By: Richard L. Smith
MD Hossain Morshed, a 50-year-old former councilman of Atlantic City's Fourth Ward, has confessed to falsifying voter registrations, as announced by U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger.
The guilty plea was entered today before Chief U.S. District Judge Renée Marie Bumb in Camden federal court, where Morshed faced charges related to the fraudulent procurement and submission of voter registration applications.
“This defendant admitted that he attempted to deprive residents of New Jersey of a fair election by obtaining false voter registration applications and facilitating their submission,” stated U.S. Attorney Sellinger.
The case revealed Morshed’s unlawful efforts to obtain votes from individuals ineligible to vote in his ward, undermining the electoral process’s integrity.
The case unfolded in April 2019, ahead of the June 2019 primary election, when Morshed provided a potential voter with a pre-filled New Jersey voter registration application.
This application falsely indicated the Fourth Ward in Atlantic City, which Morshed represented, as the voter's residential address.
Despite the address not matching the voter’s actual residence, Morshed encouraged the voter to sign the form.
He further visited the voter’s real home, presenting a vote-by-mail application with the same incorrect address and an additional falsified address for the mail-in ballot's delivery.
The Atlantic County Superintendent of Elections and the Atlantic County Board of Elections received and processed the fabricated voter registration and mail-in ballot, which was erroneously counted in the June 2019 primary election.
The involved voter later disclosed not having received, completed, or mailed back the ballot. Recorded conversations between the voter and Morshed revealed Morshed instructing the voter to lie to law enforcement about the circumstances surrounding the voter forms he had provided.
Morshed’s sentencing is set for July 16, 2024, marking a significant step in addressing election fraud and protecting the sanctity of the voting process. U.S. Attorney Sellinger affirmed the commitment of law enforcement to investigate and prosecute individuals undermining election integrity.