Bill Text: NJ S3851 | 2022-2023 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Provides additional ways for transferring deceased voter's record to Statewide voter registration system's death file; requires Secretary of State match registration system with Social Security Administration deceased persons database.
Spectrum: Bipartisan Bill
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2023-05-15 - Introduced in the Senate, Referred to Senate State Government, Wagering, Tourism & Historic Preservation Committee [S3851 Detail]
Download: New_Jersey-2022-S3851-Introduced.html
Sponsored by:
Senator VIN GOPAL
District 11 (Monmouth)
SYNOPSIS
Provides additional ways for transferring deceased voter's record to Statewide voter registration system's death file; requires Secretary of State match registration system with Social Security Administration deceased persons database.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
As introduced.
An Act concerning the transfer of a deceased voter's record to the Statewide voter registration system's death file and supplementing Title 19 of the Revised Statues and amending P.L.2005, c.145.
Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. (New section) a. In addition to the provisions of R.S.19:31-16, a deceased registrant's voter registration record may be transferred to the death file by the commissioner of registration of the county in which the deceased registrant is a registered voter upon the proper execution by the next of kin of a form affirming the death of the deceased registrant, as prescribed by the Secretary of State, and a copy of the deceased registrant's death certificate. A copy of the deceased registrant's death certificate and the affirmation statement shall be filed in person by the deceased registrant's next of kin with the commissioner of registration. The affirmation statement shall be notarized. Upon receipt of the deceased registrant's death certificate and the affirmation statement, the commissioner of registration shall transfer the deceased registrant's voter registration record to the death file as soon as possible.
b. The Director of the Division of Veterans' Healthcare Services in the Department of Military and Veterans' Affairs or a nursing home administrator, as that term is defined in section 12 of P.L.1968, c.356 (C.30:11-22), may execute a form prescribed by the Secretary of State to notify the commissioner of registration of the county in which the deceased registrant is a registered voter of the death of a veterans' facility or nursing home facility resident who is a registered voter. The director or the nursing home administrator's signature on such form shall be notarized.
c. A funeral director, as defined in subsection f. of section 3 of P.L.1952, c.3 (C.45:7-34), may execute a form prescribed by the Secretary of State to notify the commissioner of registration of the county in which the deceased registrant is a registered voter of the death of a registered voter. The funeral director's signature on such form shall be notarized.
2. Section 2 of P.L.2005, c.145 (C.19:31-32) is amended to read as follows:
2. a. The Statewide voter registration system shall replace all other computer or electronic-based registry files of voters and other voter registration files established and maintained by each county commissioner of registration for voter registration and election administration purposes established pursuant to the provisions of Title 19 and Title 40 of the Revised Statutes, and shall be the single system for storing and managing the official file of registered voters throughout the State. A commissioner may, however, continue to use and maintain as a supplement to the system the original and duplicate permanent registration binders and voting records and shall continue to use and maintain the signature copy registers or polling records provided for in Title 19 of the Revised Statutes.
b. Each county commissioner of registration shall be responsible for adding to, deleting from, amending and otherwise conducting on a regular basis maintenance for the files of every legally registered voter in that commissioner's county as contained in the Statewide voter registration system, pursuant to the provisions of section 303 of Pub.L.107-252 (42 U.S.C. s. 15301 et seq.) and Title 19 of the Revised Statutes. Each commissioner shall be responsible for verifying the accuracy of the name, address and other data of registered voters in the commissioner's respective county as contained in the system. The commissioner who receives the voter registration forms of individuals who have registered to vote in the county or who are re-registering for any reason shall be responsible for entering the information on those forms into the system on an expedited basis, and electronically transferring into the system the information from online voter registration forms completed pursuant to section 1 of P.L.2019, c.382 (C.19:31-6.4c), including but not limited to forms and information received pursuant to chapter 31 of Title 19 of the Revised Statutes. The information the commissioner shall use to update and maintain the system shall be that required by subsection c. of section 1 of P.L.2005, c.145 (C.19:31-31).
c. The Secretary of State and each county commissioner of registration shall be responsible for developing and providing the technological security measures needed to prevent unauthorized access to the Statewide voter registration system established pursuant to section 1 of P.L.2005, c.145 (C.19:31-31) and to the information for any individual on the system required by subsection c. of section 1 of that act.
d. The Secretary of State, in consultation with each county commissioner of registration, shall develop minimum standards to safeguard the accuracy of the files contained in the Statewide voter registration system. Such standards shall include procedures to ensure that reasonable effort is made to remove registrants who are ineligible to vote pursuant to federal or State law and to ensure that eligible voters are not removed in error from the system.
e. (1) The Secretary of State and the Chief Administrator of the New Jersey Motor Vehicle Commission in the Department of Transportation shall enter into an agreement to match information in the database of the Statewide voter registration system with information in the database of the commission, including social security numbers, to the extent required to enable verification of the accuracy of the information provided on applications for voter registration, and to locate and utilize for voter registration purposes the digitized signatures of licensed drivers or holders of non-driver identification cards who register to vote using an online voter registration form, as provided pursuant to section 1 of P.L.2019, c.382 (C.19:31-6.4c).
(2) The Secretary of State shall enter into an agreement with the Commissioner of the Department of Health and Senior Services to match information in the database of the Statewide voter registration system with State agency information on death records.
(3) The Secretary of State shall enter into an agreement with the Commissioner of the Department of Corrections to match information in the database of the Statewide voter registration system with State agency information on individuals who are incarcerated, on probation, or on parole as the result of a conviction for an indictable offense.
(4) The Secretary of State shall enter into an agreement with the Administrative Office of the Courts to match information in the database of the Statewide voter registration system with State agency information on individuals who are incarcerated, on probation, or on parole as the result of a conviction for an indictable offense.
(5) The Secretary of State shall enter into an agreement with the State Parole Board to match information in the database of the Statewide voter registration system with State agency information on individuals who are on parole.
(6) The Secretary of State shall enter into an agreement with the Social Security Administration to match information in the database of the Statewide voter registration system with the database of deceased persons maintained by the Social Security Administration on or before October 1 of each year.
(cf: P.L.2019, c.382, s.5)
3. This act shall take effect immediately.
STATEMENT
This bill provides additional ways for deceased voters to be transferred from the active file to the death file of the Statewide voter registration system and requires the Secretary of State to conduct a match of the registration system with the database of deceased persons maintained by the Social Security Administration.
Under current law, each month, the health officer or other officer in charge of records of death in each municipality is required to file with the commissioner of registration of the county in which the municipality is located the age, date of death, and the names and addresses of all persons 18 years of age or older who have died within such municipality during the previous month. In addition, the State registrar of vital statistics, the Commissioner of the Department of Health, and funeral directors across the State are required to file death certificates. If the commissioner of registration finds sufficient evidence that the voter is deceased, the deceased voter's record is transferred from the active file to the death file of the Statewide voter registration system.
This bill provides additional ways for deceased voters' records to be transferred. Under the bill, the next of kin of a deceased voter will be permitted to submit a form created by the Secretary of State to have a deceased family member transferred from the active file to the death file. In addition, the Director of the Division of Veterans' Healthcare Services or an administrator of a nursing home facility may submit a form created by the Secretary of State to notify the commissioner of registration of a deceased resident and have the resident transferred from the active file to the death file. Funeral home directors in the State would also be eligible to submit a form to the commissioner.
Additionally, the bill would require the Secretary of State to conduct a match of the Statewide voter registration system with the database of deceased persons maintained by the Social Security Administration.
