The cause of election integrity in New Jersey is moving in the wrong direction, Save Jerseyans.
On Thursday, the Assembly Oversight, Reform and Federal Relations Committee gave the thumbs up (4-1, with an abstention) to A4083, the “John R. Lewis Voter Empowerment Act of New Jersey” which could – among other things – effectively BAN voter ID in the state of New Jersey. The legislation previously passed out of the Assembly State and Local Government Committee in December along a 4-1 party-line vote.
Assemblyman Michael Inganamort (R-24) opposed the bill which could do everything from “redraw districts, change election dates, extend or shorten terms of office, and impose ranked-choice voting” according to the Assembly GOP office.
“That’s not voter empowerment; that’s judicial activism on steroids,” said Inganamort. “This bill creates a superfluous and unnecessary public institute to collect already existing election data at the cost of taxpayers. When you vote, the poll worker checks your name, address, birth date, and party affiliation in a primary. They don’t track anything else about a voter’s personal characteristics, nor do they want to.”
A survey conducted by the now defunct Monmouth University Poll back in June 2021 discovered overwhelming support – 4 to 1 – among Americans for the concept of voter identification. 84% of minorities agreed with the majority, but Inganamort believes the Democrats’ legislation could functionally maker voter identification illegal.
“A local government or State agency shall not take any action or fail to take any action, including implementing, imposing, or enforcing any qualification for eligibility to be an elector, any other prerequisite to voting, or any law, ordinance, regulation, standard, practice, procedure, or policy regarding the administration of elections, or take any other action or fail to take any other action that results in, will result in, or is intended to result in […] a material disparity in voter participation, access to voting opportunities, or the opportunity or ability to participate in the political process between members of a protected class and other members of the electorate,” the bill’s language reads.
Here are Inganamort’s comments during the hearing:
