Bill Text: NJ S2882 | 2012-2013 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Requires opportunity to vote early in person using paper ballots on October 16, 2013 for both general election and U.S. Senate vacancy candidates.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2013-06-27 - Substituted by A4249 (1R) [S2882 Detail]
Download: New_Jersey-2012-S2882-Introduced.html
Sponsored by:
Senator NIA H. GILL
District 34 (Essex and Passaic)
SYNOPSIS
Requires opportunity to vote early in person using paper ballots on October 16, 2013 for both general election and U.S. Senate vacancy candidates.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
As introduced.
An Act concerning the opportunity to vote early in person at a polling place for the general election of 2013.
Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. a. Notwithstanding any provision of Title 19 of the Revised Statutes, or any other law, rule, or regulation to the contrary, October 16, 2013 shall be an in person early voting day for both the general election and the special election candidates. The special general election scheduled for October 16, 2013 by the Governor of this State through the writ of election signed by him on June 4, 2013 shall be considered an in person early voting day for both the vacancy in the office of United States Senator and for all offices and public questions to be voted on at the general election on November 5, 2013. A duly registered voter shall be eligible to cast a vote in person at a designated polling place on the day of the early voting day scheduled for October 16, 2013, as designated by this section, to fill a vacancy in the United States Senate and also elect candidates for office to be elected on the general election day of November 5, 2013, and for any public questions required to be voted on by the voters on November 5, 2013.
b. To accomplish the requirements of this section, the October 2013 special election ballot and the November 2013 general election ballot shall be combined. The same number of polling places and poll workers normally allocated in each municipality under Title 19 of the Revised Statutes to conduct a general election shall be designated to conduct the October 2013 early voting, except that all voting on that day shall be conducted using paper ballots. The ballot used on October 16, 2013 shall be labeled "Early Voting / Vote By Mail Ballot" and shall also be used to conduct vote-by-mail for the November 5, 2013 general election. Except for the conduct of voting using only the paper ballots specified herein at each polling place, the voting process for the in person early voting day designated herein shall be the same as that prescribed for the conduct of a general election under Title 19 of the Revised Statutes; provided that the ballots cast on October 16, 2013 shall be placed in a secured ballot box by the voter at each polling place and, at the end of the early voting day, the election officials conducting the election shall transport the secured ballots to a secure location at each county board of elections for safekeeping until the ballots are canvassed on November 5, 2013. The votes cast early on October 16, 2013 shall be counted as provided by law for the counting of votes following the November general election. Every provisional ballot voted on the in person early voting day and determined by a county board to be valid shall be counted and shall be part of the official tally of the results of the November 5, 2013 election. The November 2013 general election ballot shall include all candidates for the vacancy in the position of United States Senator.
c. (1) The appointment of challengers for the October 16, 2013 early voting day shall be in the same manner as provided in chapter 7 of Title 19 of the Revised Statutes for all elections. The name and address of each challenger, including a candidate acting as a challenger or a challenger representing a grouping of two or more candidates, together with the number or name and location of the polling place at which the challenger is to serve, shall be filed with the county board of elections not later than the fifth day preceding the start of the early voting day.
(2) Each challenger, including a candidate acting as a challenger or a challenger representing a grouping of two or more candidates, shall have all of the powers of challengers serving at other elections, as provided for in R.S.19:7-5 and by R.S.19:15-1 et seq.
(3) Any voter whose name does not appear on a challenge list but who is challenged as not qualified or entitled to vote by a challenger duly appointed pursuant to this section shall be entitled to the rights and protections provided by R.S.19:15-18 et seq., and every other applicable section of Title 19 of the Revised Statutes.
d. The Secretary of State shall issue uniform guidelines and policies to be followed at each polling place for the purpose of implementing the provisions of this section, and shall provide appropriate notice to State, county, and local government officials and to the general public as to the availability of early voting required by this section. The Secretary of State shall specify a chain of custody for ballots and voted ballots and shall require, among other specifications deemed necessary by the Secretary of State and county boards of election, that all voted ballots shall be transferred at the end of the early voting day to county boards of election for safekeeping until canvassing on election day as required pursuant to this section.
2. This act shall take effect immediately.
STATEMENT
This bill provides that October 16, 2013 will be an in person early voting day for both the general election and the special election candidates. The special general election scheduled for October 16, 2013 by the Governor of this State through the writ of election signed by him on June 4, 2013 will be considered an in person early voting day for both the vacancy in the office of United States Senator and for all offices and public questions to be voted on at the general election on November 5, 2013.
Under the bill, a duly registered voter will be eligible to cast a vote at a designated polling place on the day of the in person early voting day scheduled for October 16, 2013, as designated by this bill, to fill a vacancy in the United States Senate and also elect candidates for office to be elected on the general election day of November 5, 2013, and for any public questions required to be voted on by the voters on November 5, 2013.
To accomplish the requirements of this bill, the October 2013 special election ballot and the November 2013 general election ballot will be combined. The same number of polling places and poll workers normally allocated in each municipality under Title 19 of the Revised Statutes to conduct a general election will be designated to conduct the October 2013 early voting, except that all voting on that day will be conducted using paper ballots. The ballot used on October 16, 2013 shall be labeled "Early Voting / Vote By Mail Ballot" and will also be used to conduct vote-by-mail for the November 5, 2013 general election. Except for the conduct of voting using only the paper ballots specified herein at each polling place, the voting process for the in person early voting day designated herein will be the same as that prescribed for the conduct of a general election under Title 19 of the Revised Statutes; provided that the ballots cast on October 16, 2013 will be placed in a secured ballot box by the voter at each polling place and, at the end of the early voting day, the election officials conducting the election will transport the secured ballots to a secure location at each county board of elections for safekeeping until the ballots are canvassed on November 5, 2013. The votes cast early on October 16, 2013 will be counted as provided by law for the counting of votes following the November general election. Every provisional ballot voted on the in person early voting day and determined by a county board to be valid will be counted and will be part of the official tally of the results of the November 5, 2013 election. The November 2013 general election ballot will include all candidates for the vacancy in the position of United States Senator. The bill also specifies the challenge procedures to be followed during the early voting day.
The bill directs the Secretary of State to issue uniform guidelines and policies to be followed at each polling place for the purpose of implementing the provisions of the bill, and to provide appropriate notice to State, county, and local government officials and to the general public as to the availability of early voting required by the bill. Except for the requirement to combine the ballots as provided herein, this bill is not intended to affect the conduct of vote-by-mail for the November 5, 2013 general election. The Secretary of State will specify a chain of custody for ballots and voted ballots and will require, among other specifications deemed necessary by the Secretary of State and county boards of election, that all voted ballots shall be transferred at the end of the early voting day to county boards of election for safekeeping until canvassing on election day as required under the bill.
The Appellate Division of the New Jersey Courts recently determined that the Governor's action in calling for a special election to fill the vacant U.S. Senate seat was legal. It is the sponsor's opinion that the special election is not consistent with legislative intent. Nonetheless, absent a successful appeal to the New Jersey Supreme Court, an election will take place this October. By requiring paper ballots to be used at the October 16th election, this bill is intended to respond to a concern raised by the Appellate Division regarding the expense and feasibility of reprogramming, retesting and redeploying thousands of voting machines in the 20 days between the special election on October 16, 2013 and the general election on November 5, 2013. It is also intended to respond to concerns that two elections occurring in such close proximity to one another threaten to confuse voters and decrease voter participation. Permitting voters to vote in either the October or November elections will reduce both the costs of the election and maximize voter turnout.
