THE LATEST: U.S. Postal Service says it can’t guarantee all N.J. mail-in ballots will be delivered on time
All of New Jersey’s approximately 6.2 million registered voters will receive mail-in ballots to vote in November’s election as the state continues to cope with the coronavirus pandemic, under an executive order Gov. Phil Murphy signed Friday.
Murphy said the Garden State will have a “hybrid” election Nov. 3, with expanded mail-in voting and a select number of in-person polling locations across the state.
The move comes despite President Donald Trump amping up his opposition to widespread mail-in voting while he vies for re-election in November and over the objections of local Republicans and county leaders.
It also comes amid uncertainty and concern over how the U.S. Postal Service will handle election season. It was revealed later Friday that the agency has sent New Jersey and other states a warning letter that it can’t guarantee all mail-in ballots will be delivered in time to be counted.
“Everybody gets a ballot,” Murphy said as he announced the decision during an interview Friday morning on “New Day.”
“As much as we enjoy the time-honored traditions of joining our neighbors on line to cast our ballots on Election Day, and as much as we are energized by seeking packed polling places, we must recognize that this is not a regular election year,” the Democratic governor added Friday afternoon as he unveiled more details during his latest coronavirus briefing in Trenton.
“We can say that in more ways than one, but it certainly matters in terms of how we go about ensuring a free and open election in the face of this ongoing pandemic,” he added.
New Jersey is one of four states, plus Washington, D.C., to announce they will proactively mail ballots to voters before the election this year.
The setup Murphy announced is similar to how New Jersey held its primary elections in July, which were delayed a month and held mostly mail-in, with some physical voting locations, to help protect against COVID-19. The state also delayed a number of local elections earlier in the year and made those races vote-by-mail only.
But the general election is a much larger undertaking, with much higher stakes and a likely much larger turnout. At the top of the ticket is the presidential race between Trump, a Republican, and former Vice President Joe Biden, his Democratic challenger.
U.S. Sen. Cory Booker, D-N.J., is also running for re-election against Republican Rik Mehta, and all 12 of New Jersey’s U.S. House seats are on the ballot. There will be local races, as well.
Under Murphy’s order, county clerks must mail ballots with prepaid postage to voters by Oct. 5.
You can either then mail in your ballot, drop it in a secure drop box being set up across the state, take it to one of the select physical polling locations, or vote by provisional ballot in person, Murphy said. Only people with disabilities will be able to vote via machine in person.
There will be at least one in-person polling location in each of New Jersey’s 565 municipalities.
The state will also set up at least 10 secure boxes in each county where you can drop your ballot.
If voting by mail, all ballots must be sent through the U.S. Postal Service, postmarked by Nov. 3, and received by your county clerk by 8 p.m., Nov. 10 — a week after Election Day.
Ballots that lack postmarks because to postal error must be by 8 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 5 to be counted — 48 hours after in-person polls have closed.
”Unlike some other states, we will not look for ways to restrict the rights of voters to have their voices heard or to otherwise block access to the ballot,” Murphy said. “We are doing everything we can to ensure that every voter is heard.”
Trump and other Republicans have railed against allowing widespread mail-in voting in November, warning it could lead to fraud and delayed results.
Voter fraud in the U.S. is historically rare, according to multiple studies and statistics. Nearly 1 in 4 voters cast ballots in the 2016 presidential election via mail.
Still, Trump told Fox Business on Thursday that he is opposed to Democratic lawmakers who want $3.6 billion in federal grants to protect in-person voting and $25 billion for the U.S. Postal Service as part of coronavirus stimulus negotiations.
“If they don’t get those two items, that means you can’t have universal mail-in voting because they’re not equipped to have it,” Trump said, arguing that the 2020 election could lead to “the greatest fraud in history.”
Meanwhile, Thomas Marshall, the Postal Service’s general counsel and executive vice president, sent New Jersey’s secretary of state a letter July 30 saying that “certain deadlines for requesting and casting mail-in ballots are incongruous with the Postal Service’s delivery standards.”
That creates a “significant risk” a ballot could be requested and returned too late to be counted, Marshall said.
Still, some of his concerns involved residents requesting to vote absentee, which won’t be necessary because everyone will automatically be sent a ballot. Plus, the state is giving a week for clerks to receive ballots after Election Day.
Murphy said Friday “it’s ridiculous the post office is being politicized” but added: “I believe with all my heart it will be funded and cooler heads will prevail.”
CORONAVIRUS RESOURCES: Live map tracker | Newsletter | Homepage
New Jersey has had issues with mail-in voting this year, with some voters receiving the wrong ballots in the mail and some results taking weeks to become official. Also, about 1 in 10 people who mailed in ballots in May’s special elections had their votes rejected.
Meanwhile, after allegations of voter fraud in the Paterson City Council race in May, state Attorney General Gurbir Grewal filed voting fraud charges against a city councilman and a councilman-elect.
Murphy admitted Friday “there were some very specific issues around the Paterson mail-in ballots in our May local elections” and “law enforcement is actually pursuing that.”
“Overwhelmingly, this was successful,” he added. “You never say you bat 1,000, but I’m pretty sure we have a higher probability of being hit by lightning than we do uncovering voter fraud.”
A trio of Republican state lawmakers from Sussex County called Murphy’s move an “abuse of power.”
“Once again, the governor is unilaterally changing election law with the stroke of his magic pen,” state Sen. Steve Oroho and state Assemblymen Parker Space and Hal Wirths said in a joint statement.
Dr. Anthony Fauci, the White House’s leading infectious disease expert, said recently there‘s “no reason” you can’t have in-person voting if it’s “carefully done.”
“If you go and wear a mask, if you observe the physical distancing, and don’t have a crowded situation, there’s no reason why you shouldn’t be able to do that,” Fauci said.
CORONAVIRUS RESOURCES: Live map tracker | Newsletter | Homepage
Almost 1.5 million voters cast ballots either in person or by mail in New Jersey’s July primary — a 26% turnout second only to the 1.7 million who voted in 2008, according to the state Division of Elections. It’s also the same percentage as those who voted in 2016, the last year with a presidential race.
About 87% of the votes cast in this year’s primary were via mail.
The coronavirus pandemic is not affecting New Jersey at the levels it was earlier this year.
Still, Murphy on Thursday reported 10 more deaths attributed to COVID-19 — half of which occurred this week — and 699 new cases. That’s the second straight day the state has reported more than 500 new cases.
But the state reported a rate of transmission at 0.92 for the third straight day. The goal is to keep the number under 1, meaning each newly infected resident is passing the virus to fewer than one other person, on average. Anything over 1 means the outbreak is expanding.
NJ Advance Media staff writers Katie Kausch and Blake Nelson contributed to this report.
Our journalism needs your support. Please subscribe today to NJ.com.
Brent Johnson may be reached at bjohnson@njadvancemedia.com.
Comments