Bill Text: NJ S97 | 2010-2011 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Establishes program in Department of Law and Public Safety for Attorney General to audit, investigate and review superintendents of elections and county boards of elections.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2010-01-12 - Introduced in the Senate, Referred to Senate State Government, Wagering, Tourism & Historic Preservation Committee [S97 Detail]
Download: New_Jersey-2010-S97-Introduced.html
Sponsored by:
Senator RONALD L. RICE
District 28 (Essex)
SYNOPSIS
Establishes program in Department of Law and Public Safety for Attorney General to audit, investigate and review superintendents of elections and county boards of elections.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
Introduced Pending Technical Review by Legislative Counsel
An Act establishing a program in the Department of Law and Public Safety for the auditing of superintendents of elections and county boards of elections by the Attorney General, 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. There is established within the Department of Law and Public Safety a full-time program of audit, investigation and performance review for the purpose of providing increased accountability, integrity, and oversight of: (1) the administration of voter registration and all other elections-related responsibilities, as conducted by the superintendent of elections in each county with such an officer and the board of elections of each county; and (2) the performance of all officers, employees, appointees, functions, and programs, to promote efficiency and to detect and prevent misconduct within the operations of the office of the superintendent in each county with such an office and the board of elections within each county.
b. (1) The program shall be conducted by and under the control of the Attorney General in cooperation with the Secretary of State and the Director of the Division of Elections in the Department of State. The Attorney General shall have all the powers necessary to carry out the duties and functions and to fulfill the responsibilities described in this section.
(2) The Attorney General shall act in accordance with any prevailing national and professional standards, rules, and practices relating to such audits, investigations, and performance reviews. In particular, the Attorney General shall audit, investigate and review the office of the superintendent of elections in each county with such an office and the board of elections within each county with respect to:
(a) whether current State and federal laws and procedures relating to voter registration, the custodianship of voting machines, the selection of polling places, the appointment and training of poll workers, the processing of requests for absentee ballots and the counting of such ballots and provisional and emergency ballots are being followed;
(b) the hours and times worked weekly, annually and especially on the day of an election by employees of the office of the superintendent and of the county board;
(c) the amount of salary and overtime compensation provided to these employees, especially as such compensation compares with length of time such employees have been employed by the office of the superintendent, the county board, the State or any instrumentality of the State;
(d) whether any employees of the superintendent or the county board have been convicted of a crime under the laws of this State or any other state, whether background checks are performed on employees before such employees are hired and how often such checks are updated;
(e) the number of complaints filed against the office of the superintendent or the county board in general, or individual employees of each in particular, for not complying with current laws regarding the administration of elections as required to be performed by their respective offices, the nature of each such complaint and how the complaint was resolved; and
(f) such other matters as the Attorney General or the Secretary of State believe merit audit, investigation and review.
c. The program shall be conducted in each county at least once within a four-year period on a revolving basis on a schedule determined by the Attorney General, so that the office of the superintendent of elections in each county with such an office and the board of elections within each county shall have been reviewed at least once during each four-year period occurring after the enactment of P.L. , c. (C. ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill), and at such additional times and for such reasons as the Attorney General or the Secretary of State may deem necessary.
d. In furtherance of an investigation, the Attorney General may compel at a specific time and place, by subpoena, the appearance and sworn testimony of any person whom the Attorney General reasonably believes may be able to give information relating to a matter under investigation. For this purpose, the Attorney General is empowered to administer oaths and examine witnesses under oath, and compel any person to produce at a specific time and place, by subpoena, any documents, books, records, papers, objects, or other evidence that the Attorney General reasonably believes may relate to a matter under investigation.
If any person to whom such subpoena is issued fails to appear or, having appeared, refuses to give testimony, or fails to produce the books, papers or other documents required, the Attorney General may apply to the Superior Court and the court may order the person to appear and give testimony or produce the books, papers or other documents, as applicable. Any person failing to obey the court's order may be punished by the court for contempt.
