SOMERVILLE, N.J. – “We are less than 48 hours from when residents started receiving ballots, and the reports of phantom ballots are already rolling in.”
Newly-minted Somerset County GOP Chairman Tim Howes is a veteran of New Jersey’s election law trenches. An attorney, he’s been in court rooms countless times over the years to push back against Democrat election day hijinks and recount craziness. Howes now faces a fresh challenge just weeks into his chairmanship after taking over from long-time chairman Al Gaburo this summer: making sure Democrats don’t steal elections with their problem-plagued vote by mail scheme.
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“The New Jersey Division of Elections needs to take immediate action to correct this problem. We will not rest until we are sure that this election process is fair,” said Howes on Saturday. “We will fight for a fair election. We are going to work together with our sibling GOP organizations and campaigns to address the problems created when thousands of ballots are delivered to inactive voters. We are going to leverage technology, our legal team, and our vast reserve of talent to ensure an honest election.”
The plan: the SCRO is using technology this fall to track mail-in ballot. The goal, Howes says, is to challenge “phantom ballots” which have been reported around the state; for example, a household receiving a ballot that’s addressed to someone who doesn’t reside at the premises. The problem is particularly acute since Governor Murphy’s COVID-19 voting plan involves the automatic mailing of mail-in ballots to every registered voter regardless of whether they’ve ever requested one.
“Based on reports that our office has received, I believe that thousands of phantom ballots have been issued to inactive voters,” added Howes. “This leads to confusion and tends to cast doubt on the election itself. Worst of all, it could create the opportunity for voter fraud if phantom ballots fall into unscrupulous hands.” Executive Order 177 provides: “The November 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.”
Howes believes Democrats represent approximately 32% of New Jersey inactive voters. Only 16% of inactive voters are Republicans.
He says examples of reported problems extend beyond bad addresses. They’ve already included (1) a ballot addressed to a person who had moved out of the family home years ago, (2) more than one ballot arriving for the same registered voter, and (3) a ballot mailed to a deceased voter.
His advice to Somerset voters is to report phantom ballots to help protect the upcoming elections.
“If you have received a ballot for someone who never or no longer lives in your home, then please tell us by clicking on the link on the landing page of our website www.somersetcountygop.com,” Howes continued. “The Somerset County Republican Organization is fighting for a fair election under difficult and unprecedented circumstances with the same vigor that it has worked to make Somerset County one of the most desirable places to live in the nation. We want to hear from you.”
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