Bill Text: NJ A912 | 2024-2025 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Prohibits information from Statewide voter registration system from being published on Internet.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 4-0)
Status: (Introduced) 2024-01-09 - Introduced, Referred to Assembly State and Local Government Committee [A912 Detail]
Download: New_Jersey-2024-A912-Introduced.html
STATE OF NEW JERSEY
221st LEGISLATURE
PRE-FILED FOR INTRODUCTION IN THE 2024 SESSION
Sponsored by:
Assemblywoman VERLINA REYNOLDS-JACKSON
District 15 (Hunterdon and Mercer)
Assemblyman WILLIAM W. SPEARMAN
District 5 (Camden and Gloucester)
Assemblyman BENJIE E. WIMBERLY
District 35 (Bergen and Passaic)
Co-Sponsored by:
Assemblyman Stanley
SYNOPSIS
Prohibits information from Statewide voter registration system from being published on Internet.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
Introduced Pending Technical Review by Legislative Counsel.
An Act prohibiting information from the Statewide voter registration system from being published on the Internet and amending P.L.1947, c.347 and P.L.2005, c.145.
Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. Section 2 of P.L.1947, c.347 (C.19:31-18.1) is amended to read as follows:
2. a. The county clerk in all counties shall cause copies of the registry lists, certified and transmitted under R.S.19:31-18, to be printed, and shall furnish to any voter applying for the same such copies, charging therefor $0.25 per copy of the list of voters of each election district. The clerk shall also furnish five printed copies thereof to each district board, which shall within two days post two such registry lists, one in the polling place and one in another conspicuous place within the election district. The county clerk shall also forthwith deliver to the superintendent of elections of the county, if any there be, and to the chairmen of the county committees of each of the several political parties in the county, five copies of the lists of voters of each election district in the county; and to the municipal clerk of each of the municipalities in the county five copies of the lists of voters of each election district in such municipality; and to the county board 10 copies of the lists of voters of each election district in each of such municipalities. The county clerk shall also, upon the request of the chairman of the State committee of any of the several political parties, but not more than once in each calendar year, forthwith deliver a copy of the lists of voters of each election district in each of the municipalities in his county. In no case shall a list of registered voters furnished pursuant to this section include voter signatures or, except as otherwise provided in section 3 of P.L.2021, c.371 (C.47:1B-3), the home address of a covered person, as defined in section 1 of P.L.2021, c.371 (C.47:1B-1), who has received approval from the Office of Information Privacy for the redaction or nondisclosure of the covered person's address. The county clerk shall satisfy the request by delivery of a computer-generated or electronic copy of the list for the county from the Statewide voter registration system.
b. The commissioner of registration shall furnish a computer-generated or electronic copy of a list of registered voters in any or all election districts in the county to any voter requesting it, for which copy such commissioner shall make a charge which shall be uniform in any calendar year and which shall reflect only the cost of reproducing the list, but which in any case shall not exceed $375.
c. No person shall use voter registration lists or copies thereof
prepared pursuant to this section as a basis for commercial or charitable solicitation of the voters listed thereon. Any person making such use of such lists or copies thereof shall be a disorderly person, and shall be punished by a fine not exceeding $500.00.
d. Voter registration information drawn from the Statewide voter registration system shall be prohibited from being published on the Internet.
(cf: P.L.2021, c.371, s.6)
2. Section 1 of P.L.2005, c.145 (C.19:31-31) is amended to read as follows:
1. a. There shall be established in the Department of State a single Statewide voter registration system, as required pursuant to section 303 of the federal "Help America Vote Act of 2002," Pub.L.107-252 (42 U.S.C. s.15483). The principal computer components of the system shall be under the direct control of the Secretary of State. The Secretary of State shall be responsible for creating the network necessary to maintain the system and providing the computer software, hardware and security necessary to ensure that the system is accessible only to those executive departments and State agencies so designated by the Secretary of State, each county commissioner of registration, each county and municipal clerk, and individuals under certain circumstances, as provided for by this section. The system shall be the official State repository for voter registration information for every legally registered voter in this State, and shall serve as the official voter registration system for the conduct of all elections in the State.
