Title 19, Title 19: ELECTIONS

19:61-7 Report on certain absentee ballots in federal elections. 7. No later than the 90th day following the day of each regularly scheduled general election of candidates for federal office, each county board of elections shall submit to the Secretary of State for transmittal to…

19:61-8 Reports on implementation of "Help America Vote Act of 2002." 8. The Attorney General shall issue a report on the progress of the implementation of the federal "Help America Vote Act of 2002," Pub.L.107-252 (116 Stat 1666) in the State to the Governor, the Senate Presiden…

19:61-9 Audits of election results. 1. a. Notwithstanding any law, rule, or regulation to the contrary, the Secretary of State shall appoint each year an independent, professional audit team. It shall oversee, in each county, post-election audits of the voter-verifiable paper rec…

19:62-1 Municipality with 500 or fewer persons may conduct elections by mail. 1. Notwithstanding any other law, regulation or rule to the contrary, a municipality with a population of 500 or fewer persons, according to the latest federal decennial census, may conduct all election…

19:62-10 Receipt time of ballot for it to be counted, counting. 10. a. For a ballot to be counted, it shall be received by the county board of elections no later than the time established for the closing of the polls for that election, pursuant to subsection h. of section 2 of th…

19:62-11 Criteria for a ballot to be counted. 11. If received in a timely manner, a ballot shall be counted only if: a. the ballot is returned in the inner envelope and the inner envelope is enclosed in the outer envelope; b. the envelopes in which it is returned manifest no sign…

19:62-12 Challenging of voter, ballot. 12. Any ballot and any voter casting a ballot in an election held by mail may be challenged pursuant to rules and regulations adopted by the Attorney General. L.2005,c.148,s.12.

19:62-13 Rules, regulations. 13. The Attorney General shall promulgate, pursuant to the "Administrative Procedure Act," P.L.1968, c.410 (C.52:14B-1 et seq.), such rules and regulations as may be deemed necessary to effectuate the purposes of this act. L.2005,c.148,s.13,

19:62-2 Election by mail, duties of county clerk. 2. If an election by mail is authorized pursuant to section 1 of this act, P.L.2005, c.148 (C.19:62-1), the county clerk shall: a. publish, in advance of the election and pursuant to rules and regulations promulgated by the Secret…

19:62-3 Election by mail, duties of county board of elections. 3. If an election by mail is authorized pursuant to section 1 of this act, P.L.2005, c.148 (C.19:62-1), the county board of elections shall: a. consult with the county clerk and the municipal clerk with respect to the…

19:62-4 Election by mail, availability of voting machine accessible to disabled persons. 4. If an election by mail is authorized pursuant to section 1 of this act, P.L.2005, c.148 (C. 19:62-1), the superintendent of elections or the commissioner of registration, as may be appropr…

19:62-5 Replacement ballot. 5. A registered voter may obtain a replacement ballot if a ballot has not been received by that person, or if it has been destroyed, spoiled or lost. A registered voter seeking a replacement ballot shall proceed to the office of the county clerk or mun…

19:62-6 Statement on ballot. 6. Each ballot obtained from the county clerk or the municipal clerk shall have printed or stamped on it the following statement: ANY PERSON WHO, BY USE OF FORCE OR ANY OTHER MEANS, UNDULY INFLUENCES A VOTER TO VOTE IN ANY PARTICULAR MANNER OR TO REFR…

19:62-7 Ballots for primary election for general election. 7. For a primary election for the general election: a. the county clerk shall mail the ballot of a political party to each voter in the municipality who is registered as being affiliated with the political party as of the…

19:62-8 Voter's actions prior to transmittal of ballot. 8. Prior to transmitting a ballot to the county board of elections, a registered voter shall mark it and place it in the inner envelope. The inner envelope shall then be placed in the outer envelope and that envelope shall b…

19:62-9 Open hours of office of municipal clerk on election days. 9. The office of the municipal clerk shall be open from 6:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. on the day of an election to provide replacement ballots or provisional ballots to voters, receive voted ballots being deposited in per…

19:63-1 Short title. 1. This act shall be known as and may be cited as "The Vote By Mail Law." L.2009, c.79, s.1.

19:63-10 Forwarding of requests to county board of elections, lists of requests kept. 10. a. Each county clerk, after processing the applications for mail-in ballots requiring approval under section 8 of P.L.2009, c.79 (C.19:63-8) and furnishing the applicants with a mail-in ball…

19:63-11 Ballots marked "Official Mail-In Ballot." 11. a. Each mail-in ballot to be used at any election shall conform generally to the ballot to be used at the election in the voter's district but the ballots shall be clearly marked "Official Mail-In Ballot." At the top of every…

19:63-12 Directions for preparation, transmission of mail-in ballot; free-access system. 12. Each county clerk shall send, with each mail-in ballot, printed directions for the preparation and transmitting of the ballots as required by this act. The directions shall be printed in …

19:63-13 Certificate of mail-in voter. 13. a. On the margin of the flap on the inner envelopes to be sent to mail-in voters there shall be printed a certificate in the following form: CERTIFICATE OF MAIL-IN VOTER I, ........................., whose home address is ...............…

19:63-14 Certification by county clerk. 14. Each county clerk shall, from time to time and prior to each election, certify in writing under oath to the commissioner of registration of the county, the names and addresses of the persons to whom mail-in ballots to be voted at such e…

19:63-15 Marking of applicant's record. 15. The commissioner of registration upon receipt of the information from the county clerk required by section 14 of P.L.2009, c.79 (C.19:63-14) shall mark the applicant's record in the Statewide voter registration system and duplicate voti…

