Campaign Finance Concerns Intensify in District 30 Election
Campaign Finance Concerns Intensify in District 30 Election
Kean and Thomson campaign demands ELEC investigate Democrat Avi Schnall's alleged campaign violations
ELEC Campaign Finance Violations
Allegations of campaign finance irregularities prompt demands for transparency in the Legislative District 30 Assembly election.
Democratic candidate for Assembly Alexander "Avi" Schnall, faces scrutiny for failing to include legally required paid-for statements in campaign media, including multiple WhatsApp status update videos shared by local news outlets. These videos, each costing hundreds of dollars, have ignited questions about his campaign’s financial irregularities.
Additionally, voters in the 30th Legislative District received a mail piece from the Schnall campaign asking for their support on October 3, 2023. This mailer carries a disclaimer reading "Paid for by Schnall for 30th Assembly," which, in violation of Election Law Enforcement Commission (ELEC) regulations, does not include the committee's address or phone number that funded the communication.
On October 10, 2023, "Schnall for 30th Assembly" filed its 29-day pre-election report, revealing only a single $100 cash contribution during the reporting period ending on October 6, 2023. Equally concerning is the report's absence of any expenditures, including the WhatsApp videos and mail piece sent to voters before October 6th. Failure to disclose funding sources for campaign materials is a clear violation of ELEC regulations. As a result, the New Jersey Republican Party has filed an official complaint with the New Jersey ELEC (see below).
Mysterious PAC and Illegal Campaign Coordination
In addition to these blatant violations, a group titled "Our Voice" has been running numerous digital and print ads in the 30th Legislative District encouraging people to vote in the upcoming election. Notably, the "Our Voice" logo on this ad appears in the same font in a text box on the October 3, 2023 mailer sent by the Schnall Campaign. No political committee or continuing political committee named "Our Voice" has been registered or approved by ELEC. Nor do these ads include the required disclaimer disclosing the name and postal address of the entity that paid for the advertisement.
“Honesty and integrity in a political candidate is paramount in a world filled with disinformation. If a candidate is willing to lie to voters about who is funding their campaign, what else will he lie to them about? We all have to play by the same rules, and those rules call for transparency and accountability when it comes to campaign finances,” said Thomson.
“Candidates are required to disclose very specific information about their campaign costs on ELEC reports,” said Sean Kean. “Avi Schnall provided no information on his expenditures or his funding. This lack of transparency is alarming.”
Considering these allegations, the Kean and Thomson for Assembly campaign urgently calls upon ELEC to conduct a comprehensive investigation into the Schnall campaign's apparent violations and demands that the Schnall campaign disclose their campaign's secret funding sources and admit to their wrongdoing.
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FROM THE CAMPAIGN OF SINGER, KEAN, AND THOMSON
Contact: Greg Harris
732-814-9959
