Wisniewski, Oliver, Diegnan, Benson, Conaway &
Coughlin Bill Released by Assembly Panel
Would Have N.J. Join 32 Other States that Allow Early
Voting
(TRENTON) –
Legislation Assembly Democrats Deputy Speaker John Wisniewski, Speaker Sheila Y.
Oliver, Patrick J. Diegnan Jr., Daniel R. Benson, Herb Conaway M.D. and Craig J.
Coughlin introduced to allow early voting in New Jersey in primary and general
elections was advanced Monday by an Assembly panel.
The bill
(A-3553) aims to give residents more voting alternatives following the Election
Day woes created by Hurricane Sandy.
"People are
busy, and many have long work days or responsibilities that prevent them from
hitting the polls on Election Day,” said Wisniewski (D-Middlesex). “Then there
are natural disasters that we simply can't plan for. Sandy threw a wrench into
the machinery of Election Day and created tremendous confusion. This is a matter
of convenience and ensuring every resident who is registered and wants to vote
will have the opportunity to do so.”
“The right to
vote and participate in the democratic process is one of our most sacred
rights,” said Oliver (D-Essex/Passaic). “We should give residents every chance
to exercise it."
The bill
establishes an early voting process to allow voters to cast their votes at
specially designated polling places, starting on the fifth Monday before both
the primary election and the general election, and ending on the second calendar
day before the election.
A municipality
holding municipal elections on the second Tuesday in May, by an ordinance
adopted by its governing body, may also conduct early voting for those municipal
elections.
"We already
allow absentee and mail-in voting as alternatives to voting on Election Day, so
adding a third option gives residents who may not be able to vote on Election
Day the opportunity to have their voices heard and votes counted makes sense,”
said Diegnan (D-Middlesex). "More than half the country currently allows its
residents to vote early. It's time for New Jersey to give its residents the same
benefit."
“This isn’t a
radical idea,” said Benson (D-Mercer/Middlesex). “In fact, New Jersey trails
most of the nation when it comes to offering voters this convenience. We need to
do better and make voting as easy as possible for our residents.”
“It’s time for
New Jersey to modernize its elections,” said Conaway (D-Burlington). “If this
works well in 32 other states, then it should work just fine in New Jersey.
Easing access to the democratic process is always a good thing.”
“This is a
well-thought out regulated plan that will make it easier for New Jerseyans to
vote while protecting the integrity of the democratic process,” said Coughlin
(D-Middlesex). “Early voting is quite simply the right thing to do for our
state. Even before Sandy proved we need a viable alternative, we needed to catch
up with the rest of the nation.”
As amended by
the committee, this bill establishes an early voting procedure to allow voters
to cast their votes at specially designated polling places, starting on the 15th
day before the primary election and the general election, and ending on the
second calendar day before the election.
A municipality
holding municipal elections on the second Tuesday in May, by an ordinance
adopted by its governing body, may also conduct early voting for those municipal
elections.
Under the bill,
as amended, early voting will enable a registered voter to vote at a designated
polling place before the day of certain elections using a paper ballot.
Designated polling places must be open for early voting on Monday through
Saturday from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. and on Sunday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.
A
duly-registered voter will be permitted to vote after signing an early voting
voter certificate, and after the voter’s eligibility to vote is ascertained in
substantially the same manner as done on election day.
At least once
each day during the early voting period, and prior to the start of the regularly
scheduled election, each county board must make such changes as may be necessary
to the voter’s record in the statewide voter registration system and the
signature copy register used at each polling place to indicate that a voter has
voted in that election using the early voting procedure.
A voter who
participates in early voting would not be permitted to vote by mail-in ballot or
in person on election day.
The bill
provides that each county board of elections is to designate three early voting
locations in each county, except that the county board must designate a total of
five public locations for early voting if the number of registered voters in the
county is at least 150,000 but less than 300,000, and must designate a total of
seven public locations for early voting if the number of registered voters in
the county is 300,000 or more.
Under the bill,
the number of registered voters in each county must be determined ahead of the
selection of early voting sites pursuant to a uniform standard to be developed
by the Secretary of State. Whenever possible, early voting sites must be
geographically located so as to ensure both access in the part of the county
that features the greatest concentration of population, according to the most
recent federal decennial census of the United States, and access in various
geographic areas of the county. No public school building may serve as an early
voting location.
Once early
voting locations are designated in each county, county boards of election must,
as provided by the Secretary of State, evaluate and, if deemed necessary, revise
these locations in order to accommodate significant changes in the number of
registered voters within each county, reflect the population distribution and
density within each county, or enhance convenience when an early voting site has
proven to be inconvenient for the voters, or because of similar circumstances.
The Secretary of State must develop the criteria to be used by county boards of
election to revise the location of early voting sites and must prescribe how
often such revision must take place.
As amended,
this bill will take effect on July 1, 2013, or immediately if enacted after that
date.
The bill was
released by the Assembly Appropriations Committee.
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