b. The Statewide voter registration system shall include, but not be limited to, the following features:
(1) the name and registration information of every legally registered voter in the State;
(2) the ability to assign a unique identifier to each legally registered voter in the State;
(3) interactivity among appropriate State agencies so designated by the Secretary of State, each county commissioner of registration, each county board of elections, and each county clerk such that these entities shall have immediate electronic access to all or selected records in the system, as determined by the Secretary of State, to receive or transmit all or selected files in the system and to print or review all or selected files in the system;
(4) the ability to permit any county commissioner of registration to enter voter registration information on an expedited basis, and to transfer electronically voter registration information from an online voter registration form completed pursuant to section 1 of P.L.2019, c.382 (C.19:31-6.4c), at the time the information is provided thereto and to permit the Secretary of State to provide technical support to do so whenever needed;
(5) the ability to permit each municipal clerk to view or print information in the system;
(6) the ability to permit an individual, by July 1, 2006, to verify via the Internet whether that individual, and only that individual, is included in the system as a legally registered voter, whether the information pertaining to that individual required by subsection c. of this section is correct, and if not, a means to notify the pertinent county commissioner of registration of the corrections that must be made and to so verify in a way that does not give one individual access to the information required by subsection c. of this section for any other individual;
(7) a Statewide street address index and map in electronic form that can accurately identify the location of every legally registered voter in this State;
(8) the ability to record and monitor all requests for mail-in ballots; to enable the county clerk to verify the identity and signature of each person requesting a mail-in ballot; to record the name and address of each voter determined to be eligible to receive a mail-in ballot for a particular election and to note when a mail-in ballot has been transmitted to that voter by mail or hand delivery; to update the system to allow the postal tracking of mail-in ballots using Intelligent Mail barcodes, or a similar successor tracking system, upon the finding by the Secretary of State that such technology is viable; and to make such information available to the Secretary of State so that a voter can be notified whether the application for such a ballot was accepted or rejected, and the reason for the rejection, using the free-access system established by section 5 of P.L.2004, c.88 (C.19:61-5); and
(9) any other functions
required pursuant to Pub.L.107-252
(42 U.S.C. s.15301 et seq.), or Title 19 of the Revised Statutes, or that may
be deemed necessary by the Secretary of State.
c. The Statewide voter registration system shall include, but not be limited to, the following information for every legally registered voter in this State:
(1) last, first and middle name;
(2) street address at time of registration or rural route, box number or apartment number, if any;
(3) city or municipality, and zip code;
(4) date of birth;
(5) telephone number and e-mail address, if provided on voter registration form;
(6) previous name or address if individual re-registered due to change of name or address;
(7) ward and election district number, if either is available;
(8) (a) current and valid New Jersey driver's license number; or
(b) if the registrant has not been issued a New Jersey driver's license number, the last four digits of the registrant's social security number; or
(c) unique identifying number for any individual who has not been issued the information sought in subparagraph (a) or (b) of this paragraph;
(9) notation that a copy of one of the following documents has been submitted with the voter registration application, if required: current and valid photo identification card; a current utility bill, bank statement, government check, pay check or any other government document showing the registrant's name and current address;
(10) the method by which the individual registered and whether that person needs to provide additional identification information to vote using a voting machine instead of a provisional ballot;
(11) political party affiliation, if designated;
(12) digitized signature;
(13) date of registration or re-registration;
(14) name and street address of the individual assisting in the completion of the form, if the applicant for registration is unable to do so;
(15) voting participation record for ten-year period; and
(16) any other information required pursuant to Pub.L.107-252 (42 U.S.C. s.15301 et seq.), or Title 19 of the Revised Statutes, or that the Secretary of State determines is necessary to assess the eligibility of an individual to be registered to vote and to vote in this State.
d. Voter registration information from the Statewide voter registration system shall be prohibited from being published on the Internet.
(cf: P.L.2019, c.382, s.4)
3. This act shall take effect immediately.
STATEMENT
This bill prohibits voter registration information from the Statewide voter registration system from being published on the Internet. Under current law, the Statewide voter registration system is accessible by the Secretary of State, executive departments and State agencies designated by the Secretary of State, each county commissioner of registration, each county and municipal clerk, and other individuals under certain circumstances. Voter registration lists are also provided to the chairmen of the county committees of each political party, and are accessible by voters who apply and pay for a copy of the list. This bill specifically prohibits any information from the system from being published on the Internet, in order to further protect the privacy of registered voters in New Jersey.
