The worker allegedly offered gift cards to voters in exchange for their mail-in absentee ballots, according to Middlesex County Prosecutor Yolanda Ciccone.
Ciccone did not name the candidate.
On the week of Oct; 17, detectives from the Middlesex County Prosecutor’s Office and the Perth Amboy Police Department received a tip that a campaign worker Ana Camilo, 62, of Perth Amboy, was canvassing a neighborhood in Perth Amboy and offering to complete mail-in ballots in exchange for gift cards, the prosecutor said.
An undercover detective, posing as a Perth Amboy voter, met with Camilo. It was determined that Camilo, a campaign worker for a City Council candidate, filled out the mail-in ballot for the undercover detective and, in exchange, gave the detective a $20 Shop Rite gift card.
Camilo was arrested immediately after the meeting and was found in possession of the mail-in ballot, the prosecutor said.
Camilo was charged with third-degree bribery in official or political matters.
New Jersey election law prohibits the offering of any inducements for voting for a particular candidate.
The investigation is active and continuing.
Anyone with information is asked to call Detective Shadi Zaiton of the Middlesex County Prosecutor’s Office at (732) 745-4263.
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