19:63-16 Marking, delivery of mail-in ballot. 16. a. A mail-in voter shall be entitled to mark any mail-in ballot forwarded to the voter for voting at any election by indicating the voter's choice of candidates for the offices named, and as to public questions, if any, stated the…

19:63-16.1 Options for delivery of mail-in ballot by voter. 1. a. In addition to delivering a voted mail-in ballot by mail or in person as provided under "The Vote By Mail Law," P.L.2009, c.79 (C.19:63-1 et seq.), a mail-in voter shall be entitled to deposit the voter's completed…

19:63-17 Actions of county board of elections relative to mail-in ballot. 17. a. The county board of elections shall, promptly after receiving each mail-in ballot, remove the inner envelope containing the ballot from the outer envelope and shall compare the signature and the info…

19:63-17.1 Determination of validity of mail-in ballot. 4. a. Following the attempt to cure any alleged deficiencies in a mail-in ballot pursuant to section 17 of P.L.2009, c.79 (C.19:63-17), the county board of elections shall make a final determination about whether or not the …

19:63-17.2 Educational materials for "evaluators." 5. a. The Secretary of State shall prepare educational materials regarding the provisions of section 17 of P.L.2009, c.79 (C.19:63-17) that all county boards of elections persons handling ballots shall be required to read or view…

19:63-19 Mail-in ballot deemed valid. 19. No mail-in ballot shall be rejected or declared invalid because it does not contain all of the names of the candidates or all of the public questions to be voted for in the election district in the election in which it is to be counted. A…

19:63-2 Definitions relative to voting by mail. 2. As used in this act, unless otherwise indicated by the context: "Election," "general election," "primary election for the general election," "municipal election," "school election," and "special election" mean, respectively, such…

19:63-20 Mail-in voters, certain, not permitted to vote in person. 20. a. Any person who has applied for a mail-in ballot and has had the mail-in ballot either delivered in person or forwarded by mail, and voted and returned the voted ballot to the county board, shall not be perm…

19:63-21 Rejection of ballot mailed in by voter subsequently deceased. 21. Whenever the county board receives evidence that a mail-in voter who has marked and forwarded a mail-in ballot has died before the opening of the polls on the day of the election, the ballot shall be rejec…

19:63-22 Opening of mail-in ballot. 22. a. On the day of each election, or as provided under subsection b. of this section, each county board of elections shall open in the presence of the commissioner of registration, or the designee thereof, the inner envelopes that contain the…

19:63-23 Marking in voting records of information relative to mail-in ballots. 23. On an ongoing basis as each action is completed, the county clerk shall mark in the Statewide voter registration system, which will be shared with the free-access system, to show that mail-in ballo…

19:63-24 Board of elections to keep voted mail-in ballots and certifications for two years. 24. The county board of elections shall keep, for two years, all of the requests and applications for mail-in ballots, all voted mail-in ballots, and all of the certificates that have been…

19:63-25 Powers exercised over mail-in voting. 25. The county board of elections, the county clerk, the superintendent of elections and the commissioner of registration shall exercise the same powers over mail-in voting as over other voting in elections, except as otherwise provi…

19:63-26 No election held invalid due to mail-in ballots. 26. No election shall be held to be invalid due to any irregularity or failure in the preparation or forwarding of any mail-in ballots prepared or forwarded pursuant to the provisions of P.L.2009, c.79 (C.19:63-1 et al.). …

19:63-27 Ballot required to be sealed before delivery. 27. No person shall take a mail-in ballot from a voter or other person having custody of it for the purpose of delivering it to the county board of elections or to a postal box or post office, nor shall any voter permit any p…

19:63-28 Violations, third degree crime; penalties. 28. a. Any person who knowingly violates any of the provisions of P.L.2009, c.79 (C.19:63-1 et al.), or who, not being entitled to vote thereunder, fraudulently votes or attempts to vote thereunder, or enables or attempts to ena…

19:63-29 "Mail-in Ballot Local Reimbursement Fund." 1. There is created a special, non-lapsing fund in the Department of State that shall be designated the "Mail-In Ballot Local Reimbursement Fund." The fund shall be maintained as a separate account and administered by the Secret…

19:63-3 Procedure for use of mail-in ballot. 3. a. A qualified voter shall be entitled to vote using a mail-in ballot: (1) in all future elections, including general elections, held in this State, in which the voter is eligible to vote; or (2) in any single election held in this …

19:63-3.1 Additions to list of mail-in voters. 14. a. The clerk of each county shall add to the list of registered voters receiving a mail-in ballot for all future elections without further request each voter in the county who requested and received a mail-in ballot for the 2016 …

19:63-30 Retroactivity. 6. To the extent deemed expired by the Council on Local Mandates, established by section 4 of P.L.1996, c.24 (C.52:13H-4) pursuant to Article VIII, Section II, paragraph 5 of the New Jersey Constitution, the provisions of P.L.2018, c.72 and P.L.2019, c.265…

19:63-31 Conducting of November 2020 General Election. 2. a. The November 2020 General Election shall be conducted primarily via vote-by-mail ballots, which will be sent to all "Active" registered voters without the need for an application to receive a vote-by-mail ballot. The No…

19:63-4 Application for mail-in ballot; authorized messenger, bearer. 4. a. A qualified voter is entitled to apply for and obtain a mail-in ballot by authorized messenger, who shall be so designated over the signature of the voter and whose printed name and address shall appear o…

19:63-5 Application for mail-in ballot to county clerk. 5. In the case of any election, the application for a mail-in ballot shall be made to the county clerk. The county clerk shall stamp thereon the date on which the application was received in the clerk's office. In the case o…