It's In The Mail
With 2023 elections just months away, NJ state senators consider more changes to mail-in voting.
It may be hard to remember, but just five short years ago there was no such thing as “vote by mail” in New Jersey. Of course, there was a long established process for qualified voters to obtain and cast an absentee ballot through the mail. But the liberalized mail-in ballot scheme we know today was one - if not the first - of the Murphy administration’s victories in a quest to fundamentally change how many New Jerseyans cast their ballots in elections.
Since then there have been many changes to election and voting laws; too many to recount here. But, like state laws on almost anything, these changes are far from static. New bills are being introduced all the time. And with all NJ state legislature seats on the ballot in November 2023, changes to mail-in ballot laws passed in the coming months would presumably be targeted for enactment before the Primary or General Election.
Note: While the state legislature is the governmental body which makes the laws, in this case, the work of election administration and its costs are the responsibility of county government. Therefore, many of the impacts of carrying out these changes (if passed) will be on the counties. Previous WANJ observations indicate this type of budgetary consideration (such as prepaid postage) is often, in turn, covered by the State of New Jersey through appropriations bills reimbursing the counties.
S1235 - Requires outer envelope for mailing of voted mail-in ballot by voter to include postage prepaid
S2022 - Requires mail-in ballot applications be available at polling places on election day for voting in future elections.
S2170 - Permits use of uniform ballot for emergency and provisional ballot purposes.
S3365 - Requires mail-in ballot applications to include pre-paid postage.
S3519 - Changes various primary election, vacancy, municipal referendum, and mail-in ballot mailing deadlines.
SJR100 - Designates the month of August as “Civic Health Month” in New Jersey.
SR55 - Urges Congress to make Election Day federal holiday in US.