Who remembers that in 2011, At-Large Councilman Ravi Bhalla ran "off-the-line" against Ruben Ramos for 33rd Legislative District Assembly?
Well, Bhalla got his clock cleaned and that's history. Or is it?
Because according to what U.S. Attorney Craig Carpenito wrote to Frank Raia's trial judge, Willliam Martini:
"...the Government seeks the introduction of documentary and testimonial evidence pertaining to defendant Francis Raia’s (“Raia”) involvement in voter bribery schemes in 2011 and 2012."
What bribery schemes?
Raia's indictment didn't allege that there were "voter bribery schemes in 2011." Which means that the government will present documentary and testimonial evidence that such schemes existed in 2011 and 2012.
Wow. Well, ELEC reports alone are not smoking gun proof of "voter bribery schemes." However, facts are facts. And it's fair to point out some Hoboken vote-by-mail anomalies.
THE 2011 PRIMARY ELECTION FOR LD- 33 ASSEMBLY
Raia's indictment didn't allege that there were "voter bribery schemes in 2011." Which means that the government will present documentary and testimonial evidence that such schemes existed in 2011 and 2012.
Wow. Well, ELEC reports alone are not smoking gun proof of "voter bribery schemes." However, facts are facts. And it's fair to point out some Hoboken vote-by-mail anomalies.
THE 2011 PRIMARY ELECTION FOR LD- 33 ASSEMBLY
Even before Raia's indictment, GA discovered one 2011 election where an unusually high number of VBMS were cast in Hoboken for one candidate in a statewide election. That was the Primary for 33rd Legislative District Assembly where, as mentioned, Ruben Ramos was running against Ravi Bhalla. The 33rd District voters came from four Hudson County Municipalities: Jersey City, Union City, Weehawken and Hoboken.
What was so unusual about the distribution of VBMs cast in that 2011 Primary? Take a look:
Holy smokes! Anybody good in math?
MATH CLASS
Hey, boys and girls, check this out!
A piddly 3% of total votes cast in LD-33's Assembly Primary were mail - in ballots.
But 63.5% LD-33's VBMs came from Hoboken. And...
83.5% of Hoboken's mail-in-ballots were cast for Ruben Ramos, not Bhalla. In fact, 12.6% of Hoboken's total votes cast were VBMs for Ruben!
MATH CLASS
Hey, boys and girls, check this out!
A piddly 3% of total votes cast in LD-33's Assembly Primary were mail - in ballots.
But 63.5% LD-33's VBMs came from Hoboken. And...
83.5% of Hoboken's mail-in-ballots were cast for Ruben Ramos, not Bhalla. In fact, 12.6% of Hoboken's total votes cast were VBMs for Ruben!
BREAKDOWN OF VBM DISTRIBUTION BY MUNICIPALITY
HOBOKEN
RAMOS- 399 VBMs (12.6% of Ramos' Total Hoboken vote)
BHALLA- 50 VBMs (3.6% of Bhalla's Total Hoboken vote)
HOBOKEN- TOTAL 455 VBMS (10% of 4,470 Total votes cast)
87.6% of Total VBMs cast in Hoboken voted for Ramos
10% of Total VBMs cast in Hoboken voted for Bhalla
JERSEY CITY
RAMOS- 23 VBMs (0.8% of Ramo's Total JC vote)
BHALLA- 5 VBMs (0.4% of Bhalla's Total JC vote)
JERSEY CITY- 41 TOTAL VBMS (0.8% of 4,956 Total votes cast)
56% of Total VBMs cast in JC voted for Ramos
12% of Total VBMs cast in JC voted for Bhalla
UNION CITY
RAMOS- 79 VBMs (1% of Ramo's Total UC vote)
BHALLA- 6 VBMs (1% of Bhalla's Total UC vote)
UNION CITY- 106 TOTAL VBMs (1% of 9,651 Total votes cast)
74.5% of Total VBMs cast in UC voted for Ramos
5.6% of VBMs cast in UC voted for Bhalla
WEEHAWKEN
RAMOS- 23 VBMs (2.4% of Ramos' Total Weehawken vote)
BHALLA- 1 VBM (1% of Bhalla's Total Weehawken vote)
WEEHAWKEN- 26 TOTAL VBMS (2% of Total 1148 votes cast)
88% of Total VBMs cast in Weekhawken voted for Ramos
3.8% of Total VBMs cast in Weekhawken voted for Bhalla
Was 2011's very large spike in VBMs cast in Hoboken an outlier? What about 2010's? (Funny how that happens...)
 |
| Red Flags: How much does it cost to buy an election in Hoboken’s 4th ward? |
A LARGE NUMBER OF RAMOS 2011 PRIMARY 'CAMPAIGN WORKERS' VOTED BY MAIL
Remember, Ramos for Assembly was a district-wide election with a campaign run in four municipalities. Ruben campaigned in Jersey City, Union City and Weehawken, as well as Hoboken, and presumably had workers helping outside of Hoboken.
Cross-referencing Ramos campaign workers (his July 2011 ELEC) with Hoboken residents who voted by mail that election, shows that more than half of Ramos' reported $35 campaign workers are listed as voting by mail in Hoboken. They are highlighted in yellow below.
That is statistically higher five times higher (50%+) than the total percentage of votes in Hoboken that were cast by mail (10%). Another anomaly.
HOBOKEN: 2011 PRIMARY VBM REPORT
HOBOKEN: 2011 Primary VBM Report by GrafixAvenger on Scribd
RAMOS FOR ASSEMBLY PRIMARY ELECTION
ELEC FILED JULY 11, 2O01
(highlighted names appear on Hoboken'S VBM report)
 |
| Ramos for Assembly ELEC report filed July 11, 2011 |
Other than supporting Ramos for Assembly with a Raia's $2600 contribution made on June 7, 2011, GA does not see how this election would be relevant to Frank's case. Do you?
Ramos for Assembly appears to be just another Hoboken anomaly. Ho hum.
2019 RAMOS FUNDRAISER
(Council members below in coalition with Dark Side)
(Council members below in coalition with Dark Side)
Fine reporting, clearly presented data, no conspiracy theories or baseless accusations. You're the only one who trusts your readers enough to treat them like adults. That's why you're the only one who still has readers.
ReplyDelete