Hoboken Woman Allegedly Bribed Voters During 2013 City Election

HOBOKEN, NJ — Authorities have accused a Hoboken woman of taking part in a “voter bribery scheme” during the 2013 municipal election. The woman allegedly agreed to pay several Hoboken residents $50 each if they cast mail-in ballots, in some cases instructing them which candidates to vote for, federal prosecutors said.

On Thursday, Lizaida Camis, 55, of Hoboken, was charged by complaint with a violation of the Travel Act for causing the mails to be used to aid voter bribery contrary to state law, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office of New Jersey.

Prosecutors didn’t provide the name of the campaign or campaigns that employed Camis during the 2013 election in an initial statement. Patch has reached out to authorities for more information and will update this article if we receive a reply.

See results and candidates for the 2013 General Election in Hoboken here.

Prosecutors said:

“From October 2013 through November 2013, Camis [allegedly] agreed to pay certain Hoboken voters $50 each if those voters applied for and cast mail-in ballots for the November 2013 Hoboken municipal election. Camis provided these voters with VBM Applications and then delivered the completed applications to the Hudson County Clerk’s office. After the mail-in ballots were delivered to the voters, Camis went to their apartments and, in some cases, instructed the voters to vote for the candidates for whom Camis was working. Camis promised the voters that they would be paid $50 for casting their mail-in ballots and told them that they could pick up their checks after the election at an office on Jefferson Street in Hoboken. Bank records show that voters living in Hoboken received $50 checks from entities associated with the campaigns that employed Camis.”

Prosecutors said that under New Jersey law, registered voters are permitted to cast a ballot by mail rather than in person. To receive a mail-in ballot, voters must complete and submit to their county clerk’s office an Application for Vote By Mail Ballot (VBM Application). After the application is processed, voters receive a mail-in ballot.

Camis faces a maximum penalty of five years in prison and a $250,000 fine. She is scheduled to have her initial appearance Thursday in Newark federal court, prosecutors stated.

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