Par-Troy Primary Candidates Allege Voter Fraud

Two Parsippany Republican candidates, who were ahead in the primary elections until the mail-in ballots were tallied, are now seeking a hearing with a Superior Court judge alleging numerous illegal mail-in votes, according to a recent report.

Michael Strumolo, a current Parsippany-Troy Hills Board of Education member, and Council Vice President Vincent Ferrara each filed petitions with Superior Court Assignment Judge Thomas Weisenbeck in Morristown contesting the results of the June 4 primary, which named Robert Peluso and Louis Valori as winners, according to the Daily Record.

The hearing will be held on Aug. 1 at 10 a.m.

Initial poll numbers released by the Morris County Clerk put Strumolo and Ferrara in the lead, with 1,639 and 1,603 votes respectively. Candidates Peluso and Valori each received 1,545 and 1,261 at the polls.

According to Parsippany-Troy Hills Municipal Clerk Yancy Wazirmas, Peluso received 542 mail-in ballots, putting him in first with 2,087 votes. Valori came in second with 538 mail-in ballots, bringing his total to 1,799.

Ferrara, who was initially leading, received 129 mail-in ballots, with a total of 1,730 votes, while Strumolo garnered 73 mail-in ballots totaling 1,712 votes.

Strumolo then petitioned for a recount with the Morris County Superior Court, citing a disproportionate amount of mail-in ballots from Republicans running on the same ticket, which ultimately reaffirmed Peluso and Valori as winners.

In the most recent petition, Ferrara said he suspects “a very large number of illegal votes were accepted. Enough illegal votes were accepted to change the outcome of the election,” according to the Daily Record. Ferrara's petition also alleged that three peopled voted twice by mail-in ballot and that 71 other ballots were cast improperly.

“The 77 illegal votes that were received ... were sufficient to change the outcome of the election. As a result, the will of the electorate either is not discernible or has been frustrated by the widespread acceptance of illegal and/or fraudulent votes,” Ferrara’s petition said, according to the Daily Record.

Both Ferrara and Strumolo want the judge to determine whether voter fraud took place and to declare them the nominees or to order a special primary election.