TRENTON, N.J. – New Jersey will decide its November 2020 general election largely by mail despite the risk of fraud, postal delivery chaos, and the unnerving fact that 1 in 10 ballots were rejected in the state’s May elections. The Murphy Administration’s decision was first reported on Thursday afternoon by The New Jersey Globe.
Enthusiasm for another remote election is hardly universal.
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“I have been comfortable with “most” the Covid precautions up to now,” complained Mine Hill Mayor Sam Morris on Facebook. “We need to fully reopen commercial businesses though at this point. But I’m sorry forcing us all to vote by mail is ALL political and not safety related. It can’t even be defended with a straight face. You can protest, shop, etc but you can’t vote in person? C’mon.”
“I have developed my own communication with the governor and his office. I would hope that some persons from both sides of the aisle could have a meeting and give input on a decision like this. I think there are reasonable people who can help this become a better and safer Election process in November,” Morris added in a separate statement to Save Jersey.
“Many of our residents are very upset about mail-in balloting, and have expressed their disdain about losing their choice on how to vote,’’ said Morris County Freeholder Director Deborah Smith in a statement issued by her governing body. “The Board of Freeholders feel strongly that voter “choice” should refer to “how” to vote, not just “who” to vote for in a given election cycle.’’
Morris County’s freeholders report that it cost $1.1 million to mail 220,000 primary 2020 ballots, $807,000 more than it cost in 2019. Morris is anticipating 370,000 ballots for the upcoming November election.
The news of a mostly-remote election came on the same day as a VICE report that the USPS is inexplicably taking sorting machines offline ahead of the November contest.
6.2 million registered Garden State voters will now receive VBM ballots automatically.
This June, 87% of the state’s 1.5 million voters cast their primary election ballots by mail.
