The newly-appointed members of the New Jersey Election Law Enforcement Commission voted to dismiss 107 complaints today to comply with the two-year statute of limitations in the new Elections Transparency Act enacted earlier this year.
The vote came during the first meeting of the four new ELEC commissioners nominated by Gov. Phil Murphy last month.
The new law shortened the statute of limitations for enforcement actions related to violations of New Jersey’s campaign finance laws from ten years to two. The law applied retroactively to alleged infractions prior to January 1, 2021, since the effective date of the legislation was January 1, 2023.
Among the complaints to disappear are complaints filed against the Democratic and Republican state committees, the Senate Democratic Majority Committee, and the Democratic Assembly Campaign Committee on issues related to the 2017 campaign.
The commission will still have 130 active cases, according to Joe Donohue, ELEC’s deputy executive director.
The new commissioners reappointed their longtime legal counsel, Edwin R. Matthews, a former federal prosecutor and Marine combat veteran who received two Purple Heart medals during his service in Vietnam. Matthews is a former South Orange village trustee and municipal court judge.