Gopal, Cruz-Perez Bill to Create More Transparency in the Electoral Process Signed into Law

TRENTON – Legislation sponsored by Senator Vin Gopal and Senator Nilsa Cruz-Perez that requires district boards of elections to report, every two hours, the number of voters who have voted at each precinct, and authorizes challengers to request the reported count, was signed into law today by Governor Phil Murphy.

“The law is intended to promote greater transparency in the electoral process by requiring the district boards to report how many voters have voted, and by allowing challengers to have access to current turnout information during Election Day,” said Senator Gopal (D-Monmouth).

“We want to create as much transparency as possible when it comes to our elections.  In times like these, it is important that they are fair and secure,” said Senator Cruz-Perez (D-Camden/Gloucester).

Under the law, the district boards of election at each polling place would be required to create and publicly display a notice containing an official count of the cumulative number of voters who have voted at each precinct. The notice would also indicate how many voted by voting machine and by provisional ballot. The notice would be produced two hours from the opening of the polls and updated every two hours until the polls close.

The law will take effect immediately.