Bill Text: NJ S299 | 2024-2025 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Extends early voting period for primary elections and May municipal elections.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)
Status: (Introduced) 2024-01-09 - Introduced in the Senate, Referred to Senate State Government, Wagering, Tourism & Historic Preservation Committee [S299 Detail]
Download: New_Jersey-2024-S299-Introduced.html
STATE OF NEW JERSEY
221st LEGISLATURE
PRE-FILED FOR INTRODUCTION IN THE 2024 SESSION
Sponsored by:
Senator BRIAN P. STACK
District 33 (Hudson)
SYNOPSIS
Extends early voting period for primary elections and May municipal elections.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
Introduced Pending Technical Review by Legislative Counsel.
An Act extending the early voting period for certain elections and amending P.L.2021, c.40.
Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. Section 1 of P.L.2021, c.40 (C.19:15A-1) is amended to read as follows:
1. 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 certain primary and general elections in this State. This procedure shall be known as early voting. The early voting period shall:
(1) start on the [4th] 11th calendar day before a non-presidential primary election for a non-presidential general election and end on the second calendar day before that non-presidential primary election;
(2) start on the [6th] 11th calendar day before a presidential primary election for a presidential general election and end on the second calendar day before that presidential primary election; or
(3) start on the [10th] 11th calendar day before a general election and end on the second calendar day before that general election.
The voting process during the early voting period shall be conducted using electronic poll books and optical-scan voting machines that read hand-marked paper ballots or other voting machines that produce a voter-verifiable paper ballot. 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.2021, c.40 (C.19:15A-1 et al.). If adopted by a municipal governing body, the early voting period for a regular municipal election in May shall start on the 4th calendar day before the regular municipal election and end on the second calendar day before that regular municipal election, except that the municipal governing body may adopt an ordinance to allow the early voting period to start on the 11th calendar day before the regular municipal election and end on the second calendar day before that regular municipal election.An early voting period shall only be permitted for a non-presidential or presidential primary election and a general election in this State and, if adopted by a municipal governing body, a regular municipal election conducted in May. Pursuant to the provisions of this act and Title 19 of the Revised Statutes and in accordance with procedures that may be established by the Secretary of State for verifying eligible voters, each county board of elections shall verify 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 primary and the general election, each county board of elections shall designate at least three, but not more than five, public locations within each county as the sites for early voting to occur, except that the county board shall designate at least five, but not more than seven, 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, but not more than 10, public locations for early voting if the number of registered voters in the county is 300,000 or more. This provision shall not be interpreted to prevent county boards of elections, at their discretion, from establishing additional locations in excess of the five, seven, or 10 location limits respectively set forth herein; provided, however, that the State shall be required to provide reimbursement for the costs of locations up to and including the five, seven, or 10 respective limits established herein, and shall not be required to provide reimbursement for additional locations beyond those limits under section 6 of this act, P.L.2021, c.40 (C.19:15A-6). 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, or places of public accommodation as provided under Title 10 of the Revised Statutes. No public school building and no building used as a public school, as that term is defined under N.J.S.18A:1-1, 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 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 because of similar circumstances. The Secretary of State may 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, but not more than three public locations, within the municipality as the site or sites for early voting to occur. This provision shall not be interpreted to prevent a county board of elections, at its discretion, from establishing additional locations in excess of the three location limit set forth herein; provided, however, that the State shall be required to provide reimbursement for the costs of locations up to and including the three location limit established herein, and shall not be required to provide reimbursement for additional locations beyond that limit under section 6 of this act, P.L.2021, c.40 (C.19:15A-6). 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, or places of public accommodation as provided under Title 10 of the Revised Statutes. No public school building and no building used as a public school, as that term is defined under N.J.S.18A:1-1, 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 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 because of similar circumstances. The Secretary of State may 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 primary and a general election, as appropriate, 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, or that required pursuant to Article I, paragraph 23 of the New Jersey Constitution, whichever is greater.
