Family emergency sends veteran TV reporter to court in bid to vote

Veteran television reporter Laura Jones went to Superior Court on Election Day seeking permission to cast her Hunterdon County ballot by email or fax after a family medical emergency left her unexpectedly out of state.

Jones had made a sudden trip after both of her parents were hospitalized, leaving New Jersey before early voting began. She planned to return Monday and vote in person today, but complications involving her parents delayed her return until late tonight, after polls close.

Superior Court Judge Christopher Garrenger made a strong effort to accommodate Jones, but Deputy Attorney General Samuel Fillman argued that state law restricts electronic voting to eligible military and overseas voters, leaving the court without discretion to authorize an exception.

New Jersey has precedent for emergency electronic voting.

In 2012, following Superstorm Sandy, state election officials permitted displaced residents to vote by email or fax, using a system previously available to military and overseas voters.

Then-Lt. Gov. Kim Guadagno, who oversaw elections as secretary of state, issued a directive expanding access to electronic ballots for voters displaced by the storm.

The arrangement allowed voters unable to reach polling places to submit ballots remotely, subject to verification procedures designed to prevent duplicate voting.

Fillman acknowledged the earlier precedent but said it predated his tenure in the Attorney General’s Office and that he was unfamiliar with its details.