Bill Text: NJ A1065 | 2020-2021 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Requires county clerks to place signs near polling place designating point at which electioneering is not permitted.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 3-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2020-01-14 - Introduced, Referred to Assembly State and Local Government Committee [A1065 Detail]
Download: New_Jersey-2020-A1065-Introduced.html
STATE OF NEW JERSEY
219th LEGISLATURE
PRE-FILED FOR INTRODUCTION IN THE 2020 SESSION
Sponsored by:
Assemblywoman MILA M. JASEY
District 27 (Essex and Morris)
Assemblywoman SHAVONDA E. SUMTER
District 35 (Bergen and Passaic)
Assemblyman JOHN F. MCKEON
District 27 (Essex and Morris)
SYNOPSIS
Requires county clerks to place signs near polling place designating point at which electioneering is not permitted.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
Introduced Pending Technical Review by Legislative Counsel.
An Act concerning prohibited and allowable actions in and near polling places and amending R.S.19:34-6 and R.S.19:34-15.
Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. R.S.19:34-6 is amended to read as follows:
19:34-6. a. If a person shall on election day tamper, deface or interfere with any polling booth or obstruct the entrance to any polling place, or obstruct or interfere with any voter, or loiter in or near the polling place, or, with the purpose to obstruct or interfere with any voter or to unduly delay other voters from voting, spend an inordinate amount of time in the polling booth, or do any electioneering within any polling place or within one hundred feet thereof, [he] the person shall be guilty of a crime of the third degree. The county clerk in each county shall designate no-electioneering zones by placing signage inside the polling place and distance markers exactly one hundred feet from each outside entrance or exit of the polling place. The distance markers shall mark the distance within which electioneering is not permitted and the point outside of which electioneering is permitted. Such signage and distance markers shall indicate the prohibition contained in this subsection and shall explicitly indicate that electioneering is legal outside of the one hundred foot distance. Such signage and distance markers shall be placed at least one-half hour before the opening of the polls and shall remain until the polls are closed.
b. This section shall not be construed to prohibit a minor from entering a polling place on the day of an election to vote in a simulated election at that polling place, or persons from supervising or working at a polling place in a simulated election in which minors vote, provided that the county board of elections has determined that the polling place can accommodate simulated election activities without interfering with the orderly conduct of the official voting process.
(cf: P.L.2005, c.154, s.26)
2. R.S.19:34-15 is amended to read as follows:
19:34-15.
If a person shall distribute or display any circular or printed matter or offer
any suggestion or solicit any support for any candidate, party or public
question within the polling place or room or within a distance of one hundred
feet of the outside entrance to such polling place or room, [he] the person shall be guilty of a disorderly persons offense. Pursuant
to subsection a. of R.S.19:34-6, the county clerk in each county shall
designate no-electioneering
zones by placing signage inside the polling place and distance markers exactly one hundred feet from each outside entrance or exit of the polling place.
(cf: P.L.2005, c.154, s.34)
3. This act shall take effect immediately.
STATEMENT
Current law prohibits electioneering inside a polling place and within 100 feet of the outside entrance of a polling place. Electioneering consists of distributing or displaying circular or printed materials that offer suggestions about how to vote or which solicit support for a candidate, party, or public question. This bill requires the county clerk in each county to place signage inside any polling place and distance markers exactly one hundred feet from the outside entrance or exit of any polling place to designate no-electioneering zones and clarify that electioneering is legal outside of those zones. The bill requires county clerks to place the signs in the designated areas one-half hour prior to the opening of the polls and to remove the signs after the polls close. The no-electioneering zones will mark the areas within which electioneering is not permitted.
