ASSEMBLY, No. 608

STATE OF NEW JERSEY

Introduced Pending Technical Review by Legislative Counsel

PRE-FILED FOR INTRODUCTION IN THE 1996 SESSION

By Assemblyman LUSTBADER

An Act concerning petitions used in referenda and supplementing chapter 5 of Title 1 of the Revised Statutes.

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

    1. a. Whenever a petition is circulated within a county, municipality, school district, or special district for the purpose of gathering the signatures of registered voters in order to place a referendum question on the ballot in any election, each page of the petition shall be arranged to contain, in addition to such other content relative thereto required by law, double spacing between the signature lines of the petition so that each signer thereof is afforded sufficient space to provide his or her printed name, address and signature.

    b. Upon the enactment of this act, the Secretary of State shall notify in writing each county and municipal clerk and the secretary of the board of education of each school district in the State of the provisions of subsection a. of section 1 thereof and thereafter shall repeat such notification as periodically as the Secretary deems necessary.

    2. This act shall take effect on January 1 following enactment.

STATEMENT

    The purpose of this bill is to require that whenever a petition is circulated within a county, municipality, school district, or special district to gather signatures in order to place a referendum question on the ballot in any election, each page of the petition shall be arranged to contain double spacing between the signature lines of the petition so that each signer thereof is afforded sufficient space to provide his or her printed name, address and signature.

    The bill also provides that upon its enactment, the Secretary of State shall notify in writing each county and municipal clerk and the secretary of the board of education of each school district in the State of its provisions and thereafter shall repeat such notification as periodically as the Secretary deems necessary.

Requires petitions used in referenda to contain double spacing for improved signatory identification.