Public Advocate and League of Women Voters urge voting, emphasize voter’s rights and independent monitoring

TRENTON, NJ – On the eve of potentially the largest general election in New Jersey’s history,  New Jersey Public Advocate Ronald K. Chen and the head of the League of Women Voters of New Jersey are reminding eligible voters that they have rights if they are turned away from the polls, that voter hotlines are available to answer voting questions and that independent poll monitors will be stationed throughout the state.

“Because of the tremendous surge in voter registrations, there may be some isolated incidents of an individual voter’s name not appearing in the poll books,” said Chen. “If that is the case,  those individuals should be offered a provisional ballot. If they are not, they should request a provisional ballot or go to the county courthouse to obtain a court order allowing them to vote.”

Noting that hundreds of thousands of new registrations have been processed in the last month, Chen said it is possible that a very small percentage of those late registrations may have been processed too late to appear in the final poll books in every county.

Chen said that voters could either vote provisionally or could travel to seek a court order from a Superior Court judge – there are judges standing by in each county --  to allow them to vote at their polling place on election day.

Anne Ruach Nicolas, Executive Director of the League of Women Voters of New Jersey, a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization that promotes political responsibility and informed and active participation in government, said her organization and others will also deploy an army of independent volunteer poll monitors  throughout the state.

“In partnership with the ACLU-NJ, we will have volunteer nonpartisan poll monitors throughout the state and I urge any voter who has a concern about their ability to vote on Election Day to contact us at 1-800-792-VOTE,” said Nicolas. ”We have seen a huge increase in voter interest this year, beginning in January and intensifying to this very day.”

Chen said that his department also will have 55 attorneys stationed in a dozen county courthouses to argue on behalf of voters who have been turned away from the polls. Attorneys from other public interest organizations will also be available and the Attorney General will deploy more than 500 lawyers to provide counsel to local election officials.

“First and foremost, don’t give up– never give up if you are turned away from the polls. You may have legal recourse and there are attorneys and judges available throughout the state to ensure that eligible voters can cast their ballots for the candidates of their choice,” said Chen. “Every vote counts and just a single vote can make a difference in a close election.”

On Friday, the Department of the Public Advocate released a report that showed that there were 15 New Jersey elections in the last two years where just one vote would have changed the result, meaning that it would have resulted in a different winner or different public question outcome.

The report also identified 51 New Jersey elections in the last two years where the margin of victory was less than one percent, meaning that just a few additional votes for one candidate or one side of a public question would have changed the result.

If a voter is denied the right to vote, they can appeal that denial to judges in each county have been assigned to hear such appeals.  That judge may issue a court order allowing the voter to vote in the voting booth that day.

Resources for voters:

New Jersey Division of Elections  -- www.njelections.org 877-NJVOTER

NJ Department of the Public Advocate – www.njpublicate.gov 609-826-5090

NJ League of Women Voters www.lwvnj.org 800-792-VOTE

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