Attorney General Jennifer Davenport wants to dismiss an indictment against Paterson City Councilman Michael Jackson nearly six years after the embattled Office of Public Integrity and Accountability charged him with voter fraud connected to his 2020 campaign.
The decision to drop the criminal charges against Jackson comes days after he finished third in the May 12 race for mayor of Paterson. Jackson finished third with 26%.
“Two days after the election, somehow, mysteriously, the attorney general calls my attorney to drop my charges. My attorney says I’m the only client he’s ever represented that was upset about that,” Jackson said at a council meeting last night. “Absolutely right, I was upset. I wanted to have my day in court to prove that I had nothing to do with this. “
Jackson and fellow councilman Alex Mendez were indicted on charges including election fraud, mail-in ballot fraud, unlawful possession of ballots, tampering with public records, and falsifying documents. Prosecutors alleged the two were involved in a scheme tied to Paterson’s 2020 municipal election after the U.S. Postal Inspection Service discovered hundreds of bundled mail-in ballots inside several mail collection boxes. Mendez was also charged with additional offenses related to fraudulent voter registrations and attempted false transfers of voter registration records.
While vacating the charges against Jackson, Davenport is taking a different approach with Mendez. Her office moved yesterday to appeal the dismissal of his indictment by a Superior Court judge last month.
Mendez came within 613 votes of unseating Mayor Andre Sayegh this week.
Despite the indictments, Jackson and Mendez were re-elected to the city council in 2024.