HOBOKEN — On Friday, mayoral candidate Beth Mason’s campaign challenged two absentee ballots that they alleged were handled by candidate Frank Raia, which according to the Board of Elections would disqualify those ballots.
Hudson County Superintendent of Elections Marie Borace said today that Raia was cleared of any wrongdoing pertaining to those two ballots after an investigation over the weekend.
Raia’s campaign manager Ben Faden said today that Raia even offered to pay for fingerprint analysis of the ballots to clear himself of any wrongdoing.
But Michael Harper, clerk for the Board of Elections, said today that Raia’s campaign lost eight unrelated absentee ballots after Board of Elections workers challenged their eligibility.
Harper said his staff observed Raia’s ballot handlers signing off on eight ballots before they were submitted, even though they legally are required to sign the ballots in the presence of the absentee voter. The ballots were rejected, Harper said; Raia’s campaign appealed the ballot rejections, but were denied in court on Monday, Harper said.
Also, Harper said Raia’s campaign did not meet a filing deadline to register challengers for voting locations in Hoboken, and Raia was denied exemption by a judge Monday.
Challengers can appear on behalf of candidates at polling places to levy challenges against votes they believe may be ineligible, but Raia’s camp missed the registration deadline and are not permitted to have challengers at the polling stations. — TJC
Raia cleared on one charge, not another, and missed challenger deadline
