A5615

An Act requiring periodic reviews of the Statewide voter registration system and supplementing Title 19 of the Revised Statutes.

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

1. 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:

(1) Motor Vehicle Commission records, including transactions involving the issuance or renewal of a New Jersey driver’s license, a New Jersey REAL ID identification card or license issued in accordance with the federal “REAL ID Act of 2005,” 49 U.S.C. s.30301, or an identification card issued pursuant to P.L.1980, c.47 (C.39:3-29.2 et seq.);

(2) death records provided by the Social Security Administration, the New Jersey Department of Health, the State registrar of vital statistics, or an appropriate health officer as provided by R.S.19:31-16;

(3) change of address data from the United States Postal Service;

(4) information obtained from a non-profit organization pursuant to section 1 of P.L.2021, c.139 (C.19:31-34.1);

(5) information provided by other county commissioners of registration, State agencies, other states, or the federal government; and

(6) any other information from a government entity that is publicly available.

b. (1) Each county commissioner of registration shall, in each calendar year, complete the first audit of the year by May 1 and the second audit of the year by December 1.

(2) Upon a finding that a registered voter may be ineligible to vote, the commissioner shall place the registered voter under review and provide the registered voter with notice and an opportunity to cure any deficiencies in the voter’s file.

Written notice shall be provided by certified mail delivered to the address reflected in the voter’s file, shall specify the reason for initiating the review of the voter’s file, and shall identify the information that is required of the voter to verify that the voter is eligible to vote in the respective county. The voter shall have 10 business days from the date of receipt of such notice to provide the required information to the commissioner.

If the information provided by the voter proves, to the satisfaction of the commissioner, that the voter is eligible to vote in the county, then the commissioner shall update the voter’s file accordingly and no further action shall be required on the part of the voter in order to vote. If, however, the information provided by the voter fails to demonstrate that the voter is eligible to vote, then the commissioner shall remove the voter from the county’s list of registered voters and from the Statewide voter registration system.

(3) Upon a finding that a registered voter knew at the time of registration that the voter was ineligible to vote and knowingly registered anyway, or in any other way knowingly attempted to commit voter fraud in violation of Title 19 of the Revised Statutes, the commissioner shall refer such findings to the respective county prosecutor, or to the Attorney General, as appropriate.

c. Each county commissioner of registration shall submit a summary report of any inconsistencies or errors in the list of registered voters, as well as the remedial action taken, and any criminal referrals resulting from the audits required pursuant to this section 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 completion of each audit. The summary report shall be made publicly available on the Division of Elections Internet website.

2. This act shall take effect January 1 next following the date of enactment.

STATEMENT

This bill requires the county commissioner of registration in each county to conduct periodic audits of the county’s list of registered voters and to update the list and the Statewide voter registration system accordingly.

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.

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.

If the commissioner finds that a registered voter may be ineligible to vote, the bill requires that the commissioner to place the registered voter under review and provide the registered voter with notice and an opportunity to cure any deficiencies in the voter’s file. Written notice will be provided by certified mail delivered to the address reflected in the voter’s file, will specify the reason for initiating the review of the voter’s file, and will identify the information that is required of the voter to verify that the voter is eligible to vote in the respective county. The voter will have 10 business days from the date of receipt of such notice to provide the required information to the commissioner. If the information provided by the voter proves, to the satisfaction of the commissioner, that the voter is eligible to vote in the county, then the commissioner will update the voter’s file accordingly and no further action will be required. If, however, the information fails to demonstrate that the voter is eligible to vote, then the commissioner will remove the voter from the county’s list of registered voters and from the Statewide voter registration system.

The bill also requires that the commissioner notify the respective county prosecutor or the Attorney General if their findings suggest that a registered voter knew at the time of registration that they were ineligible to vote and knowingly registered anyway, or in any other way knowingly attempted to commit voter fraud in violation of State law.

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.