269 votes, a five-point margin.
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