A Floral Park man was criminally charged with voter fraud for allegedly submitting falsified absentee ballot applications for the Democratic primary election in August 2022, according to Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz.
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Abdul Rahman, 32, of 257th Street, was arraigned Tuesday in Queens Supreme Court on a 140-count indictment charging him with falsifying business records, criminal possession of a forged instrument, 20 counts of illegal voting and other crimes.
Rahman faces up to seven years if convicted.
According to the charges, on Aug. 23, 2022, Jordan Sandke went to his local polling place in Richmond Hill to vote in the Democratic primary election and was told that he would be unable to cast his ballot in person because an absentee ballot had already been requested in his name.
An investigation found Sandke’s absentee ballot application, with his name, address, and date of birth, was signed and dated Aug. 1, 2022. The application listed the defendant, Rahman, as an authorized representative to pick up the ballot. Sandke, however, had not filled out, signed or submitted the application, and said he had never met Rahman or authorized him to pick up an absentee ballot on his behalf.
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The investigation further revealed that on Aug. 8, 2022, Rahman visited the Queens County Board of Elections and dropped off 118 absentee ballot applications, all of which designated him as the individual authorized to pick up the ballots. Of the 118 applications, 32 were approved and the ballots were picked up by Rahman the next day, Aug. 9, 2022.
Law enforcement officials interviewed twenty victims who came forward after their names and personal information were listed in the ballot applications and learned that none of them had themselves submitted the form, much less authorized Rahman to pick up the ballot for them.
Following the indictment, Rahman surrendered Tuesday to the Queens District Attorney’s Office.
“Every vote has to count, Election integrity is the foundation of a viable, working democracy,” Katz said. “We will vigorously prosecute anyone who threatens in any way to undermine that integrity. To investigate and prosecute anyone for voter fraud takes time and resources I am willing to commit. I thank my Public Corruption Bureau and the Board of Elections for their important work on this case. The integrity of elections will be upheld in this borough.”
Queens Supreme Court Justice Tony Cimino ordered Rahman to return to court on Jan. 30, 2024.
“The Board of Elections in the City of New York is proud to once again have identified and referred an election integrity issue to law enforcement,” BOE Deputy Executive Director Vincent Ignizio said. “Our government partners in the Queens District Attorney’s Office did an amazing job at investigating this case and bringing an indictment. Protecting our democracy and the elections process is the responsibility of all Americans — and the Board is grateful to District Attorney Melinda Katz and her staff for all their efforts in this investigation.”