ATLANTIC CITY — Mayor Don Guardian says that dead people are voting against him via absentee ballot as part of a voter fraud scheme.

The Republican mayor held a news conference Friday to allege a scheme being run on behalf of his Democratic opponent, City Council President Frank Gilliam.

Gilliam says no one on his campaign would ever do anything illegal.

The mayor's campaign says it has taken evidence of absentee ballot fraud to the Atlantic County Prosecutor's Office and is requesting an investigation before Tuesday's election. The prosecutor's office did not respond.

On Thursday, county voting commissioners discarded a ballot from a woman they said had died in 2015.

The use of absentee ballots in Atlantic City has long been contentious, and has led to several voter fraud criminal cases in recent years.

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