Sponsored by:
Assemblyman ALEX SAUICKIE
District 12 (Burlington, Middlesex, Monmouth and Ocean)
Assemblywoman DAWN FANTASIA
District 24 (Morris, Sussex and Warren)
SYNOPSIS
Requires biannual audits of voter registration lists.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
As introduced.
An Act requiring biannual audits of voter registration lists and supplementing Title 19 of the Revised Statutes.
Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. This act shall be known and may be cited as the “Election Integrity Through Voter Roll Accuracy Act.”
2. a. In addition to any measures undertaken to maintain and update the list of registered voters in each county and the Statewide voter registration system pursuant to chapter 31 of Title 19 of the Revised Statutes, the county commissioner of registration in each county shall audit the county’s list of registered voters twice per year to ensure the list is accurate and up to date, and shall update the Statewide voter registration system accordingly. In conducting such audits, the county commissioner of registration shall utilize all information provided by other county commissioners of registration, State agencies, and the federal government, as well as any other information that is publicly available.
b. Each county commissioner of registration shall complete the first audit of the year by May 1 and the second audit of the year by December 1 in each year and shall submit a summary report of any inconsistencies or errors in the list of registered voters, as well as the remedial action taken, to the Secretary of State, the Governor, and the Legislature pursuant to section 2 of P.L.1991, c.164 (C.52:14-19.1), within 30 days of the applicable deadline. The summary report shall be made publicly available on the Division of Elections Internet website.
3. This act shall take effect January 1 next following the date of enactment.
STATEMENT
This bill establishes the “Election Integrity Through Voter Roll Accuracy Act.”
Under current law, the county commissioner of registration in each county is required to maintain the list of registered voters in that county. As part of registered voter list maintenance, the commissioner of registration adds newly registered voters to the list and removes voters who have moved away, died, or otherwise become ineligible to vote in that county. The commissioner is also responsible for updating the Statewide voter registration system to reflect changes to the list of registered voters. However, recent reports that more than 6,000 people who were ineligible to vote were nonetheless registered to vote demonstrate the need for additional checks and safeguards in the voter registration process.
Under this bill, the county commissioner of registration in each county will be required to conduct biannual audits of the list of registered voters in that county to ensure the list is accurate and up to date, and to update the Statewide voter registration system accordingly, in addition to the routine maintenance of voter registration lists conducted under current law. In conducting the audits, the commissioners are authorized to use all information provided by other county commissioners of registration, State agencies, and the federal government, as well as any other information that is publicly available.
The bill requires each county commissioner of registration to complete the first audit of the year by May 1 and the second audit of the year by December 1 in each year and provide a summary report of any errors or inconsistencies uncovered by the audit to the Secretary of State, the Governor, and the Legislature within 30 days of the applicable deadline. The report will also be made public on the Division of Elections Internet website.