Asm. Scharfenberger Bill Seeks to Secure & Cross Check Voter Rolls

Middletown, N.J. – Assemblyman Gerry Scharfenberger (LD13) has introduced legislation (A5097) seeking to ease concerns pertaining to the validity of our election process as well as provide several intra-departmental methods to ensure accuracy of voter rolls. These measures would go a long way to safeguard the integrity and quality of New Jersey’s democracy:

“Questionable occurrences around the nation during November’s General Election have shaken the faith of many Americans in our electoral process,” said Scharfenberger. “Reports of alleged fraud, voter irregularities and interference have sparked a call to action to ensure elections are secure and sound at every level, for every office – something that quite frankly should have been occurring all along across the State.”

The Assemblyman’s bill would create a more uniform statewide voter registration system and call for county boards of election to work in unison with the State to certify the validity and accuracy of information through sharing of changes in their individual systems.

Secondly, it would implement an internal Cross-Check Reference by requiring departments and agencies, such as the Motor Vehicle Commission and the Department of Health, to inform the Secretary of State of any development that may render a voter ineligible and protect against instances of duplication on voter rolls. Examples of which include, but are not limited to recent deaths, a change in name or address, or incarceration:

“One of the most common problems plaguing elections every year deals with the accuracy of voter rolls as was found with our recent majority Vote-by-Mail election,” Scharfenberger stated. “My office was inundated by constituents around the State who alerted us to problematic ballots such as those sent to deceased individuals, people receiving ballots for those who moved, and countless other problems which led to boards of election having to spend more resources to correct and ultimately complicating what should have been an otherwise seamless process.”

In New Jersey, voter rolls often draw scrutiny from both sides of the political aisle as their validity is annually called into question. Through proper maintenance and systematic upkeep, we can move into a new era where the public can have overwhelming confidence in the accuracy of results:

“My legislation is designed to reduce contention during our elections as well as alleviate concerns from future contests through a constant stream of information and the checking of rolls,” Scharfenberger concluded. “This will greatly aid in decreasing any instances of potential fraud at the ballot box and help avoid mail in ballots from falling into the hands of unscrupulous individuals as even highlighted in a report issued by former President Carter when he said: ‘Absentee ballots remain the largest source of potential voter fraud.’ We believe that most Americans can live with the results of any election if they are confident it has been conducted fairly and lawfully.”

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