NJ Candidate Pleads Guilty After Attempting to Submit 1,000 Fake Voter Forms

PLAINFIELD, NJ — 1,000 fake voter forms in a garbage bag — and now a guilty plea

A former Plainfield mayoral candidate has admitted to trying to flood the system with fraudulent voter registrations tied to the 2021 election.

Henrilynn Ibezim, 71, pleaded guilty on April 27 to third-degree forgery in Union County Superior Court, according to the New Jersey Attorney General’s Office.

Prosecutors say the scheme wasn’t small.

Investigators allege Ibezim attempted to mail a garbage bag packed with roughly 1,000 falsified voter registration applications from an Elizabeth post office to the Union County Commissioner of Registration.

The forms allegedly used people’s personal information without permission and appeared to be filled out by only a handful of writers. Officials also said the applications failed to disclose that someone other than the voter completed them, which is required by law.

As part of a plea deal, Ibezim admitted guilt to one charge. In exchange, prosecutors will drop the remaining counts and won’t pursue additional charges tied to the June 2021 Democratic primary.

Sentencing is set for June 18, where prosecutors are expected to recommend probation

Jennifer Davenport said cases like this strike at the core of election integrity and public trust.

Bottom line:
What investigators describe as a large-scale attempt to manipulate voter registrations ended in a guilty plea — but the final outcome now rests with the court.