S2819

An Act concerning the inner envelopes containing mail-in ballots and amending P.L.2009, c.79.

Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:

1. Section 17 of P.L.2009, c.79 (C.19:63-17) is amended to read as follows:

17. The county board of elections shall, promptly after receiving each mail-in ballot, remove the inner envelope containing the ballot from the outer envelope and shall compare the signature and the information contained on the flap of the inner envelope with the signature and information contained in the respective requests for mail-in ballots. In addition, as to mail-in ballots issued less than seven days prior to an election, the county board of elections shall also check to establish that the mail-in voter did not vote in person. The county board shall reject such a ballot if it is not satisfied, pursuant to a comparison with the Statewide voter registration system, that the voter is legally entitled to vote and that the ballot conforms with the requirements of this act.

In the case of a mail-in ballot to be voted at a primary election for the general election, the ballot shall be rejected if the mail-in voter has indicated in the certificate the voter's intention to vote in a primary election of any political party in which the voter is not entitled to vote according to the Statewide voter registration system, and if it shall appear from the record that the voter is not entitled to vote in a primary election of the political party which has been so indicated.

Any mail-in ballot which is received by a county board of elections shall be rejected if both the inner and outer envelopes are unsealed or if either envelope has a seal that has been tampered with.

Disputes about the qualifications of a mail-in voter to vote or about whether or not or how any mail-in ballot shall be counted in such election shall be referred to the Superior Court for determination.

After such investigation, the county board of elections shall detach or separate the certificate from the inner envelope containing the mail-in ballot, unless it has been rejected by it or by the Superior Court, marking the envelope so as to identify the election district in which the ballot contained therein is to be voted as indicated by the voter's home address appearing on the certificate attached to or accompanying the inner envelope and, in the case of ballots to be voted at a primary election for a general election, so as to identify the political party in the primary election of which it is to be voted.

The location at which a county board of elections determines whether a mail-in ballot shall be accepted or rejected shall be considered an election district for the purposes of appointment of challengers.

A county board of elections may begin opening the inner envelopes and removing each mail-in ballot from the inner envelopes no earlier than five days prior to the day of the election. If a county board of elections begins opening the inner envelopes and removing the mail-in ballots from the inner envelopes prior to the day of the election, the county board shall implement the measures necessary to ensure the security and secrecy of the mail-in ballots. The county board of elections shall not canvass the mail-in ballots until the opening of the polls for that election. The contents of the mail-in ballots shall remain confidential and shall be disclosed only in accordance with the provisions of Title 19 of the Revised Statutes and regulations concerning the disclosure of election results.

(cf: P.L.2011, c.134, c.55)

2. Section 22 of P.L.2009, c.79 (C.19:63-22) is amended to read as follows:

22. [On] At the time set for the opening of the polls on the day of each election each county board of elections shall open in the presence of the commissioner of registration, or the designee thereof, the inner envelopes that contain the mail-in ballots with the votes cast for the election. A county board of elections may begin opening the inner envelopes and removing the mail-in ballots from the inner envelopes no earlier than five days prior to the day of the election. If a county board of elections begins opening the inner envelopes and removing the mail-in ballots from the inner envelopes prior to the day of the election, the county board shall implement the measures necessary to ensure the security and secrecy of the mail-in ballots. The contents of the mail-in ballots shall remain confidential and shall be disclosed only in accordance with the provisions of Title 19 of the Revised Statutes and regulations concerning the disclosure of election results.

The inner envelopes containing the ballots that the board or the Superior Court has rejected shall not be so opened, but shall be retained as provided for by this act. The board shall [then proceed to] canvass the votes cast on the mail-in ballots, but no such ballot shall be counted in any primary election for the general election if the ballot of the political party marked for voting thereon differs from the designation of the political party in the primary election of which such ballot is intended to be voted as marked on the envelope by the county board of elections.

Every mail-in ballot that bears a postmark date of the day of the election and that is received by the county board within 48 hours after the time of the closing of the polls for the election that the ballot was prepared shall be considered valid and shall be canvassed.

Immediately after the canvass is completed, the respective county boards of election shall certify the result of the canvass to the county clerk or the municipal or district clerk or other appropriate officer, as the case may be, showing the result of the canvass by municipality and ward. The votes thus canvassed shall be counted in determining the result of the election.

The county board of elections shall, immediately after the canvass is completed for any primary election, certify the results of the votes cast for members of the county committees to the respective municipal clerks, and those votes shall be counted in determining the result of the election.

(cf: P.L.2018, c.72, s.8)

3. This act shall take effect immediately.

STATEMENT

Under current law, the county board of elections process mail-in ballots promptly after receiving each mail-in ballot by removing the inner envelope containing the ballot from the outer envelope and comparing the signature and the information contained on the flap of the inner envelope with the signature and information contained in the respective requests for mail-in ballots. During the processing of mail-in ballots, the ballots are not removed from the inner envelopes until the canvassing of the ballots on election day.

Under the bill, a county board of elections may begin opening the inner envelopes and removing each mail-in ballot from the inner envelopes no earlier than five days prior to the day of the election. If a county board of elections begins opening the inner envelopes and removing the mail-in ballots from the inner envelopes prior to the day of the election, the county board is required to implement the measures necessary to ensure the security and secrecy of the mail-in ballots. A county board of elections is prohibited from canvassing the mail-in ballots until the opening of the polls for that election. The contents of the mail-in ballots must remain confidential in compliance with current law and regulations concerning disclosure of election results.

This bill seeks to enable county boards of elections to process mail-in ballots more quickly and to provide election results in a timelier manner. The number of mail-in ballots received by the county boards of elections are expected to increase substantially due to the COVID-19 public health crisis and Governor Murphy’s Executive Order No.177 (2020), which requires the November general election to be conducted primarily via mail-in ballots.