Bucco: Democrats Sneak Measure Into New Law that Could Allow Vote Counts to Leak Before Election Day

Unpublicized Provision of Rushed VBM Legislation Would Allow Mail-in Ballots to Be Opened Up to 10 Days Before General Election

Senator Anthony M. Bucco warned that Governor Phil Murphy and legislative Democrats slipped a provision into a rushed vote-by-mail bill that was recently signed into law that allows for sealed and completed mail-in ballots to be opened, counted, and potentially leaked to campaign operatives before the upcoming general election.

“Governor Murphy and legislative Democrats have taken the vote-by-mail process that the governor has forced upon every New Jersey voter and supercharged the potential for corrupt actors to manipulate our upcoming election,” said Bucco. (R-25). “It’s just one more reason that voters should have the choice to vote securely on a machine at a polling center this November.”

A provision to allow mail-in ballots to be opened and counted up to 10 days before the general election was quietly inserted by Democrats into A-4475, a measure concerning the placement of election drop boxes for delivering mail-in ballots. The legislation was amended, adopted, and signed into law in short order with no public mention of the provision’s addition to the bill.

“It’s hard to imagine that the political appointees who sit on election boards around the state won’t share vote totals with campaign operatives in advance of the election,” said Bucco. “If anyone thinks that won’t happen, they’re delusional. Giving campaign operatives access to confidential vote counts before Election Day would be an unfair advantage that could be used to change the outcome of elections.”

In a published piece last weekend, an anonymous Democratic campaign operative from New Jersey explained how he has conducted vote-by-mail fraud across New Jersey for years to help elect officeholders at all levels of government. He explained in detail how political operatives engage in a systematic process of mail-in ballot fraud to win close elections.

“While Governor Murphy and Democratic leaders continue to say that mail-in ballot fraud doesn’t occur, we know for a fact that it does,” said Bucco. “That’s why so many people are skeptical of being forced to vote by mail in a process they don’t believe is secure. Instead of building trust in our election process, the new law simply provides one more way for corrupt campaigns to try to cheat the system.”

Bucco and Senate Republicans made an effort during the Senate session last week to allow voters to cast in-person ballots on a machine at their polling center on Election Day. The majority Democrats blocked the effort to provide a choice to voters in how their ballots are cast.

“Now that restrictions on indoor dining and going to the gym have been lifted, the voting booth is the only place that Governor Murphy is keeping off-limits,” added Bucco. “People deserve a choice in how they vote, to know their vote is counted, and to have faith in the results of our elections. In fact, the very integrity of our democracy depends on it.”