Candidates cry ‘voter suppression’ in ballot mix-up
TRENTON » North and South Ward candidates are furious with a ballot snafu that has people wondering whether county election officials know directions or are attempting to sway the outcome of the upcoming election races.
Catherine DiCostanzo, the superintendent of elections, acknowledged to The Trentonian on Friday that some voters in the South Ward received North Ward sample ballots. Sample ballots provide information to voters about the races, including the candidates and polling locations and hours, and are different than absentee ballots allowing voters to cast ballots by mail rather than heading to the polls.
DiCostanzo attributed the sample ballot error to a system “glitch” likely triggered by the 2012 redistricting of the city’s wards. More than 20 households on Federal and Furman streets were impacted, officials said.
DiCostanzo couldn’t explain why the glitch wasn’t straightened out six years ago when the last redistricting was finalized.
“The blame is going to the wrong office; I do not run a Mickey Mouse operation,” DiCostanzo said. “We take pride in what we do. We service the public day in and day out. The office works very hard to ensure that no one is disenfranchised. We have been very proactive. When we found this situation, which really doesn’t fall under my office, we decided to help. We’ve been extremely proactive. To say we’re running a Mickey Mouse operation is a very unfair statement.”
North Ward candidate Algernon Ward Jr. said the mistake was “nothing to sneeze at” and threatened legal action if the problem wasn’t immediately fixed.
“I’m going to get in front of a judge and ask for an injuction to push the election back so these ballots can be straightened out,” he said.
DiCostanzo pushed back against accusations that officials’ mistake was a form of voter suppression and emphasized her office took immediate steps to correct the error once it became aware of it this week.
“It’s not voter suppression,” she said. “It’s a glitch in the system that I don’t have control over. I can tell you we do not disenfranchise anyone to vote. That’s the furthest thing from [the truth].”
Shortly before 4:30 p.m., as workers closed the blinds of the service window and rushed to get to their vehicles, Ward plopped down the $300 fee to submit a one-page, single-spaced, plain-spoken court filing requesting a stay of the North and South Wards’ races to determine the scope of the screw-up.
“One day is insufficient to conduct a thorough investigation to assure that all the eligible voters in South District #2 and North District #9 have received the correct ballot samples,” Ward wrote in the last-minute effort to get a judge to intercede in the controversy.
Holding up a faulty sample ballot mailed to a voter, the community activist was joined outside the Mercer County civil courthouse by fellow North Ward candidate Eboni Love and former councilwoman Kathy McBride, who is running for an at-large seat.
“There are too many irregularities to be comfortable,” Ward said.
Love said the “people of Trenton have a right to a fair and credible election.”
It’s unclear if the matter will be heard before the Tuesday election.
South Ward candidate Damian Malave, who didn’t return phone calls requesting comment, contacted Mercer County clerk Paula Sollami-Covello when the ballot gaffe was brought to his attention by someone in his voting district.
The number of affected households varied among city and county officials.
City clerk Dwayne Harris sent an email to candidates — a copy of which was obtained by The Trentonian — shortly before 1 p.m. saying, “It was discovered that 27 addresses of voters on Federal St. were listed in the North Ward and mailed North Ward Sample Ballots, that should have been in the South Ward. This was discussed with the County Board of Elections and County Clerk this morning. To rectify this issue, the Superintendent of Elections will be hand delivering notices to the affected homes, advising them of the mistake and providing them with the correct polling location and sample ballots for the South Ward. They are making the necessary adjustments in the poll books and the poll workers in the affected districts will be advised by the County Board how to direct those voters when they come to the polls.”
The city clerk directed candidates with electioneering concerns to contact the Board of Elections.
Harris’ figure was different than one DiCostanzo provided The Trentonian earlier in the day. She said investigators determined incorrect sample ballots were sent out to a “very isolated” stretch of Furman Street on the North-South wards border, affecting 17 households. When reached a second time for clarification, she put an investigator on the phone who said the total was 21 households between Federal and Furman streets — 10 homes in 400 and 500 blocks of Federal Street and the remaining households on Furman Street.
There’s no indication other wards were impacted by the glitch, DiCostanzo said, adding staffers are hand-delivering letters and corrected sample ballots to affected households so people have correct information when they head to the polls. Ward was crushed in 2014 by incumbent Marge Caldwell-Wilson, who received more than 61 percent of the 1,962 votes, but believes this year’s race will be tighter, highlighting the potential importance of those 17 households. South Ward Councilman George Muschal, who didn’t return phone calls, had a stranglehold in the last race garnering more than 1,000 votes in securing another four years. Other candidates tried saddling the blame on the Mercer County clerk’s office, but Sollami-Covello said the criticism from one mayoral candidate was misplaced because her office isn’t responsible for sending sample ballots. Mayoral candidate Reed Gusciora has taken aim at Sollami-Covello’s office’s impartiality after its own voting imbroglio this year when a seasonal worker unwittingly opened three absentee ballots in the mayoral race. Likening it to Russian meddling in the presidential election, he accused Sollami-Covello of conducting a “straw poll” for her pal, mayoral candidate and deputy clerk Walker Worthy Jr., whom Sollami-Covello threw a fundraiser for last month.
Mercer County Sheriff Jack Kemler and Board of Elections member Joanne Palmucci also threw a joint fundraiser for Worthy in March.
Gusciora put Covello and county officials in the crosshairs again Friday.
“What’s going on over there?” he said, alluding to the last mix-up. “I don’t know if she’s out busy campaigning. But who is making sure the election process is being run fairly and done accurately?”
Sollami-Covello shot back that the longtime assemblyman and lawyer needs to get his facts straight.
“This is the third time that Reed has accused me of something that is factually incorrect,” she said. “I’m questioning his ability to be mayor.”