Sponsored by:
Assemblywoman DAWN FANTASIA
District 24 (Morris, Sussex and Warren)
SYNOPSIS
Removes prohibition on police presence at ballot drop boxes and polling places.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
As introduced.
An Act concerning police presence at ballot drop boxes and polling places, and amending various parts of the statutory law.
Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. R.S.19:6-15 is amended to read as follows:
19:6-15. a. The district boards of every election district shall preserve the peace and maintain good order in their respective polling places during the progress of all elections and the counting of the votes cast thereat. To that end, each member of every such board, during the progress of an election and the counting and canvassing of the votes, shall be and hereby is invested and charged with all the powers and duties of constables of this State in criminal matters.
b. Such election board, or any members thereof, [shall not] may request the authorities of any municipality, county, or the State, or the body or officer having charge and direction of the police force in such municipality, county, or the State, to detail one or more police officers to assist in preserving the peace and good order in and about such polling place [, and no such request shall be complied with by the body or officer to whom the same is made].
c. The election board or the superintendent of elections in the county in which an election is held may contact a law enforcement agency if information is obtained prior to or during the election that in the judgment of the election board or superintendent of elections should be communicated to a law enforcement agency.
[d. Nothing in this section shall be construed to prohibit any activity otherwise permitted under R.S.19:6-16.]
(cf: P.L.2021, c.459, s.1)
2. Section 2 of P.L.1991, c.306 (C.19:6-15.1) is amended to read as follows:
2. [a.] No person who is employed as a police officer, either full-time or part-time, by the State or an instrumentality thereof, or by a political subdivision of the State or an instrumentality thereof, [including a person appointed as a police officer by an institution of higher education pursuant to P.L.1970, c.211 (C.18A:6-4.2 et seq.), shall serve as] and who is a member of a district board of elections, [unless the person is off-duty,] or [serve] serves as a duly authorized challenger for a political party or a candidate or on a public question [in the municipality in which that person is employed, or if employed by an institution of higher education, any municipality in which the institution is physically located, or if employed by a county or the State, in the county in which that person is employed or stationed, respectively, or] , shall wear a police officer's uniform or carry an exposed weapon [at any time, including] while serving as a district board member or challenger, as the case may be, at a polling place [on an election day. Nothing in this subsection shall be construed to prohibit a police officer who is a candidate for an office and whose name appears upon the ballot to be voted for an election from acting as a challenger during that election as may be permitted by another provision of law for a candidate to act as a challenger] during the conduct of an election. Any person who violates this subsection shall be guilty of a crime of the fourth degree.
[b. No person employed as a police officer as described in subsection a. of this section, whether on or off-duty or whether in or out of uniform, shall remain or stand within 100 feet of a polling place during the conduct of an election unless present at the location in response to a request for assistance in accordance with R.S.19:6-16 or as otherwise provided herein or pursuant to this act, P.L.2021 c.459.
c. Nothing herein shall be interpreted to prohibit a police officer or law enforcement officer from:
traveling to and from, or remaining within, their personal residence if that residence is within 100 feet of a polling place;
voting at that polling place in a personal capacity; or
escorting to or from, or both, a polling place a person who may require assistance of the officer.]
(cf: P.L.2021, c.459, s.2)
3. R.S.19:6-16 is amended to read as follows:
19:6-16. [a.] The commission, committee, board or official having charge of the police department in any county or municipality [shall not] may assign one or more police officers to any district board in that county or municipality [, in order to] whenever the said commission, committee, board or official deems it necessary to do so. Any police officers so assigned shall, under the direction of the district board, enforce the election laws, maintain order, peace and quiet during the hours of registry and election, and assist the members of the district board in transporting any election materials to and from the polling place to the district board or a municipal or county clerk, as appropriate. The police officers so assigned shall not assist the district board by performing the duties of a district board member, [or] nor shall those police officers serve at the polling place of that district board [, or in order to perform other routine purposes related to the conduct of elections, except that a district board, superintendent of elections, or a county clerk may request that a police officer or sheriff's officer be assigned to transport specific election materials to a polling place or from a polling place to the district board or county clerk and a police officer or sheriff's officer may be assigned for that purpose. The commission, committee, board or official having charge of the police department in any county or municipality may assign one o