Bill Text: NJ S3025 | 2020-2021 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Suspends automatic voter registration until implementation of standards and procedures to maintain accuracy of voter rolls.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 6-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2020-10-19 - Introduced in the Senate, Referred to Senate State Government, Wagering, Tourism & Historic Preservation Committee [S3025 Detail]
Download: New_Jersey-2020-S3025-Introduced.html
Sponsored by:
Senator ANTHONY M. BUCCO
District 25 (Morris and Somerset)
SYNOPSIS
Suspends automatic voter registration until implementation of standards and procedures to maintain accuracy of voter rolls.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
As introduced.
An Act concerning the suspension of automatic voter registration at the New Jersey Motor Vehicle Commission and supplementing chapter 31 of Title 19 of the Revised Statutes.
Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. a. Notwithstanding the provisions of sections 23 and 24 of P.L.1994, c.182 (C.39:3-10m and C.39:2-3.2, respectively), section 4 of P.L.2018, c.6 (C.19:31-6.14), and any other law, rule, or regulation to the contrary, the automatic voter registration procedures established at the New Jersey Motor Vehicle commission, and as may have been established at other government agencies, pursuant to P.L.2018, c.6, shall be suspended until each county commissioner of registration, county board of elections, and county clerk, in consultation with the Secretary of State, have developed and implemented the necessary uniform standards and procedures to maintain the accuracy of voter registration rolls in the Statewide Voter Registration System, consistent with Title 19 of the Revised Statutes and federal law. The standards shall include, but may not be limited to:
(1) procedures to prevent the creation of duplicate voting records for the same person;
(2) the timely removal of the voter registration records of inactive, deceased, and non-resident voters; and
(3) the routine cross check of voter registration information with other databases maintained by this State and, if feasible, databases of other states, to identify potential voter records that might be eligible for removal.
b. Within six months following the effective date of this act, P.L. , c. (C. ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill), the secretary and county election officials shall report to the Governor, and the Legislature pursuant to section 2 of P.L.1991, c.164 (C.52:14-19.1), the accuracy standards and procedures and the timeline for their implementation. The report shall include recommendations for any statutory changes that may be required prior to their implementation. If statutory changes are required for the implementation of the standards, automatic voter registration shall be reactivated upon their enactment. If statutory changes are not required, automatic voter registration shall be reactivated upon certification by the Secretary of State that the standards are in place and ready for implementation at a date specified by the secretary.
c. Voter registration at
the New Jersey Motor Vehicle Commission and at any other agency shall be
conducted using paper voter registrations in the manner specified under chapter
31 of Title 19 of the Revised Statutes, until automatic voter registration is
reactivated as provided under this act.
2. This act shall take effect immediately.
STATEMENT
This bill suspends automatic voter registration at the New Jersey Motor Vehicle Commission, and at other government agencies that may have established automatic voter registration, until the implementation of standards and procedures to maintain the accuracy of the voter rolls in the Statewide Voter Registration System.
Under current law, a voter may be removed from the voter rolls upon request by the voter; if the voter failed to respond to a confirmation of address notice and has not voted or appeared to vote in any county as of the day after the second general election for federal office following that date on which the confirmation notice is sent; upon death; upon incarceration; and upon an order by a Judge of the Superior Court. However, during the 2020 primary and general elections, the procedures for automatically sending a mail-in ballot to each active registered voter have revealed instances in which voters who should have been removed from the voter rolls have been sent mail-in ballots.
This bill suspends automatic voter registration until each county commissioner of registration, county board of elections, and county clerk, in consultation with the Secretary of State, have developed and implemented the necessary uniform standards and procedures to maintain the accuracy of voter registration rolls consistent with State and federal law. Under the bill, the standards would include, but may not be limited to: (1) procedures to prevent the creation of duplicate voting records for the same person; (2) the timely removal of the voter registration records of inactive, deceased, and non-resident voters; and (3) the routine cross check of voter registration information with other databases maintained by this State and, if feasible, databases of other states, to identify potential voter records that might be eligible for removal.
The bill requires the secretary and county election officials, within six months following the effective date, to report to the Governor and the Legislature the accuracy standards and procedures and the timeline for their implementation, including recommendations for any statutory changes that may be required. Under the bill, automatic voter registration would be reactivated upon enactment of the legislation or at a date specified by the secretary, as the case may be. Voter registration at the New Jersey Motor Vehicle Commission and at any other agency would be conducted using paper voter registrations in the manner specified under current law, until automatic voter registration is reactivated.
