Campaign Manager Admits Trying to Fraudulently Place Candidate on Ballot in 2021 Primary Election for N.J. Governor

TRENTON — Attorney General Matthew J. Platkin and the Office of Public Integrity and Accountability (OPIA) today announced that a campaign manager from Hunterdon County pleaded guilty to attempting to fraudulently get a candidate on the Democratic primary ballot in the New Jersey governor’s race in 2021.

James J. Devine, 62, of Lambertville, New Jersey, pleaded guilty to an offense concerning nomination certificates or petitions (3rd degree) during a hearing on August 26, 2024 before Judge Robert E. Lytle, presiding in New Jersey Superior Court in Mercer County.

Under the terms of a plea agreement with OPIA that is subject to court approval, the prosecution will recommend that the court require Devine to serve two years of probation. Sentencing is scheduled for October 18, 2024.

“For the public to have faith in our elections, it’s critical for law enforcement to ensure that efforts to tamper with them are investigated and prosecuted,” said Attorney General Platkin. “This defendant’s plea is a testament to my office’s commitment to fair elections and to holding bad actors accountable when they attempt to taint our democratic system.”

“The defendant in this case has now admitted to fraudulently trying to get a candidate on the primary ballot for governor,” said Drew Skinner, Executive Director of the Office of Public Integrity and Accountability. “Anyone who might try to cheat our democratic system should know: we will hold you accountable.”

Following an OPIA investigation, a state grand jury in Trenton returned an indictment on March 12, 2024 charging Devine with various offenses in relation to an April 2021 attempt to get a candidate on the ballot in the Democratic primary for governor in the June 8, 2021 primary.

According to publicly filed documents and statements in open court, the investigation revealed that Devine submitted approximately 1,948 fraudulent nominating petitions to the New Jersey Department of State’s Division of Elections, in an attempt to enable his candidate to compete in the primary.

The New Jersey Democratic State Committee formally challenged Devine’s effort on April 9, 2021, laying out various issues with the petitions he had provided, with the committee alleging there were questions about those petitions’ authenticity.

Citing the irregularities, Administrative Law Judge Jeffrey N. Rabin sided with the committee and struck the candidate from the ballot on April 13, 2021.

Individuals whose names appeared on the petitions submitted by Devine provided information that they did not submit a petition, or authorize one, in support of the candidate’s nomination. The investigation revealed Devine had uploaded false voter information onto petition forms and submitted them to the Division of Elections on behalf of the campaign without those voters’ approval.

In pleading guilty, the defendant acknowledged that he knew the petitions were falsely made when he filed them.

The case was handled for the OPIA Corruption Bureau by Deputy Attorney General Max Lesser and Bureau Deputy Chief Andrew Wellbrock, under the supervision of Bureau Chief Jeff Manis and OPIA Executive Director Skinner.

Defense counsel:

Melissa Karabulut, of the New Jersey Office of the Public Defender

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