Sponsored by:
Assemblyman RONALD S. DANCER
District 12 (Burlington, Middlesex, Monmouth and Ocean)
SYNOPSIS
Requires provision of face masks free of charge to voters at each polling place under certain circumstances; prohibits proof of COVID-19 vaccination to vote.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
As introduced.
An Act concerning certain COVID-19 prevention requirements at polling places.
Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. a. Whenever any law, rule, regulation, ordinance, resolution, or executive order intended to prevent the spread of COVID-19 requires a voter to wear a face mask to enter a polling place to vote, the district board of elections shall be required to provide a face mask to each voter who presents at the polling place without a face mask to ensure that no voter is denied the opportunity to cast their ballot in person at the polling place. There shall not be instituted any requirement to show proof of COVID-19 vaccination to exercise a voter’s right to vote.
b. To the extent permitted by federal law, the implementation costs of the provisions of subsection a. of this section shall be paid from the monies received by the State under the federal “Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act,” Pub.L.116-136, or any other financial assistance provided by the federal government to address the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. If insufficient federal funds are available to cover the implementation costs of subsection a. of this section, there shall be appropriated from the General Fund as State aid to the Department of State such sums as may be necessary to reimburse local government units for the additional costs incurred to implement the provision of this act, P.L. , c. (pending before the Legislature as this bill), upon application for reimbursement by a local government unit to the Secretary of State and approval of the application by the Director of the Division of Budget and Accounting in the Department of the Treasury.
2. This act shall take effect immediately and shall expire at the end of the COVID-19 public health emergency and state of emergency declared by the Governor in Executive Order No. 103 of 2020, and as extended.
STATEMENT
This bill requires district boards of elections to provide face masks free of charge to voters at each polling place and prohibits proof of COVID-19 vaccination to be allowed to vote. Under the bill, whenever any law, rule, regulation, ordinance, resolution, or executive order intended to prevent the spread of COVID-19 requires a voter to wear a face mask to enter a polling place to vote, the district board of elections would be required to provide a face mask to each voter who presents at the polling place without a face mask to ensure that no voter is denied the opportunity to vote in person. The bill also prohibits any requirement to show proof of COVID-19 vaccination to exercise a voter’s right to vote.
The bill requires that federal funds be used to cover its implementation costs. If federal funds are insufficient, the bill appropriates from the General Fund to the Department of State the funds necessary to implement its provisions, and provides for reimbursement to local government units for their implementation costs. The bill takes effect immediately and would continue in effect for the duration of the COVID-19 public health emergency and state of emergency.