A4055

An Act concerning the ability of voters to vote at any polling place in their municipality on election day, amending R.S.19:6-1, R.S.19:14-22, and R.S.19:23-31, and supplementing Title 19 of the Revised Statutes.

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

1. (New section) This act shall be known and may be cited as “The Voter Convenience Act.”

2. (New section) a. Notwithstanding any provision of Title 19 of the Revised Statutes, or any other law, rule, or regulation to the contrary, the Secretary of State in conjunction with all county clerks and county boards of elections, shall develop uniform guidelines to enable a county board of elections, at the discretion of the county board, to implement a process by which the voters of each municipality in that county may be permitted to cast their vote at any polling place in their municipality on the day of any election. Under the process permitted by this section, the district boards of elections at each polling place in a municipality shall be organized at the polling place in a manner that permits any member of a district board to check-in any voter walking into the polling place within their municipality, using the electronic poll books authorized under P.L.2019, c.80 (C.19:31-35 et seq.). The process shall also enable the voter to vote at any voting machine at the polling place. The uniform guidelines shall develop the means by which the voter will be provided the correct ballot for that voter, which shall identify the voter’s election district. To the extent made possible by available technology, the requirement to issue a voting authority to each voter pursuant to section 1 P.L.1944, c.213 (C.19:52-2.1) may be replaced by a suitable procedure.

b. In addition to allowing any voter to vote at any polling place within their municipality, the Secretary of State in conjunction with all county clerks and county boards of elections may authorize the uniform guidelines developed pursuant to subsection a. of this section to be implemented in a manner that enables any voter residing within each county to cast their vote at designated polling places within their county of residence on the day of any election.

3. R.S.19:6-1 is amended to read as follows:

19:6-1. The district boards in each election district shall consist of four members, except that where electronic voting systems are in use any election district in which there are more than 900 registered voters the district board shall consist of six members. The members shall be appointed by the county board of the county in which such election district is located, in the manner hereinafter provided.

In election districts in which the primary language of 10% or more of the registered voters is Spanish, the county board shall appoint two additional members who shall be of Hispanic origin and fluent in Spanish.

Notwithstanding any provision of this section to the contrary, where the provisions of section 1 of P.L. , c. (C. ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill) are implemented, the number of district board members shall be determined by the county board of elections in accordance with the uniform guidelines developed pursuant thereto.

(cf: P.L.1975, c.316, s.3)

4. R.S.19:14-22 is amended to read as follows:

19:14-22. The official general election sample ballots shall be as nearly as possible facsimiles of the official general election ballot to be voted at such election and shall have printed thereon, after the words which indicate the number of the election district for which such sample ballots are printed, the name of the school district, when appropriate, the number or name and municipality or municipalities of the fire district, when appropriate, the street address or location of the polling place in the election district or the polling places at which the voter may vote where the provisions of section 1 of P.L. , c. (C. ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill) are implemented, and the hours between which the polls shall be open. Such sample ballots shall be printed on paper different in color from the official general election ballot, and have the following words printed in large type at the top: "This ballot cannot be voted. It is a sample copy of the official general election ballot used on election day." The sample ballot shall also state clearly the days, hours and places at which early voting shall be available in the county.

(cf: P.L.2021, c.40, s.11)

5. R.S.19:23-31 is amended to read as follows:

19:23-31. The official primary sample ballot shall be, as nearly as possible, a facsimile of the official primary ballot to be voted at the primary election and shall be printed on paper different in color from the official primary ballot, so that the same may be readily distinguished from the official primary ballot. It shall state clearly the days, hours, and places at which early voting shall be available in the county. The official primary sample ballot shall have printed at the top in large type the words: "This official primary sample ballot is an exact copy of the official primary ballot to be used on primary election day. This ballot cannot be voted." The official primary sample ballot shall also have printed thereon, following the words which indicate the election district, the following words: "The polling place for this election district is (Stating the location of said polling place)." Where the provisions of section 1 of P.L. , c. (C. ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill) are implemented, the official primary sample ballot shall have printed thereon, following the words which indicate the election district, the following words: "The polling places where you may vote are (Stating the locations of said polling places)."

(cf: P.L.2021, c.40, s.14)

6. This act shall take effect immediately.

STATEMENT

This bill establishes “The Voter Convenience Act,” to allow voters to vote at any polling place in their municipality on election day.

Under current law, a polling place is used by the voters of several election districts. When voters walk into their assigned polling place, they must then go to the table for their assigned election district, and vote on that district’s voting machine.

Under this bill, the Secretary of State in conjunction with all county clerks and county boards of elections, are directed to develop uniform guidelines to enable a county board of elections, at the discretion of the county board, to implement a process by which the voters of each municipality in that county may be permitted to cast their vote at any polling place in their municipality on the day of any election. Under the bill, the district boards of elections at each polling place in a municipality would be organized at the polling place in a manner that permits any member of a district board to check-in any voter walking into the polling place within their municipality, using electronic poll books. Under this process, the voter would be able to vote at any voting machine at the polling place, using the correct ballot for that voter, which would identify the voter’s election district. To the extent made possible by available technology, the requirement to issue a voting authority to each voter would be replaced by a suitable procedure. The bill would allow this process to also be used to establish countywide polling places, whereby a voter who is a resident of that county would be able to cast their vote.

This bill also amends current law to allow the county boards of elections to determine the number of district board members needed at each polling place where the bill’s provisions are implemented. The bill also amends current law to include the location of the polling places under the bill on the primary election and general election sample ballots.