EDISON – Racist campaign mailers that were sent anonymously to some township residents and attack two Asian school board candidates are under investigation by authorities.

“The racist message shocks the conscience and is highly offensive," Andrew Carey, Middlesex County Prosecutor Andrew Carey said in a statement. "In order to support the community, our detectives, along with those from the Edison Police Department and other agencies, are examining the facts surrounding the mailing. It has yet to be determined as whether or not a chargeable bias or other crime has been committed.”

The mailers, which were received by residents on Wednesday, say “Make Edison Great Again” while claiming Chinese and Indian residents are “taking over” the town, NJ101.5FM reported.

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School board candidates Jerry Shi and Falguni Patel are featured on the campaign mailers with “deport” stamps on their pictures.

The ads don’t identify the group that paid for them, which may be in violation of state election law.

Patel, a Democratic committeewoman and immigration lawyer, says she’s disgusted by the pamphlets.

“I was born and raised in New Jersey,” she said. “To see the word ‘deport’ on my picture … really it’s just outrageous.”

In the township, nine candidates are vying for three three-year seats on the board of education and two candidates are running for a one-year unexpired term on the board.

Both mayoral candidates, as well as the chairs of the Middlesex County Democratic Organization and Middlesex County Republican Organization have denounced the mailers.

In a statement, Mayor Thomas Lankey, a Democrat who is up for reelection, described the campaign flyer as "vile and racist."

"Our community proudly embraces our ethnic, cultural and religious diversity," he said. "My Administration, in keeping with our progressive Democratic principles, has supported and encouraged our newest residents to get involved in public affairs, to run for elected office, to work in public service, and to hold appointed posts on local boards and commissions."

Lankey said the township will do everything possible to expose the "shameful people behind this" and that all documents were referred to the township Chief of Police and the Middlesex County Prosecutor.

He said as mayor, his top priority is to protect the safety of all residents.

"Rest assured, Edison will react swiftly to any potential threats that result from this flyer being disseminated in my community," he said.

Republican mayoral candidate Keith Hahn said "this flier is shameful and disgraceful and cannot be tolerated."

In a statement Thursday, Middlesex County Democratic Chairman Kevin McCabe said, he is "profoundly disgusted by the racist campaign flyer circulating in Edison today."

"This kind of disgraceful message has absolutely no place in Middlesex County or in New Jersey," he said. "It is absolutely antithetical to everything we stand for as New Jerseyans and as Americans."

McCabe called on every single candidate running in next week's election in Edison, regardless of party, "to immediately denounce this horrific flyer in the strongest terms and remember that we are, first and foremost, a state and a community that has always prided itself on our diversity."

Lucille Panos, chair of the Middlesex County Republican Organization, condemned the mailings

"This was not put out by any Republicans," she said. "We have the most diversified ticket that Middlesex County has ever had. We condemn any such divisive talk."

Sapana Shah, attorney and member of the Township Council, said she has alerted various groups, including state agencies, the ACLU and National Bar Association, about the mailings.

“I’m basically getting as much outreach as I can,” Shah said, adding she has been working with a group of attorneys, who are volunteering their time. “It’s so egregious. There is incredible outrage nationally.”

Shah urged residents to get out and vote on Nov. 7.

“The biggest thing to deter this type of language and behavior is make sure you fight it with the power to vote,” she said.

In a statement, Assemblyman Craig Coughlin, who is running for another term on the General Assembly in the 19th District, said "Middlesex County is one of the most diverse, vibrant counties in what is one of the most diverse, vibrant states in the nation. Edison, our largest city, has always prided itself on being a welcoming community to every single person who wants to live there, regardless of race or religion. That is why the anonymous flyer circulated in Edison this week is so repulsive."

Coughlin said whoever issued the flyer "is a coward who spouts hate speech but hides behind anonymity."

"That person does not speak for his community, our county or our state and all of us should disavow his or her hateful message," he said.

The flyer is receiving attention far beyond the township's borders.

Congresswoman Grace Meng (D-Queens), Vice Chair of the Democratic National Committee, condemned the mailers in a statement released Thursday afternoon.

“One of our country's greatest strengths is its vast diversity, and this hateful rhetoric has no place in our democracy and runs contrary to everything the Garden State stands for," Meng said. "More than one in five New Jersey residents is an immigrant, and nearly half of Edison, New Jersey’s residents are Asian. These include hard working business owners, taxpayers, teachers, mothers, children and neighbors who love their communities. This racist mailer is shameful and disgusting and was produced for no other intention than to empower divisive forces of bigotry and hate."

More than 45 percent of the township's residents were born abroad. The township has a large Asian-American community consisting of Chinese and Indian immigrants.

The American Civil Liberties Union-New Jersey (ACLU-NJ), the League of Women Voters of New Jersey (League), and the New Jersey Institute for Social Justice (Institute) also issued statements condemning the mailer.

“This mailer hits New Jerseyans so personally because we know that the qualities this flier disparages – diversity, unity, strength through difference, even the democratic process and democracy itself – are so fundamental to what it means to be American,” said ACLU-NJ Executive Director Amol Sinha. “We must organize and fight back against hateful, bigoted attacks on our immigrant communities and defend the rights we share. In New Jersey, an attack on one of us is an attack on us all.”

The mailer is an example of how the current political environment is normalizing and fueling racism, said Jesse Burns, executive director of the League of Women Voters of New Jersey.

“Only by standing together and making it clear that this is unacceptable and will not be tolerated can we begin to fight back,” added Jesse Burns, who supports calls for a full investigation to uncover the group behind the ad.

The Asian Pacific American Lawyers Association of New Jersey, the New Jersey Muslim Lawyers Association, the National Asian Pacific American Bar Association, and the National Asian Pacific American Law Student Association also released a statement condemning the mailer, as did the New Jersey chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-NJ), the nation’s largest Muslim civil rights and advocacy organization.

"This kind of divisive campaign rhetoric is a threat to a free and open democratic system,” said James Sues, executive director of CAIR-NJ. “The repulsive message represented in this postcard is a painful reminder of the extreme divisiveness that characterizes our current political climate.”

Civil rights groups will be working throughout the state on Election Day to ensure that voters have access to the polls. Through this non-partisan effort, civil rights groups seek to ensure maximum participation in this important election by New Jersey's voters, according to a news release.

The ACLU-NJ (973-854-1719) and the League (1-800-792-VOTE) are hosting voter information hotlines, and the ACLU-NJ is available to assist voters in court when necessary. Voters can also call the national Election Protection Hotline at 866-OUR-VOTE.

Contributing: Associated Press

Staff Writer Susan Loyer: 732-565-7243; sloyer@gannettnj.com