Bill Text: NJ S1595 | 2010-2011 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Requires mandatory audit of new voter registration records before an election and of absentee and provisional ballots after an election in randomly selected districts.
Spectrum: Bipartisan Bill
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2010-03-04 - Introduced in the Senate, Referred to Senate State Government, Wagering, Tourism & Historic Preservation Committee [S1595 Detail]
Download: New_Jersey-2010-S1595-Introduced.html
Sponsored by:
Senator RONALD L. RICE
District 28 (Essex)
SYNOPSIS
Requires mandatory audit of new voter registration records before an election and of absentee and provisional ballots after an election in randomly selected districts.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
As introduced.
An Act providing for audits of certain election results and records and supplementing chapter 61 of Title 19 of the Revised Statutes
Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. a. Notwithstanding any law, rule, or regulation to the contrary, the Attorney General shall appoint each year an independent audit team. The team shall conduct each year a hand count of all the absentee and provisional ballots cast in at least two percent of the election districts selected at random where elections are held for federal or State office, including the offices of Governor, Lieutenant Governor, and member of the Legislature, on the day of the general election, and for those county and municipal offices designated by the Attorney General. The number and composition of the audit team shall be at the discretion of the Attorney General, except that at least one member shall have verifiable expertise in the field of statistics.
b. The independent audit team shall conduct the absentee and provisional ballot audit in accordance with the following procedures.
(1) No later than 24 hours after the final vote count after an election, the Attorney General shall determine and then announce publicly the districts in the State in which audits shall be conducted.
(2) The selection of the election districts and county and municipal elections to be audited shall be made by the Attorney General on a random basis using a uniform distribution in which all districts and county and municipal elections have an equal chance of being selected, in accordance with such procedures as the Attorney General deems appropriate.
(3) With respect to votes cast other than at the election district on the date of the election, and votes cast by provisional ballot on the date of the election that are certified and counted by the county board of elections, including votes cast by military service voters and overseas federal election voters, the independent audit team shall count by hand the applicable paper ballots and compare those results with the count of such votes announced by the county boards of elections.
(4) As soon as practicable after the completion of an audit conducted pursuant to this section, the Attorney General shall publish the results of the audit and shall include a comparison of the results of the election in the districts as determined by the independent audit team performing the audit, and the final vote count in the districts as announced by the county boards of elections.
(5) A county shall not certify the results of an election that is subject to an audit performed pursuant to this section prior to the completion of the audit and the publication of the results thereof, except to the extent necessary to permit the State to make a final determination with respect to any controversy or contest concerning the appointment of its electors for President or Vice President of the United States prior to the deadline established in section 6, Title 3 of the United States Code.
(6) If the Attorney General determines that any of the hand counts conducted under this section show cause for concern about the accuracy of the results of an election in the State, or in a county or a municipality, the independent audit team may conduct hand counts under this section in such additional election districts as the Attorney General considers appropriate to resolve any such concerns.
2. Notwithstanding any law, rule, or regulation to the contrary, the audit team appointed each year by the Attorney General pursuant to section 1 of P.L. , c. (C. ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill) shall also conduct, prior to each election, an audit of new voter registration records to verify the accuracy of these records. The records to be audited shall represent 10 percent of all new voter registration records selected at random in each county in the State. If the Attorney General determines that any of the records audited pursuant to this section show cause for concern about the accuracy and veracity of new voter registrations in any county in the State, the independent audit team may conduct a more extensive audit under this section in such county or counties as the Attorney General considers appropriate. As used in this section, "new voter registration record" means any new voter registration form prepared pursuant to section 16 of P.L.1974, c.30 (C.19:31-6.4), filed by a voter and received by the appropriate county election official within the 12 month period preceding an election.
3. This act shall take effect immediately.
STATEMENT
The purpose of this bill is to require a mandatory audit of a 10 percent sample of new voter registration records before an election in each county, and of all absentee and provisional ballots cast in two percent of randomly selected voting districts in the State. The audits would be conducted by an audit team appointed by the Attorney General, who would have discretion as to the number and composition of such a team, but it must include at least one member who has verifiable expertise in the field of statistics.
Regarding the provisional and absentee ballot audits, the team will conduct hand counts of all the absentee and provisional ballots cast in at least two percent of randomly selected election districts where elections are held for federal or State offices, including the offices of Governor, Lieutenant Governor, and member of the Legislature, during the general election, and for county and municipal offices designated by the Attorney General. Under the bill, the Attorney General will determine and then announce publicly the districts in the State in which ballot audits will be conducted within 24 hours after the final vote count for an election. If the Attorney General determines that any of the hand counts show cause for concern about the accuracy of the results of any election, the independent audit team may conduct hand counts in additional election districts as the Attorney General considers appropriate to resolve any concerns.
Regarding the audits of new voter registration records, the audit team will select a random sample consisting of 10 percent of all new voter registration records in each county before each election. If the Attorney General determines that any of the records audited show cause for concern about the accuracy and veracity of new voter registration records in any county in the State, the bill permits the independent audit team to conduct a more extensive audit in the county or counties as the Attorney General considers appropriate.
