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NJ could limit restricted uniformed police at polling sites on Election Day
By
Tennyson Donyéa (
WHYY
)
Published Nov 1, 2022
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EQRoy / Shutterstock
By
Tennyson Donyéa (
WHYY
)
Published Nov 1, 2022
Share
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Just a week before Election Day, New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy weighed in on recent legislation that limits the presence of uniformed police officers at polling places.
Democrats in the Legislature who sponsored the bill say it’s meant to prevent voter intimidation in communities of color, which have historically faced barriers to voting in the U.S. Republicans opposed the legislation, calling it anti-police.
Murphy addressed the measure on Monday during his monthly "Ask the Governor" call-in show.
“All this is about being sensible, responsible, certainly, first and foremost, keeping our blessed kids safe and sound. But I do think the disproportionate amount of intimidation if you look at our country’s history, has been in communities of color and that is for sure,” Murphy said.
After passionate debate last Thursday, the General Assembly unanimously passed the bill. The state Senate passed its version of the bill in June.
Murphy did not indicate if or when he would sign it into law.
He also commented on new rules regarding early and absentee voting.
New Jersey has made tweaks to the ballot counting process that supporters said address election transparency.
For the first time, in an effort to ensure results aren’t delayed, election workers will be allowed to open mail ballots five days before Election Day. However, workers won’t be allowed to count ballots until the polls close.
And county board of elections officers must now post online the number of ballots received and the number of ballots left to be counted.
“When you don’t begin to count the vote-by-mail ballots until the polls have closed, it could take days and folks rightfully want an answer sooner than that,” Murphy said. “The risk you run is that you start opening ballots sooner and there’s some kind of a leak. And people have a sense of a trend in an election before they actually get a chance to show up and vote.”
Murphy said the state increased penalties for election workers who leak confidential election material ahead of Election Day.
The state will also remove voters from the automatic absentee voter list if people don’t vote by mail for four consecutive elections.
"Ask Governor Murphy" is a production of WBGO in Newark in partnership with WNYC and WHYY. It’s hosted by Nancy Solomon, a senior reporter for WNYC and Gothamist.
This story was originally published by WHYY.org.
Tagged
new jersey
Politics
Tennyson Donyéa
Tennyson Donyéa is an award-winning journalist who joined WHYY in October 2021. He covers politics in New Jersey, a state he has called home for several years. Prior to joining WHYY, Donyéa reported for television and print outlets on both U.S. coasts. Donyéa is the head curator for “Black in Jersey,” a social media brand aiming to engage Black millennials and Gen Zers in the Garden State. In 2016, he graduated from Temple University with a B.A. in media studies and production.
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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