Assemblywoman Stanfield derides cancellation of

in-person voting

TRENTON – Assemblywoman Jean Stanfield demanded Governor Phil Murphy reverse his decision to cut off in-person voting for the November election.

“In the days following Governor Murphy’s decision to close voting at the polls, I’ve heard from hundreds of residents that are rightfully afraid their vote will not be counted due to an overtaxed mail-in system,” Stanfield said.

Ten percent of mail-in votes were rejected and there were a myriad of issues in the state’s May and July primaries, respectively, according to reports from NJ Spotlight and NJ.com. The all vote-by-mail election also produced results that weren’t final until weeks after the election.

“There’s clearly a place for vote by mail and absentee ballots. They are an important tool in our elections, but the evidence from the primary election is clear that the system we have in place can’t handle an all-mail election. The general election will be much bigger, lead to even more ballots being thrown out and cause long delays in results that will lead to citizen distrust,” Stanfield said.

“We need to allow residents to vote in person. If they want to vote by mail, they should get an application to do so,” she continued. “But there is no reason to believe people can’t safely stand in line and socially distance if they choose to practice their sacred right of voting in person.”