Sponsored by:
Assemblywoman ANNETTE QUIJANO
District 20 (Union)
Assemblywoman YVONNE LOPEZ
District 19 (Middlesex)
Assemblyman CRAIG J. COUGHLIN
District 19 (Middlesex)
Co-Sponsored by:
Assemblyman Rooney, Assemblywoman McKnight, Assemblymen DeAngelo, Verrelli and Assemblywoman Vainieri Huttle
SYNOPSIS
Allows current and former judicial officers, prosecutors, and law enforcement officers and certain family or household members to register to vote without disclosing residential address; prohibits public disclosure of that information.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
As introduced.
An Act concerning voter registration for certain judicial officers, prosecutors, and law enforcement officers and certain family or household members thereof and amending P.L.1994, c.182 and supplementing chapter 31 of Title 19 of the Revises Statutes.
Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. (New section) a. A person who is (1) an active, formerly active, or retired judicial officer, prosecutor, or law enforcement officer, or (2) a member of the immediate family of such a person, or (3) a person residing in the same household as such a person, shall be allowed to register to vote without disclosing their street address. The person registering to vote shall leave the space for a street address on the original permanent registration form blank and shall, instead, attach to the form a document showing proof that the person qualifies to register to vote pursuant to paragraphs (1), (2), or (3) of this subsection. The form shall contain a mailing address, post office box, or other contact point where mail can be received by the person registering to vote.
b. Upon receipt of a voter registration form completed pursuant to subsection a. of this section, the commissioner of registration in all counties having a superintendent of elections, and the county board of elections in all other counties, shall provide the person registering to vote with a map of the municipality in which the person resides which shows the various voting districts. The person shall indicate to the commissioner or board, as appropriate, the voting district in which the person resides and shall be permitted to vote at the polling place for that district. If such a person thereafter changes residences, and the person continues to qualify to register to vote pursuant to subsection a. of this section, the person shall so inform the commissioner or board by completing a new permanent registration form in the manner described in this section.
c. Any person who makes public any information which has been provided by a registrant pursuant to this section concerning the mailing address, post office box, or other contact point of the registrant, or concerning the election district in which the registrant resides, is guilty of a crime of the fourth degree.
d. The Secretary of State,
in consultation with the county boards of elections and county superintendents
of elections, shall develop guidelines and criteria to be used for the
implementation of the voter registration provisions authorized under this
section, which shall include, but may not be limited to, the documents that may
be submitted as proof that a person qualifies to register to vote pursuant to
paragraphs (1), (2), or (3) of subsection a. of this section.
e. As used in this section:
Judicial officer means any active, formerly active, or retired federal, state, county, or municipal judge, including a judge of the Tax Court and any other court of limited jurisdiction established, altered, or abolished by law, a judge of the Office of Administrative Law, a judge of the Division of Workers Compensation, and any other judge established by law who serves in the executive branch.
2. Section 24 of P.L.1994, c.182 (C.39:2-3.2) is amended to read as follows:
24. a. The Secretary of State, with the assistance of the Chief Administrator of the New Jersey Motor Vehicle Commission, shall provide for an eligible applicant to simultaneously apply for a motor vehicle driver's license, an examination permit, a probationary driver's license, or a non-driver identification card, as applicable, and be automatically registered to vote, or have an existing voter registration updated, in a manner which satisfies both the requirements necessary to receive a license to operate a motor vehicle, pursuant to R.S.39:3-10, or an examination permit, a probationary driver's license, or a non-driver identification card, as applicable, and to register to vote, pursuant to R.S.19:4-1. The applicant shall be offered an opportunity to decline the automatic voter registration under this section.
b. (1) Pursuant to subsection a. of this section, for every application for a motor vehicle driver's license, an examination permit, a probationary driver's license, or a non-driver identification card, and each related update, renewal, or change of address, except as provided in paragraphs (2) and (3) of this subsection, the Chief Administrator shall ensure that the information necessary for voter registration is collected from the application and promptly transmitted electronically to the Secretary of State. The Chief Administrator shall ensure that electronic records are not transmitted to the Secretary of State for any applicant who has declined registration. The Commissioner of Registration shall register to vote or update an existing registration for any eligible applicant who has not declined voter registration.
(2) Voter registration information from an application received online for the renewal of a motor vehicle driver's license or non-driver identification card shall be collected and promptly transmitted electronically to the Secretary of State upon the implementation by the Secretary of State of online voter registration. Subsection c. of this section shall be inapplicable to such applications until that time.
(3) Voter registration information from an application received through the mail for the renewal of a motor vehicle driver's license or non-driver identification card shall be exempt from collection and electronic transmission to the Secretary of State until such time as the Chief Administrator determines that the prompt electronic transmission of the information is practicable. Subsection c. of this section shall be inapplicable to such applications until that time. Following the effective date of P.L.2018, c.6, the Chief Administrator shall inform the Governor and the Legislature every six months of the practicability of collecting and transmitting to the Secretary of State voter registration information from such applications. This paragraph shall not be construed to preclude the Motor Vehicle Commission from processing voter registration applications received in the manner in which such applications were processed in connection with such renewals prior to the effective date of P.L.2018, c.6.
c. The Chief Administrator shall provide for the following notices to be provided with every application for a motor vehicle driver's license, an examination permit, a probationary driver's license, or a non-driver identification card and every related update, renewal, or change of address:
(1) a notice that the applicant will be registered to vote, if eligible, unless the applicant specifically declines the automatic voter registration;
(2) a notice of the voter eligibility requirements under R.S.19:4-1 and the penalti