Bill > S2575

Introduced Session

This bill suspends automatic voter registration at the New Jersey Motor Vehicle Commission, and at other government agencies that may have established automatic voter registration, until the implementation of standards and procedures to maintain the accuracy of the voter rolls in the Statewide Voter Registration System. Under current law, a voter may be removed from the voter rolls upon request by the voter; if the voter failed to respond to a confirmation of address notice and has not voted or appeared to vote in any county as of the day after the second general election for federal office following that date on which the confirmation notice is sent; upon death; upon incarceration; and upon an order by a Judge of the Superior Court. However, during the 2020 primary and general elections, the procedures for automatically sending a mail-in ballot to each active registered voter have revealed instances in which voters who should have been removed from the voter rolls have been sent mail-in ballots. This bill suspends automatic voter registration until each county commissioner of registration, county board of elections, and county clerk, in consultation with the Secretary of State, have developed and implemented the necessary uniform standards and procedures to maintain the accuracy of voter registration rolls consistent with State and federal law. Under the bill, the standards would include, but may not be limited to: (1) procedures to prevent the creation of duplicate voting records for the same person; (2) the timely removal of the voter registration records of inactive, deceased, and non-resident voters; and (3) the routine cross check of voter registration information with other databases maintained by this State and, if feasible, databases of other states, to identify potential voter records that might be eligible for removal. The bill requires the secretary and county election officials, within six months following the effective date, to report to the Governor and the Legislature the accuracy standards and procedures and the timeline for their implementation, including recommendations for any statutory changes that may be required. Under the bill, automatic voter registration would be reactivated upon enactment of the legislation or at a date specified by the secretary, as the case may be. Voter registration at the New Jersey Motor Vehicle Commission and at any other agency would be conducted using paper voter registrations in the manner specified under current law, until automatic voter registration is reactivated.

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Tony Bucco (R)*,  Kristin Corrado (R)*, 

Introduced in the Senate, Referred to Senate State Government, Wagering, Tourism & Historic Preservation Committee (on 02/08/2024)

Official Document