With voting already underway in New Jersey, state election officials told counties Wednesday that they will not implement a new law designed to give voters a chance to fix so-called “naked ballots” and other mail-in ballot defects in time for the November 3 general election.
That means voters who forget to place their ballot inside the required inner envelope — or make other technical mistakes covered by the new law — could have their votes rejected without a chance to correct the problem. Tens of thousands of mail-in ballots were rejected in the 2024 and 2025 elections, including thousands because voters failed to properly use, complete, or seal ballot envelopes.
The new law was intended to prevent some of those votes from being lost by expanding New Jersey’s existing ballot cure process beyond missing or mismatched signatures.
But Donna Barber, the executive director of the New Jersey Division of Elections, informed county election officials Wednesday that the state has not completed the technological and administrative work needed to put the law into effect.
“The Secretary of State is unable to complete the certification of readiness of the SVRS and all county boards of elections before the November elections because of the ongoing work needed to implement the legislation, including updating the SVRS system,” Barber said.
The Statewide Voter Registration System, known as SVRS, is the central database state and county election officials use to maintain voter records and administer elections.
The law, sponsored by State Sen. Paul Sarlo (D-Wood-Ridge), the powerful chairman of the Senate Budget and Appropriations Committee, was developed after Sarlo worked on the issue with then-Lt. Gov. Tahesha Way, who also served as Secretary of State and New Jersey’s chief election official.
It’s not immediately clear how the Division of Elections can choose not to implement a state law, or why it didn’t make the delay public before voting began.
Under the legislation, voters whose mail-in ballots contain certain envelope deficiencies would be notified and given an opportunity to submit a replacement ballot. That includes voters who failed to place their ballot inside the required inner envelope — producing what election officials call a “naked ballot” — as well as some voters who failed to properly complete or seal ballot materials.
The legislation directed the Secretary of State to make necessary changes to SVRS before July 1 and certify that the system had been updated, tested, and deployed. The law’s effective-date provision, however, made implementation contingent on the Secretary of State certifying that SVRS and all 21 county boards of elections were ready to comply.
That certification never came.
Barber told election officials Wednesday that they should instead use the existing procedures for the November election, under which voters can cure missing or mismatched signatures but generally cannot correct the broader envelope problems covered by the new law.
The issue gained prominence during the 2025 gubernatorial election, when thousands of mail-in ballots were rejected because of technical deficiencies. The nonpartisan Office of Legislative Services later reported that approximately 3,500 ballots in just eight counties were disqualified in that election, including more than 1,500 because an envelope was not sealed.
Naked ballots became an especially contentious issue. In Bergen County alone, about 360 voters were ultimately given a pathway to cure naked ballots following the 2025 election, while a dispute over similar ballots in Atlantic County wound up in court.
The Sarlo bill was intended to establish a uniform statewide procedure rather than leave those voters dependent on litigation or differing decisions by county election boards.
For November, though, the old rules remain in place.
County boards must notify voters within 24 hours when a ballot is rejected because its certificate lacks a signature or the signature does not match the voter’s record. Officials must send a cure letter by mail or email when an address is available, explain the reason for the rejection, and provide instructions for correcting it. Counties must also attempt to reach the voter by telephone when a number is available.
But the broader protections approved by the Legislature will have to wait until a future election.
Former Lt. Governor Dale Caldwell served as Secretary of State until his resignation on September 25.