New Provision Could See Vote Counts Leak Before Election Day

NEW JERSEY - The vote-by-mail bill that was signed into law last week allows sealed and completed mail-in ballots to be opened, counted, up to 10 days before the Nov. 3 election.

And while Gov. Phil Murphy says it is for expediency, Senator Anthony M. Bucco says the tallies could potentially be leaked to campaign operatives before the upcoming general election.

“Governor Murphy and legislative Democrats have taken the vote-by-mail process that the governor has forced upon every New Jersey voter and supercharged the potential for corrupt actors to manipulate our upcoming election,” said Bucco. “It’s just one more reason that voters should have the choice to vote securely on a machine at a polling center this November.”

A provision to allow mail-in ballots to be opened and counted up to 10 days before the general election was quietly inserted by Democrats into A-4475, a measure concerning the placement of election drop boxes for delivering mail-in ballots. The legislation was amended, adopted, and signed into law in short order with no public mention of the provision’s addition to the bill.

Speaking at his COVID-19 briefing on Wednesday, Murphy said the reason for that flexibility was to help certify the results faster.

"The point was to certify all of our elections by Nov. 20. So this allows folks to begin to count votes before actual election day," Murphy said. "So you're trying to balance, like a lot of things we are balancing, public health and the sacred right to vote."

Bucco said it is hard to imagine that the political appointees who sit on election boards around the state won’t share vote totals with campaign operatives in advance of the election.

“If anyone thinks that won’t happen, they’re delusional. Giving campaign operatives access to confidential vote counts before Election Day would be an unfair advantage that could be used to change the outcome of elections,” Bucco said.

But Murphy noted that they increased the penalties in order to act as a deterrent.

"The penalties have been ratcheted up and are significant. And it could be significant jail time. So for me it is like insider trading," he said.

Murphy said those who misuse that knowledge will go to jail and pay a big price, regardless of who they are and what position they hold.

"You're trying to be able to certify and ratchet up the penalties so that no one screws around with the system," he said. "Anybody who leaks any of this information is subject to that penalty."

Bucco and Senate Republicans made an effort during the Senate session last week to allow voters to cast in-person ballots on a machine at their polling center on Election Day. The majority Democrats blocked the effort to provide a choice to voters in how their ballots are cast.

“While Governor Murphy and Democratic leaders continue to say that mail-in ballot fraud doesn’t occur, we know for a fact that it does,” said Bucco. “That’s why so many people are skeptical of being forced to vote by mail in a process they don’t believe is secure. Instead of building trust in our election process, the new law simply provides one more way for corrupt campaigns to try to cheat the system.”

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