Co. Prosecutor Dismisses McCullough’s Voter Summonses

COURT HOUSE — The Cape May County Prosecutor’s office has dismissed three summonses against Wildwood resident Kathleen McCullough. The summonses were issued on May 27, 2009, alleging that McCullough “violated provisions of the New Jersey Election Law Act on Feb., 5, 2008, June 3., 2008 and Nov. 4, 2008.” At question was whether or not McCullough was, in fact, a resident of Wildwood.”
A press release issued by McCullough on Sept. 27, states, “The summonses – outstanding for over two years – were issued during the height of a recall effort against Wildwood Mayor Ernie Troiano. McCullough was active in the recall effort, and after the summonses were issued Troiano attempted to challenge voter signatures collected by her.”
The release also states that before the summonses were issued, McCullough was active in trying to stop what she, and others, believed to be “voting irregularities in Wildwood’s municipal elections.”
Over 100 voters, whose addresses were believed to be invalid, were presented to the Cape May County Board of Elections. According to McCullough’s release, “…the County Board of Elections concluded that 97 of the voters it examined were in fact not eligible to vote at the addresses provided on the voter rolls.”
“Instead of pursuing those dramatic cases,” said McCullough, “the county tried to ‘kill the messenger’ when it issued summonses against her.”
McCullough waited over 5 months between the dismissal of the summonses and her press release.
“I thought (another news media) would pick it up,” she told the Herald. “No one was picking it up and people needed to know that the charges were dismissed. It was a really traumatic time in my life. It was a horrible time for me.”
The Herald was able to obtain a copy of the Memorandum of Agreement between McCullough and the Prosecutor’s Office. The agreement, dismissing the summonses against McCullough, was signed and dated Apr. 4, 2011.
“I have read the press release from Kathleen McCullough,” Cape May County Prosecutor Robert Taylor told the Herald. “And in my opinion, it is inaccurate.”
According to Taylor, on May 2, 2007, McCullough executed a domicile questionnaire for the County Board of Elections as Kathleen McCullough-Finnigan. On May 8, 2007, Superior Court Judge Raymond Batten denied McCullough the right to vote in Wildwood, primarily because she had a Pennsylvania driver’s license and filed her taxes with a Pennsylvania address.
McCullough testified that she owned dual properties, having acquired the Wildwood property in 2000. She told the court that she worked in North Wildwood as well as part-time for a Philadelphia law firm. She also told the court that she withdrew her Philadelphia voting rights because she considered Wildwood to be her domicile.
According to the memorandum, which was drafted by Louis Barbone of Jacobs and Barbone, the law firm representing McCullough. The Honorable Raymond Batten, J.S.C. denied Kathleen’s right to vote in Wildwood, NJ, “although noting that his decision was a difficult one and his ultimate conclusion was a close call.”
On Oct. 25, 2007, McCullough renewed her Pa. vehicle registration.
On Jan. 9, 2008 she filed a new voter registration using the name McCullough only, which differed from previous records,” said Taylor. McCullough voted in Wildwood in the Feb. 2008 Presidential Primary.
According to Taylor, McCullough renewed her Pennsylvania driver’s license on March 14, 2008 and in April 2008, she filed a New Jersey Non-Resident Tax return.
“On June 3, 2008 she voted in Wildwood in the New Jersey state primary. On Oct. 30, 2008, she renewed her Pennsylvania vehicle registration,” said Taylor. On Nov. 4, 2008, she voted in Wildwood again.
The memorandum states that McCullough appeared before Batten on Aug. 11, 2009 and “testified in conjunction with a voter recall action.” At that time Batten reasoned that McCullough “had voted three times publicly ‘in the same town,’ in the same ward, from the same street address, provided on the voter registration, she didn’t change that address, didn’t change the last four digits in the social security number, all of the information was accurate.”
The memorandum also states, “(McCullough) had no intent to deceive or manipulate the information she reported in order to claim residency and exercise her right to vote under any circumstances or in any place she believed she was not entitled. …McCullough’s open and notorious factual declarations, and in fact, her open and notorious voting in the City of Wildwood in conjunction with her political activism all demonstrate her purity of intention, namely her firmly held subjective belief that as a bona fide resident of the City of Wildwood, she was lawfully entitled to vote on the dates and times made the subject of the instant complaints.”
“She basically acknowledged these facts and that there was probable cause to bring the charges against her, in the memorandum signed on Apr. 4, 2011,” said Taylor.
In her release, McCullough stated, “I’m glad I’m now being completely vindicated, but those summonses should never have been issued; I believe they were politically motivated. I believe someone was trying to silence my voice at a very critical time.”
“All of her claims about activity during the recall and her efforts about alleged voting irregularities have to do with her actions with the Board of Elections,” said Taylor. “What occurred in 2009 was not relevant to the charges of illegal voting in 2008. Her actions in voting three times in 2008, while doing exactly what Judge Batten’s ruling told her was the basis for denying her claim of Wildwood domicile in 2007, was intentionally done by keeping, renewing and maintaining her Pennsylvania driver’s license and Pennsylvania vehicle registration, even after voting in New Jersey in 2008 and all the way into 2009.”
McCullough has filed a civil lawsuit alleging, “that the summons filings constituted malicious prosecution and violated the state’s Civil Rights Act.” Defendants in the lawsuit include Cape May County, the County Board of Elections, the County Prosecutor’s Office, Wildwood City Clerk Chris Wood, and “certain election and prosecutorial employees as well as employees whom McCullough is not yet able to identify individually,”
According to Arthur Murray, McCullough’s attorney, his client is looking to “vindicate her rights in civil court.” The civil law suit was filed on May 17, 2011; however a tort claim was filed Sept. 1, 2009.
“She’s out attorney’s fees,” said Murray. To date, her legal fees are in excess of $12,000. He added that his client has become ill since being charged.
“With regard to the civil suit,” I have sent a notice of frivolous litigation to her attorney,” said Taylor, “indicating that there is no legal or factual basis for Ms. McCullough’s civil suit against the Prosecutor’s Office or its detectives. If the suit is not dismissed against the Prosecutor’s Office and its detectives, we will seek attorney’s fees and expenses against her.”