Hugin Campaign Sues Middlesex County Clerk 
Legal Action Taken to Protect Voter Rights 

MOUNTAINSIDE, NJ 一  The Hugin campaign today filed a lawsuit in Superior Court in New Brunswick against the Middlesex County Clerk’s office, challenging its unilateral and improper rejection of hundreds of vote-by-mail applications.

Twenty of the state’s 21 County Clerks have agreed to accept pre-printed applications for vote-by-mail ballots that contain a pre-printed assistor signature, following a practice authorized more than a decade ago under state statutes, case law and an opinion from the New Jersey Office of the Attorney General. But the law is being ignored by Middlesex County Clerk Elaine Flynn, who is the only County Clerk in the State rejecting pre-printed applications bearing a pre-printed assistor signature.

“Voters in Middlesex County are being denied the most simple and straightforward avenue by which to cast their ballots this November. The county clerk in Middlesex County has refused to accept hundreds of applications for vote-by-mail, thereby forcing our campaign to take this unfortunate legal action,” said Hugin Campaign Counsel Mark Sheridan. “In a state that has increasingly made it easier for citizens to cast their ballots each year, the actions of the Middlesex County clerk just weeks before the November election have created an unnecessary obstacle to voters who want to exercise their constitutional right to vote.”

“Since Governor Phil Murphy and Attorney General Gurbir Grewal have failed to intervene on behalf of Middlesex County voters to ensure they are able to cast their ballots, our campaign is being forced to take this unfortunate step and go to court to protect the voters’ rights,” said Sheridan. “If permitted to stand, the clerk’s position will effectively disenfranchise hundreds and possibly thousands of registered Middlesex County voters.”

The County Clerk’s Office is responsible for:

• Accepting nominating petitions for county offices, independent candidates, and candidates for Board of Education running in November
• Drawing the ballot positions
• Designing and preparing the election ballot, the Mail-in, Emergency, Provisional, Sample and Machine Ballots and the preparation of same for the printer
• Inputting all information required to program voting machines with candidate’s names, offices, titles, slogans and public questions in school, primary and general elections
• After the polls close on Election Night, the County Clerk tabulates voting results and certifies the election to the New Jersey Division of Elections

Bob Hugin, a Marine Corps Veteran and business leader who has created thousands of New Jersey jobs, is running for U.S. Senate against incumbent Senator Bob Menendez. For more information visit bobhugin.com.

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