Sponsored by:
Senator NIA H. GILL
District 34 (Essex and Passaic)
SYNOPSIS
Requires in person early voting period for certain elections; makes appropriation.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
As introduced.
An Act requiring early voting to be available for certain elections, amending various parts of the statutory law, supplementing Title 19 of the Revised Statutes, and making an appropriation.
Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. (New section) a. In addition to all other forms of voting provided for by this Title, a registered voter shall be permitted to vote at a specially designated polling place before the day of the general election, starting on the 15th day before the election and ending on the second calendar day before the election. This procedure shall be known as early voting. The voting process during the early voting period shall be conducted using electronic poll books and voting machines. Any municipality conducting regular municipal elections in May pursuant to the provisions of the Uniform Nonpartisan Elections Law, P.L.1981, c.379 (C.40:45-5 et seq.), may, by an ordinance adopted by its governing body, also conduct early voting for the regular municipal election, in accordance with the provisions of this act, P.L. , c. (C. ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill). Pursuant to the provisions of this act and Title 19 of the Revised Statutes, each county board of elections shall determine the method of verifying that a registered voter is qualified to vote in the election and shall prescribe the manner by which a registered voter may vote during such period.
b. (1) For the general
election, each county board of elections shall designate at least three public
locations within each county as the sites for early voting to occur, except
that the county board shall designate at least five public locations for early
voting if the number of registered voters in the county is at least 150,000 but
less than 300,000, and shall designate at least seven public locations for
early voting if the number of registered voters in the county is 300,000 or
more. The number of registered voters in each county shall be determined ahead
of the selection of early voting sites pursuant to a uniform standard which
shall be developed by the Secretary of State through the rulemaking process
pursuant to the Administrative Procedure Act, P.L.1968, c.410 (C.52:14B-1 et
seq.). Whenever possible, early voting locations shall be geographically
located so as to ensure both access in the part of the county that features the
greatest concentration of population, according to the most recent federal
decennial census of the United States, and access in various geographic areas
of the county. All early voting locations shall be public facilities, such as
county courthouses, public libraries and the offices of the municipal clerk,
county clerk, and county board of elections. No public school building and no
building used as a public
school shall, however, be designated as an early voting location. The locations shall be designated at the same time as all other polling places are designated by the board of elections. In the event of a tie vote among members of the county board with respect to the selection of sites for early voting, the county clerk shall cast the deciding vote. Once early voting locations are designated in each county, county boards of election shall, as provided by the Secretary of State, evaluate and, if deemed necessary, revise these locations in order to accommodate significant changes in the number of registered voters within each county, reflect the population distribution and density within each county, or enhance convenience when an early voting site has proven to be inconvenient for the voters, or because of similar circumstances. The Secretary of State shall develop the criteria to be used by county boards of election to revise the location of early voting sites and shall prescribe how often such revision shall take place.
A voter shall be permitted to vote at any early voting site in the voter s county.
(2) Whenever a municipality that conducts regular municipal elections in May chooses to participate in early voting for the regular municipal election, the county board of elections shall designate at least one public location within the municipality as the site for early voting to occur. Whenever possible, each such location shall be geographically located in the part of the municipality that features the greatest concentration of population, according to the most recent federal decennial census of the United States. All early voting locations shall be public facilities, such as municipal courthouses and the offices of the municipal clerk. No public school building and no building used as a public school shall be designated as an early voting location. The locations shall be designated at the same time as all other polling places are designated by the board of elections. In the event of a tie vote among members of the county board with respect to the selection of sites for early voting, the municipal clerk shall cast the deciding vote. Once early voting locations are designated in each municipality, county boards of election shall, as provided by the Secretary of State, evaluate and, if deemed necessary, revise these locations in order to accommodate significant changes in the number of registered voters within each municipality, reflect the population distribution and density within each municipality, or enhance convenience when an early voting site has proven to be inconvenient for the voters, or because of similar circumstances. The Secretary of State shall develop the criteria to be used by county boards of election to revise the location of early voting sites and shall prescribe how often such revision shall take place.
A voter shall be permitted to vote at any early voting site in the voter s municipality.
c. Each early voting site in a county or municipality shall be open for early voting on Monday through Saturday from at least 10 AM to 8 PM, and on Sunday from at least 10 AM to 6 PM. Any voter who is on line at the time scheduled for the closing of an early voting site shall be permitted to vote.
d. The election officers responsible for conducting early voting shall be the same as those responsible for conducting a general election pursuant to this Title. The number of such officers and their hours of service shall be as determined by each county board of elections. The compensation for such officers shall be the same as provided to district board of election members serving at a school election pursuant to R.S.19:45-6.
e. The restrictions governing the conduct of voters at a polling place on the days that early voting occurs, the procedures governing who is permitted in a polling place on such occasions and the prohibition on electioneering within 100 feet of a polling place during an election, shall be as provided in chapters 15, 34, 50 and 52 of Title 19 of the Revised Statutes and every other applicable section of this Title.
f. At least once each day during the early voting period, and prior to the start of each regularly scheduled general election, and regular municipal election in each non-partisan municipality choosing to participate in early voting, each county board shall make such changes as may be necessary to the voter s record in the Statewide voter registration system and the signature copy register used at each polling place to indicate that a voter has voted in that election using the early voting procedure.
g. (1) Each county board shall be responsible for forming and executing a written plan to ensure, to the greatest extent possible, the integrity of the voting process and the security of ballots used during the early voting period, including the security of voting machines, voted ballots, and election records. The plan shall be based on guidelines established by the Secretary of State and shall be submitted thereto no later than December 15 of each year. The Secretary of State shall review and, if deemed necessary thereby, require changes to a plan no late