In a recent New York Post article entitled "Confessions of a voter fraud: I was a master at fixing mail-in ballots," an anonymous Democratic operative outlined his past involvement in voter fraud schemes to the Post's Jon Levine.  The article comes as more Americans are concerned about the potential for voter fraud in light of increased mail voting in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

While many argue that concerns about voter fraud are unwarranted, the source explained just how far-reaching the consequences of his fraudulent actions have been:

[T]he political insider, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he fears prosecution, said fraud is more the rule than the exception. His dirty work has taken him through the weeds of municipal and federal elections in Paterson, Atlantic City, Camden, Newark, Hoboken and Hudson County and his fingerprints can be found in local legislative, mayoral and congressional races across the Garden State. Some of the biggest names and highest office holders in New Jersey have benefited from his tricks, according to campaign records The Post reviewed.

“An election that is swayed by 500 votes, 1,000 votes — it can make a difference,” the tipster said. “It could be enough to flip states.”

The whisteblower — whose identity, rap sheet and long history working as a consultant to various campaigns were confirmed by The Post — says he not only changed ballots himself over the years, but led teams of fraudsters and mentored at least 20 operatives in New Jersey, New York and Pennsylvania — a critical 2020 swing state.

The operative further explained how vote fraud operations place fake ballots inside of legitimate envelopes, conspire with postal workers, bribe people to vote a certain way, and take advantage of the elderly in assisted-living facilities.  Perhaps most shocking of all, the operative admitted to deploying operatives to vote fraudulently in-person by impersonating actual voters:

When all else failed, the insider would send operatives to vote live in polling stations, particularly in states like New Jersey and New York that do not require voter ID. Pennsylvania, also for the most part, does not.

The best targets were registered voters who routinely skip presidential or municipal elections — information which is publicly available.

“You fill out these index cards with that person’s name and district and you go around the city and say, ‘You’re going to be him, you’re going to be him,'” the insider said of how he dispatched his teams of dirty-tricksters.

At the polling place, the fake voter would sign in, “get on line and … vote,” the insider said. The impostors would simply recreate the signature that already appears in the voter roll as best they could. In the rare instance that a real voter had already signed in and cast a ballot, the impersonator would just chalk it up to an innocent mistake and bolt.

One of the areas the source admitted to operating in — Paterson, New Jersey — just had a city council election thrown out due to voter fraud.  Four individuals have been charged in the voter fraud scheme including Paterson Councilman Michael Jackson, Councilman-Elect Alex Mendez.

The Post's report strengthens the case for maintaining in-person voting with increased health precautions.  The best way to ensure your vote counts in November is to vote in-person if it is safe for you to do so.