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. In real time using the electronic poll books each day during the early voting period, and prior to the start of each regularly scheduled primary and 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 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 later than February 1 of each year. Each plan shall specify a chain of custody and security plan for the voting machines, and a chain of custody for the voted ballots and election records and materials, and shall require, among other specifications deemed necessary by the Secretary of State and county boards of election, that all voted ballots shall be transferred at the end of each early voting day to county boards of election for safekeeping. After the voted ballots are transferred to the county board of elections at the end of each early voting day, a county board may elect to impound those voted ballots on a secure server, or by any other means deemed appropriate by the Secretary of State. The voted ballots shall not be canvassed until the closing of the polls on election day as required pursuant to section 4 of this act, P.L.2021, c.40 (C.19:15A-4). The results of the voted ballots cast during early voting shall remain confidential and shall be disclosed only in accordance with the provisions of Title 19 of the Revised Statutes, regulations, and guidelines concerning the disclosure of election results, and a violation shall be subject to the penalties established by law.
(2) Notwithstanding the provisions of this subsection, in the year in which P.L.2021, c.40 (C.19:15A-1 et al.) becomes law, each county board shall submit its plan to the Secretary of State within 30 days following the effective date of this act and the Secretary of State shall review it and, if deemed necessary thereby, require changes in the plan within 45 days following the effective date of this act.
h. Each county board shall make certain that each polling place used for early voting shall be accessible to individuals with disabilities and the elderly, in compliance with the "Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990" (42 U.S.C. s.12101 et seq.), and that each polling place provides such voters, including the blind and visually impaired, the same opportunity for access and participation, including privacy and independence, as other voters in compliance with the "Help America Vote Act of 2002" (42 U.S.C. s.15481).
i. The Secretary of State shall establish a printing on demand ballot and elections system. At a minimum, the system shall be compatible with the Statewide voter registration system established pursuant to section 1 of P.L.2005, c.145 (C.19:31-31) and any electronic poll books provided by section 1 of P.L.2019, c.80 (C.19:31-35). Each polling place used for early voting shall have a computer, tablet, or other electronic device to print provisional ballots for voters required to vote by provisional ballot in accordance with the provisions of Title 19 of the Revised Statutes or due to an equipment malfunction as further provided under section 3 of P.L.2019, c.80 (C.19:31-37), or any other election related material, if needed. A computer, tablet, or other electronic device and the printer used to print election materials at a polling place shall not be used unless it has been certified by the Secretary of State. The Secretary of State shall adopt and publish standards and regulations governing the certification and use of computer, tablets, or other electronic devices and printers to print election materials at each polling place used for early voting. The Secretary of State shall not certify a computer, tablet, or other electronic device or printer unless it is in compliance with the secretary's standards.
j. Each polling place used for early voting shall also have such appropriate supplies, ballots and other materials deemed necessary by the Secretary of State or as is required currently for a polling place on the day of any election by Title 19 of the Revised Statutes.
(cf: P.L.2021, c.40, s.1)
2. This act shall take effect
immediately.
STATEMENT
This bill extends the early voting period for certain elections in New Jersey.
This bill extends the early voting period for all primary and general elections in New Jersey to start 11 calendar days before the election. This includes non-presidential primary elections, presidential primary elections, and general elections. The bill also allows municipalities to extend the early voting period for May municipal elections to start 11 calendar days before the election.
Currently, the early voting period for a non-presidential primary election starts on the 4th calendar day before the election. The early voting period for a presidential primary election starts on the 6th calendar day before the election. The early voting period for a general election starts on the 10th calendar day before the election. The early voting period for a May regular municipal election begins on the 4th calendar day before the election. This bill starts the early voting period on the 11th calendar day before the non-presidential primary, presidential primary, general election, and allows municipalities to adopt an ordinance to begin early voting for May municipal elections on the 11th calendar day before the regular municipal election. Under current law, the early voting period for any election ends on the second calendar day before the election. Therefore, under the bill, the early voting period would consist of ten days for these elections.
