3 Pennsylvania Officials Plead Guilty To Election Fraud
In Millbourne, Pennsylvania, three Democratic officials where involved in extensive election fraud during the 2021 elections, using various deceptive tactics to influence the outcomes. Despite their efforts, the candidate they supported lost the mayoral race by 30 votes. On April 1, they pleaded guilty to multiple election fraud charges in front of U.S. District judge Harvey Bartle III.
The officials devised a plan to manipulate mail-in voting by changing the voter registration addresses of individuals living outside Millbourne, allowing them to request mail-in ballots, fill them out, and submit them as legitimate votes for their candidate, MD Nurul Hasan. This scheme exploited Pennsylvania’s voter registration system, showcasing vulnerabilities that could enable cheating.
Despite their orchestrated fraud, the candidate they backed ultimately lost the election. The officials—Hasan,MD Munsur Ali,and MD Rafikul Islam—are set for sentencing on June 18,facing possibly hefty prison sentences up to 165 years collectively. The case highlights concerns about election integrity in Pennsylvania and emphasizes the need for reforms to prevent similar fraudulent activities in the future.
In the dumpy little borough of Millbourne, Pennsylvania, three elected Democrats cheated in the 2021 election in almost every imaginable way. Their candidate, one of the three cheaters, still lost his bid for mayor by some 30 votes. Two are still in office as of April 4, according to a phone call to the borough hall.
The three pleaded guilty April 1 to a host of election fraud offenses at separate hearings before United States District Judge Harvey Bartle III.
To examine their scheme is to see in play many of the red flags election integrity experts have warned about. It is a textbook for cheaters to study, and they will, unless Pennsylvania changes some laws to make it harder to cheat.
Tiny Millbourne Borough, population 1,300, lies in the greater Philadelphia metro area and is about eight blocks long, or .1 square mile of mostly run down, cookie-cutter apartment buildings. There are bars on windows and spent old cars on lawns. It’s claim to fame is the Millbourne Train Station to Philly; the Philadelphia Sikh Society, the main building in town; and now, election fraud.
The Race
According to an indictment filed Feb. 18, 2025, in U.S. Court in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, here is what happened in 2021 when three sitting members of the Millbourne Borough Board decided to run for reelection.
Councilman MD Munsur Ali won the Democrat primary in May and advanced to the November ballot.
Councilman MD Rafikul Islam lost in the primary.
Council Vice President MD Nurul Hasan narrowly lost the primary, 138-120. Hasan decided to run a write-in campaign for mayor in the general election, and Islam and Ali said they would support that effort. According to U.S. Attorney David Metcalf, the three conspired to steal the election.
Mail-In Voting
The plan was a seven-step process. Get identification information from people living out of town, then use their ID to change their voter registration address to Millbourne using Pennsylvania’s online portal for voter registration.
Next, electronically request mail-in ballots and have the ballots sent to mailboxes the three cheaters could access.
Get the ballots from Millbourne mailboxes; fill out the ballot voting for Hasan as mayor; then stuff the ballot into the envelope and write the “voter’s” name on the envelope as the official signature. The final step was to submit the bogus ballots at the Delaware County Board of Elections.
This signature step forces a fraudster to forge someone’s name. Democrats have been trying to get the state to drop the envelope signature requirement, which would make it easier to cheat.
They also prefer unmanned drop boxes where cheaters could bring more than one ballot, undetected.
Help From Friends
The three admitted they contacted friends and acquaintances living outside Millbourne and asked to register them for voting in Millbourne, and then cast mail-in ballots on their behalf for Hasan to be mayor.
“Hasan and Ali persuaded many of their non-Millbourne friends and acquaintances to provide them with personal identification information so that…Hasan and Ali could register them to vote in Millbourne,” a DOJ statement said. “During many of these conversations, Hasan and Ali told their non-Millbourne friends and acquaintances that they would not get in trouble, as long as they did not vote in another election in November 2021.”
Hasan and Ali also used the ID of some people without telling them.
“Every time that Hasan accessed the [state voter registration] website to change a voter registration address, he provided an email address for the voter. Many times, Hasan provided one of four email addresses that he used and accessed,” the statement said. “To divert suspicion from himself, however, Hasan sometimes provided email addresses belonging to other people, who knowingly and willfully permitted Hasan to use their email addresses to cover up Hasan’s actions. One of those people was Islam, who allowed Hasan to use two of Islam’s email addresses when Hasan fraudulently changed the voter registration addresses for six individuals. Islam also permitted Hasan to use two of Islam’s email addresses when requesting mail-in ballots for five non-Millbourne residents.”
The Delaware County Board of Elections found 549 registered voters in Millbourne for the May primary, increased to 578 registered voters by the November election. Most were changed addressed of people previously marked as living outside Millbourne.
Requiring in-person voting and photo voter ID would have prevented this scam. While some states require photo ID, Pennsylvania does not.
Failed Attempt
The Department of Justice says the three falsely registered nearly three dozen non-Millbourne residents and cast ballots for them. It was not enough. Hasan lost 165 to 138.
Hasan, 48, pleaded guilty to all 33 charges, one count of conspiracy, 16 counts of giving false information in registering to vote, and 16 counts of fraudulent voter registration.
Ali, 48, pleaded guilty to 25 charges, one count of conspiracy, 12 counts of giving false information in registering to vote, and 12 counts of fraudulent voter registration.
Islam, 52, pleaded guilty to seven charges one count of conspiracy, three counts of giving false information in registering to vote, and three counts of fraudulent voter registration.
Since the 2021 election, Hasan found his way back to the board. Both Hasan and Ali currently sit on the Millbourne Council Board.
The three are scheduled for sentencing June 18 and face maximum possible sentences of five years in prison for each of the charges to which they have pleaded guilty. For example, Hasan’s 33 charges x 5 year prison=165 years.
The case was investigated by the FBI, the Delaware County District Attorney’s Office, and a grand jury. The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Mark Dubnoff.
Metcalf said in the statement that election integrity cases are a priority for his office.
Beth Brelje is an elections correspondent for The Federalist. She is an award-winning investigative journalist with decades of media experience.
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