Sponsored by:
Senator KRISTIN M. CORRADO
District 40 (Bergen, Essex, Morris and Passaic)
SYNOPSIS
Permits county clerk to remove voters from vote-by-mail lists under certain circumstances.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
As introduced.
An Act concerning voting by mail and amending and supplementing P.L.2009, c.79 (C.19:63-1 et seq.).
Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. (New section) a. The clerk of each county may remove a voter from the list of qualified voters receiving mail-in ballots if any of the following conditions occur:
(1) the United States Postal Service returned mail of a ballot, sample ballot, or any other official county election mail sent directly to the named voter;
(2) the voter has not used a mail-in ballot for any election in a two-year period; or
(3) the United States Postal Service National Change of Address System indicates the voter s recipient address has changed or is undeliverable.
b. Prior to removing a voter from the list of qualified voters receiving a mail-in ballot under subsection a. of this section, the county clerk shall notify each voter identified for removal in writing. The notice shall indicate the reasons for the removal and instruct the voter on the necessary steps to continue to vote by mail. If the voter does not respond to the confirmation notice within 30 days of mailing, the county clerk shall remove that voter from the list of qualified voters receiving mail-in ballots and shall send that voter a notice of removal. The county clerk shall include an application to re-apply to vote by mail with the notice of removal.
2. Section 3 of P.L.2009, c.79 (C.19:63-3) is amended to read as follows:
3. a. A qualified voter shall be entitled to vote using a mail-in ballot:
(1) in all future elections, including general elections, held in this State, in which the voter is eligible to vote; or
(2) in any single election held in this State.
The qualified voter who chooses the option to vote using a mail-in ballot in all future elections shall be furnished with such a ballot by the county clerk without further request on the part of the voter and until the voter requests in writing that the voter no longer be sent a mail-in ballot. Notwithstanding any provision of this subsection to the contrary, a county clerk may remove a qualified voter from the list of voters receiving a mail-in ballot as provided under section 1 of P.L. , c. (C. ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill).
The mail-in ballot application form prepared by the Secretary of State shall present the two options in the order provided above. The mail-in ballot application shall also provide spaces for the voter's telephone number and email address, including language informing the voter that this contact information will be used to contact the voter concerning the acceptance or rejection of the ballot, and how the voter may cure a defect. A voter's telephone number and email address shall not be subject to public disclosure and shall not be considered a government record.
The additional direct expenditures required for the implementation of the provisions of this subsection as amended by section 1 of P.L.2018, c.72 shall be offset pursuant to section 1 of P.L.2019, c.459 (C.19:63-29).
b. Not less than seven days before an election in which a voter wants to vote by mail, the voter may apply to the person designated in section 5 of P.L.2009, c.79 (C.19:63-5), for a mail-in ballot. The application shall be in writing, shall be signed by the applicant and shall state the applicant's place of voting residence and the address to which the ballot shall be sent. The Secretary of State shall prepare a mail-in application form and shall have the authority to promulgate any rules and regulations the secretary deems necessary to effectuate the purposes of this subsection.
c. Any voter wanting to vote by mail in any election may apply to the person designated in section 5 of P.L.2009, c.79 (C.19:63-5) for a mail-in ballot to be sent to the voter. A voter who is a member of the armed forces of the United States may use a federal postcard application form to apply for a mail-in ballot.
d. Any voter who fails to apply for a mail-in ballot before the seven-day period prescribed in subsection b. of this section may apply in person to the county clerk for a mail-in ballot up to 3 p.m. of the day before the election.
e. A person voting by mail-in ballot who registered by mail after January 1, 2003, who did not provide personal identification information when registering pursuant to section 16 of P.L.1974, c.30 (C.19:31-6.4) and is voting for the first time in his or her current county of residence following registration shall include copies of the required identification information with the mail-in ballot. Failure to include such information with the mail-in ballot shall result in its rejection.
f. The county clerk shall not transmit a mail-in ballot for any election to any person who: is deemed by a county commissioner of registration to be an inactive voter; or notifies the clerk in writing that the person no longer wishes to receive such a ballot for any election; or has been removed from the list of qualified voters receiving a mail-in ballot as provided under section 1 of P.L. , c. (C. ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill); or is no longer eligible to vote and whose registration file has been transferred to the deleted file pursuant to R.S.19:31-19.
g. Any mail-in ballot that is sent to a qualified voter and that is returned to the county clerk for any reason shall be forwarded to the commissioner of registration, who shall so note the return in the voter record of that voter.
(cf: P.L.2020, c.70, s.8)
3. Section 5 of P.L.2009, c.79 (C.19:63-5) is amended to read as follows:
5. In the case of any election, the application for a mail-in ballot shall be made to the county clerk. The county clerk shall stamp thereon the date on which the application was received in the clerk's office.
In the case of applications for overseas federal election voter ballots, as provided for in P.L.1976, c.23 (C.19:59-1 et seq.), no application shall be refused on the grounds that it was submitted too early.
In the case of voter registration forms that include a selected vote by mail option, a copy of each such form shall be transmitted to and received by the appropriate county clerk, who shall be responsible for providing mail-in ballots to each qualified voter requesting such ballots for future elections, until the voter requests otherwise in writing, or until the voter is removed from the list of qualified voters receiving a mail-in ballot as provided under section 1 of P.L. , c. (C. ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill).
(cf: P.L.2018, c.72, s.5)
4. Section 6 of P.L.2009, c.79 (C.19:63-6) is amended to read as follows:
6. a. The county clerk, in the case of any Statewide election, countywide election, or school election in a regional or other school district comprising more than one municipality; the municipal clerk, in the case of any municipal election or school election in a school district comprising a single municipality; and the commissioners or other governing or administrative body of the district,