Illinois Family Action » Voter Fraud Is Real — Just Ask This Convicted Democrat Operative

Voter Fraud Is Real — Just Ask This Convicted Democrat Operative

Written by David E. Smith

For years, Americans concerned about election fraud have been dismissed, mocked, or accused of undermining democracy. But facts are stubborn things. And the facts in New Jersey just caught up with a powerful Democrat insider.

Craig Callaway, a former Atlantic City Council President and longtime Democratic political operative, was sentenced this week to 24 months in federal prison for orchestrating a widespread vote-by-mail fraud scheme during the 2022 general election. His scheme was straightforward—and deeply corrupt.

Callaway paid individuals $30–$50 apiece to act as “authorized messengers” to collect mail-in ballots. But instead of delivering those ballots to the voters who supposedly requested them, the ballots were handed over to Callaway and his team, who proceeded to fill them out and submit them fraudulently.

According to federal prosecutors, numerous ballots were cast in the names of voters who never voted and never authorized anyone to vote on their behalf. Nevertheless, those ballots were counted toward official election totals.

“This was a nefarious plot to hijack an election using New Jersey’s broken vote-by-mail system,” said FBI Special Agent in Charge Stefanie Roddy.

Callaway’s conviction exposes more than just one corrupt political machine. It highlights a systemic vulnerability in vote-by-mail processes that is being exploited across the country.

Fraud Is Surfacing Nationwide

While Democrats and many in the media continue to claim voter fraud is “exceedingly rare,” recent cases tell a different story:

Bridgeport, Connecticut (2023–2024): Multiple operatives were arrested for mishandling absentee ballots and ballot tampering in the mayoral primary. The corruption was so extensive that a judge ordered a new election.

Long Island, New York (2024): A man was charged after impersonating another voter via mail-in ballot. The real voter showed up on Election Day, triggering an investigation.

Colorado (2024): A postal worker was caught stealing mail-in ballots before they could reach voters.

Minnesota (2021–2022): Two individuals pleaded guilty to submitting fraudulent voter registrations through a nonprofit group. They were paid per registration—some of which were completely fictitious.

And let’s not forget the Macon County, Illinois sheriff election from November 2018, which was initially declared a one-vote victory for Democrat Tony Brown over Republican Jim Root. The election was ultimately reversed by a court order in June 2021. This reversal followed a lengthy legal battle that began when Root filed a Verified Election Contest Petition on December 19, 2018, alleging mistakes and potential fraud in the vote count.

These are not isolated glitches. They are warning signs. When combined with Callaway’s conviction, they paint a troubling picture: mail-in and absentee ballots are increasingly vulnerable to manipulation, exploitation, and outright theft.

How many other cases of voter fraud have not yet been uncovered?

Despite what media “fact-checkers” may say, these real-world prosecutions confirm that voter fraud isn’t some fringe conspiracy—it’s a documented, criminal reality. While no party is immune, and cases exist across the political spectrum, the pattern is hard to ignore: Democrats—and the political machine tactics long associated with “The Chicago Way”—consistently appear more practiced, more prolific, and more shameless in exploiting the system.

For example, Chicago sanitation official Anish Eapen admitted to improperly aiding residents in attempting to manipulate absentee ballots during Alderman Bernard Stone’s 2007 election campaign.—using his badge to woo confidence and then filling out ballots without full consent. He was sentenced to 270 days in Cook County jail for his crimes.

That fact is underscored by the fact that since 1976, more than 2,100 public officials have been convicted of corruption in Illinois—about 1,800 of them within the Chicagoland area. And in a 2022 UIC study, Illinois ranked second-most corrupt state, while Democrat dominated Chicago held the top spot(!) among all U.S. cities.

But one thing is clear: vote-by-mail systems—especially when expanded with weak safeguards—create the perfect conditions for fraud. Paid ballot “harvesters,” third-party messengers, and broken chain-of-custody rules open the door to abuse.

That’s why conservative leaders are right to call for reforms like:

Stricter voter ID laws
Bans on paid ballot harvesting
Transparent signature verification and audit trails
Tougher penalties for election fraud

Good Stewardship of Elections

Craig Callaway is now a convicted felon. But he’s not the only one manipulating our elections. From Illinois to New Jersey, New York to Colorado, recent cases show that America’s electoral system is under siege from those willing to cheat to win. The question is no longer if voter fraud exists—but what are we going to do about it?

Here are some key actions every citizen can take to safeguard the integrity of our elections:

1. Proof of U.S. Citizenship for Voter Registration

We strongly support legislation such as the SAVE Act in Illinois, which would require voters to provide official proof of U.S. citizenship—such as a passport or birth certificate. Those who register illegally undermine lawful voters, and that voter registration should reflect the privilege of citizenship. Moreover, there are organizations that are actively working to change REAL ID requirements to ensure the ID reflects the holder’s citizenship status.

2. Rigorous Voter Roll Maintenance

Illinois Family Action, along with Breakthrough Ideas, have joined Carol Davis in a lawsuit under the National Voter Registration Act (NVRA) to demand meaningful cleanup of voter rolls. In partnership with Judicial Watch we are challenging the Illinois State Board of Elections over failure to remove deceased or ineligible voters. This approach emphasizes both top-down (state-level enforcement) and bottom-up (local FOIA requests and audits) methods for maintaining clean voter rolls.

3. Training Poll Watchers and Election Judges

Through Illinois Conservative Union’s Election Integrity Program, Davis leads statewide training—including to the Illinois GOP State Central Committee—on essential roles like poll watching and election judge responsibilities. The training covers:

- Vigilant chain-of-custody monitoring (“Who is handling our ballots?”),
- Effective FOIA usage for election data monitoring,
- Election data analysis, and
- Building capable county-level election integrity teams.

4. “Eyes on Every Ballot”

Illinois Conservative Union promotes a proactive model inspired by successful efforts in states like Virginia, emphasizing expanded oversight at polling locations, transparent ballot handling, and increased citizen oversight throughout the process.

In an interview with WTTW earlier this year, Davis stressed that there needs to be consequences when election law is broken, saying “we know that people have broken the law by registering to vote and being noncitizens.” She rightly points out that “the taxpayers, the citizens should not have their vote canceled by someone who has not been invested in America,” referring to noncitizen registrants who may still cast ballots.

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