New Jersey-2024-S167-Introduced

An Act concerning election officials and election workers, and amending and supplementing Title 19 of the New Jersey Statutes.

Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:

1. Section 43 of P.L.1993, c.182 (C.19:34-1.1) is amended to read as follows:

43. a. Any person, other than an election official, who:

(1) knowingly and willfully intimidates, threatens or coerces, or attempts to intimidate, threaten or coerce, any person for registering to vote, voting or attempting to register to vote or vote, urging or aiding any person to register to vote, to vote or to attempt to register or vote or exercising any right under the provisions of P.L.1994, c.182 (C.19:31-6.11 et al.) is guilty of a crime of the second degree;

(2) knowingly and willfully deprives, defrauds or attempts to deprive or defraud the residents of this State of a fair and impartially conducted election by the procurement or submission of voter registration applications that are known by the person to be materially false, fictitious or fraudulent under the provisions of Title 19 of the Revised Statutes or the procurement, casting or tabulation of ballots that are known by the person to be materially false, fictitious or fraudulent under the provisions of Title 19 of the Revised Statutes, is guilty of a crime of the second degree;

(3) in writing, via electronic means, intimidates, threatens, or coerces, or attempts to intimidate, threaten or coerce, any election official or election worker in the discharge of the election official's or election official's duty is guilty of a disorderly persons offense;

(4) in writing, via electronic means, attempts to induce any election official to violate or refuse to comply with the election official's duty or any law regulating the same, is guilty of a disorderly persons offense; and

(5) knowingly and willfully prevents an election official or election worker from performing official duties is guilty of a disorderly persons offense.

b. Any election official who:

(1) knowingly and willfully intimidates, threatens or coerces, or attempts to intimidate, threaten or coerce, any person for registering to vote, voting or attempting to register to vote or vote, urging or aiding any person to register to vote, to vote or to attempt to register or vote, or exercising any right under the provisions of P.L.1994, c.182 (C.19:31-6.11 et al.); or

(2) knowingly and willfully deprives, defrauds or attempts to deprive or defraud the residents of this State of a fair and impartially conducted election by the procurement or submission of voter registration applications that are known by the election official to be materially false, fictitious or fraudulent under the provisions of Title 19 of the Revised Statutes or the procurement, casting or tabulation of ballots that are known by the election official to be materially false, fictitious or fraudulent under the provisions of Title 19 of the Revised Statutes, is guilty of a crime of the second degree and, in addition to any other penalties provided under the law, shall be permanently barred from serving as an election official.

c. As used in this section[,] and sections 2 and 3 of P.L. , c. (C. )(pending before the Legislature as this bill):

"election official" shall include, but not be limited to, any superintendent or deputy superintendent of elections, commissioner of registration, member of a county board of elections, county clerk, municipal clerk, member of a district board of elections, member of a board of county canvassers and member of a board of State canvassers;

"election worker" means a county clerk and recorder, a person currently employed by a county to perform election duties, a municipal clerk, a person currently employed by a municipal government to perform election duties, the Secretary of State, and a person currently employed by the Secretary of State to perform election duties but excludes an election judge; and

"personal information" means a person's home address, home telephone number, personal mobile telephone number, or personal email address; a photograph of the person; directions to a person's home; or a photograph or description of a person's home, vehicle, or vehicle license plate.

(cf: P.L.2005, c.154, s.21)

2. (New section) a. It shall be a disorderly persons offense for any person to knowingly make available on the Internet personal information about an election official or an election official's immediate family if the dissemination of personal information poses an imminent and serious threat to the safety of the election official or the election official's immediate family and the person making the information available on the Internet knows or reasonably should know of the imminent and serious threat.

b. There shall be a presumption that the dissemination of the personal information of an election official or an election official's immediate family poses an imminent and serious threat to the safety of the election official or the election official's immediate family if a federal, state, or local law enforcement agency has issued a safety advisory or warning for election officials that is in effect and applies to the election official.

3. (New section) a. An election worker may submit a written request to the Division of Elections in the Department of State to remove the election worker's personal information from records that are available on the Internet. Upon receipt of the request the division shall remove from the Internet the personal information of the election worker.

b. An election worker's written request to remove personal information from records that the official makes available on the Internet shall include evidence:

(1) that the person submitting the request is an election worker; and

(2) as to why the person believes that the dissemination of the personal information contained in the records that the official makes available on the Internet poses an imminent and serious threat to the safety of the election worker.

4. This act shall take effect immediately.

STATEMENT

This bill establishes four disorderly persons offenses concerning offenses against election officials. First, the bill establishes a disorderly persons offense for any person to intimidate, threaten, or coerce, or attempt to intimidate, threaten, or coerce an election official or election worker in the discharge of their official duties. Second, this bill establishes a disorderly persons offense for any person who attempts to induce an election official to violate or refuse to comply with the election official's duty or any law regulating the same. Third, this bill establishes a disorderly persons offense for a person to knowingly and willfully prevent an election official or election worker from performing their official duties. Fourth, this bill establishes a disorderly persons offense for a person who knowingly makes available on the Internet personal information about an election official or an election official's immediate family if the dissemination of the personal information poses an imminent and serious threat to the safety of the election official or the election official's immediate family and the person making the information available on the Internet knows or reasonably should know of the imminent and serious threat.

Finally, the bill requires the Divisions of Elections in the New Jersey Department of State to remove an election worker's personal information from records that are available on the Internet at the worker's written request. The request is to provide evidence that the person submitting the request is an election worker and evidence as to why the person believes the dissemination of personal information in the records poses an imminent and serious threat to the safety of the worker.