A person compelled to appear by the Attorney General and provide sworn testimony shall have the right to be accompanied by counsel, who shall be permitted to advise the witness of his or her rights. A witness compelled to appear and testify shall be accorded all due process rights.
e. The Attorney General is authorized to cooperate and conduct joint investigations with other oversight or law enforcement authorities. The Attorney General is authorized and shall be permitted to participate in investigations conducted by other oversight or law enforcement authorities in this State.
f. The Attorney General may undertake an investigation based on a complaint filed with the Attorney General in regard to the conduct of the office of superintendent of elections in a county with such an office or county board of elections, as such conduct relates to the provisions of this section. The Attorney General may decline to investigate a complaint received when it is determined that: the complaint is trivial, frivolous, vexatious or not made in good faith; the complaint has been too long delayed to justify a present investigation; or the resources available, considering established priorities, are insufficient for an adequate investigation.
g. The Attorney General, whenever he or she deems it necessary as a result of an audit, investigation or performance review conducted pursuant to this section, may initiate a civil, criminal or administrative action against any individual found to be in violation of existing State law.
h. The Attorney General shall issue no later than September 15 of each year a report on the findings of audits, investigations and performance reviews performed pursuant to the program established by this section, and provide recommendations, if deemed necessary, for corrective or remedial action, to the Governor, the President of the Senate and the Minority Leader thereof, and the Speaker of the General Assembly and the Minority Leader thereof, the Secretary of State, the Director of the Division of Elections, and the superintendents and county boards that have been reviewed during that year.
2. This act shall take effect immediately.
STATEMENT
This bill establishes within the Department of Law and Public Safety a full-time program of audit, investigation and performance review for the purpose of providing increased accountability, integrity, and oversight of: 1) the administration of voter registration and all other elections-related responsibilities, as conducted by the superintendent of elections in each county with such an office and board of elections of each county; and 2) the performance of all officers, employees, appointees, functions, and programs, to promote efficiency and to detect and prevent misconduct within the programs and operations of the office of the superintendent in each county with such an office and board of elections within each county.
The program is to be conducted by and under the control of the Attorney General in cooperation with the Secretary of State and the Director of the Division of Elections in the Department of State. In particular, the Attorney General is to audit, investigate and review the office of the superintendent of elections in each county with such an office and the board of elections within each county with respect to:
1) whether current State and federal laws and procedures relating to voter registration, the custodianship of voting machines, the selection of polling places, the appointment and training of poll workers, the processing of requests for absentee ballots and the counting of such ballots and provisional and emergency ballots are being followed, pursuant to current law;
2) the hours and times worked weekly, annually and especially on the day of an election by employees of the office of the superintendent and of the county board;
3) the amount of salary and overtime compensation provided to these employees, especially as such compensation compares with length of time such employees have been employed by the office of the superintendent, the county board, the State or any instrumentality of the State;
4) whether any employees of the superintendent or the county board have been convicted of a crime under the laws of this State or any other state, whether background checks are performed on employees before such employees are hired and how often such checks are updated;
5) the number of complaints filed against the office of the superintendent or the county board in general, or individual employees of each in particular, for not complying with current laws regarding the administration of elections as required to be performed by their respective offices, the nature of each such complaint and how the complaint was resolved; and
6) such other matters as the Attorney General, the Secretary of State or the Director of the Division of Elections believe merit audit, investigation and review.
The program is to be conducted in each county at least once within a four-year period on a revolving basis on a schedule determined by the Attorney General, so that the office of the superintendent of elections in each county with such an office and the board of elections within each county are reviewed at least once during each four-year period occurring after the enactment this bill, and at such additional times and for such reasons as the Attorney General or the Secretary of State may deem necessary.
Finally, the Attorney General is to issue no later than September 15 of each year a report on the findings of audits, investigations and performance reviews performed pursuant to the program established by the bill, and provide recommendations, if deemed necessary, for corrective or remedial action, to the Governor, the President of the Senate and the Minority Leader thereof, and the Speaker of the General Assembly and the Minority Leader thereof, the Secretary of State, the Director of the Division of Elections, and the superintendents and county boards that have been reviewed during that year.
