ASSEMBLY APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE

 

STATEMENT TO

 

ASSEMBLY, No. 5823

 

STATE OF NEW JERSEY

 

DATED:  NOVEMBER 14, 2019

 

      The Assembly Appropriations Committee reports favorably Assembly Bill No. 5823.

      This bill removes the prohibition on voting by persons who are on parole or probation due to a conviction for an indictable offense under any federal or State laws.

      Under Article II, Section I, paragraph 7, the New Jersey Constitution authorizes the Legislature to deny the right to vote to persons convicted of crimes designated by the Legislature. Under N.J.S.A.2C:51-3, a person who is convicted of a crime is disqualified from “voting in any primary, municipal, special or general election as determined by the provisions of R.S.19:4-1.”  In relevant part, R.S.19:4-1 denies the right to vote to any person “who is serving a sentence or is on parole or probation as a result of a conviction of any indictable offense under the laws of this or another state or of the United States.” In New Jersey, indictable offenses are crimes of the fourth through first degree.      

      Under the bill, persons who are on parole or probation would be permitted to vote. However, persons who are serving a sentence of incarceration would continue to be disenfranchised until they complete the term of incarceration. Accordingly, this bill also amends statutory provisions that require the commissioner of registration in each county to compare voter registration records with criminal conviction records to prevent disenfranchised persons from voting and registering to vote (N.J.S.A.19:31-17); and criminalize the act of voting while disenfranchised (N.J.S.A.19:34-4). Under the bill, these statutes would apply only to disenfranchisement while a person is serving a sentence of incarceration.

 

FISCAL IMPACT:

      The Office of Legislative Services (OLS) estimates that the increase in the number of people registered to vote in New Jersey resulting from the bill would result in an indeterminate increase in State and county expenditures. Newly registered voters are likely to receive voter acknowledgement cards and sample ballots before elections.  Counties will incur additional costs associated with the printing and mailing of these documents.

      The Division of Elections in the Department of State will incur costs relating to additional voter registration forms and necessary changes to the existing form to reflect that individuals on parole or probation would no longer be prohibited from voting.

      The bill would also increase the costs to counties due to a potential increase in the number of mail-in ballots requested in each county.  Vote-by-mail ballots are more expensive to produce than sample ballots because the vote-by-mail ballots are printed on special bonded paper that permits scanning and bar coding, as well as other security requirements.  The OLS does not have sufficient information to determine the number of individuals that are likely to request a vote-by-mail ballot.