New Jersey Judge Tossed Illegal Vote But Never Reported Voter Fraud to Authorities

A New Jersey judge threw out an illegal vote that decided a local election but never bothered to tell law enforcement about it, the New Jersey Globe reports.

Superior Court Judge Kelly A. Conlon disqualified a ballot cast by Natalie Carti, a 30-year-old woman who lives and works in Chicago but continued voting in Oakland, New Jersey. The decision broke a tie in last year's borough council race, but Conlon never forwarded evidence of the apparent voter fraud to county prosecutors or election officials.

That breaks with standard practice. While New Jersey has no explicit law requiring judges to report voter fraud, the judiciary routinely refers credible evidence to prosecutors.

"Ethical duties and the obligation to uphold the law mean judges often must take action by referring credible evidence to the appropriate authorities," a sitting Superior Court judge told the Globe on condition of anonymity. "If a judge were to knowingly ignore credible allegations of voter fraud, it could undermine public trust in elections."

The case centers on a November election for Oakland Borough Council that ended in a dead heat between independent candidate Matthew Dumpert and Republican incumbent Kevin Slasinski. After a recount confirmed the tie, Dumpert challenged Carti's mail-in ballot, arguing she no longer lived in New Jersey.

When called to testify in January, Carti invoked her Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination. She refused to answer questions about where she lives.

Conlon initially ruled that evidence of Carti's Chicago residency was inadmissible. But the judge reversed course and allowed Carti's parents to testify about their daughter's living situation and political views. Based on that testimony, Conlon concluded Carti had voted for Dumpert and subtracted one vote from his total.

The ruling itself raises eyebrows. Conlon barred the ballot without knowing whether Carti even voted in the council race at all. More than 300 voters who participated in the gubernatorial election left the borough council section blank. Conlon had no way of knowing if Carti was one of them.

Records show Carti has worked at a Chicago payment processing company for more than two years. She is married to former NFL player Jake Butt. She voted in New Jersey in 2020, 2024, and 2025 despite living out of state. She is no longer registered to vote in New Jersey.

Violating New Jersey's residency requirements for voting can be charged as a criminal offense, though prosecutors rarely pursue such cases. That makes Conlon's decision not to refer the matter even more unusual. If voter fraud is serious enough to overturn an election, it should be serious enough to investigate.

The disqualified ballot brought the race back to a tie. Oakland held a special election in March, which Dumpert won in a landslide with 71% of the vote.

A spokesman for the New Jersey judiciary declined to comment on why Conlon never reported the apparent fraud.

The case highlights the double standard around voter fraud enforcement. Republicans have spent years claiming widespread illegal voting justifies restrictive voting laws. Yet when a judge finds actual evidence of someone voting where they don't live, the system shrugs.

Either voter fraud is a threat to election integrity or it isn't. You can't have it both ways.