10 questions on an vote-by-mail general election

Here are ten things to look for in Gov. Phil Murphy’s 1 PM announcement that the November general election will be conducted primarily by vote-by-mail:

1.  How long will ballots have to arrive at the county Board of Elections? 

The current state law – there is legislation pending to change this – requires any ballots postmarked by 8 PM on Election Day to be counted as long as the Board of Elections receives it by close of business two days later.  Murphy extended that to seven days for the primary election.   Some ballots postmarked on Election Day were still arriving weeks after the election due to delays by the U.S. Postal Service and those votes were not counted.

2. How many secure ballot drop boxes will the state provide?

In the primary, the governor’s executive order provided for five per county.  By all measures, the drop boxes were a success – especially for those voters who lacked confidence in the post office’s ability to deliver them on time.  There were reports that some drop boxes became over-stuffed, perhaps necessitating more frequent pickups.  Drop boxes cost about $6,000 each.  Counties have the option of purchasing more than the number the state agrees to pay for.

Murphy can also authorize municipal clerks to accept ballot drop offs, as long as the chain of custody of ballots isn’t broken.  That might necessitate one poll worker of each party being present.

3. How many polling places will be open?

For the primary, Murphy ordered at least one in-person polling location per municipality for voters needing assistance or for those who want to cast their vote using a provisional paper ballot.  Some municipalities had no polling locations; in those cases, the county Board of Elections was unable to recruit poll workers or find a suitable location.  It’s not clear if Murphy will tell election officials they can’t use public schools as polling places?

4. Will the Statewide Voter Registration System (SVRS) be fixed by Election Day — or better, when the ballots need to be mailed?

New Jersey experienced severe computer glitches with the SVRS during the primary and many of those issues have still not been repaired. Additionally, the state missed its deadline for an online voter registration portal in June and the 45-day extension is up tomorrow. It’s not clear when voters can register online.  The Division of Elections has given a no-bid contract to KnowInk, the vendor who has been unable to fix the other computer issues, to install the online registration system.

5. When will ballots be mailed?

County clerks are supposed to begin mailing ballots on September 19.  Will the governor give them more time? If so, how much?  Murphy didn’t require uniformity in the primary, so some counties – like in the 2nd districts, where there was a competitive congressional race – had much different mailing schedules than others.  Also worth watching: will Murphy’s executive order extend any other deadlines for the 2020 election.

6. Who will pay?

One of the top questions county election officials ask is whether the state will reimburse them for 100% of the additional cost of a mostly mail-in ballot election.

Another question is this: will the state conduct any voter outreach program to educate New Jerseyans about voting by mail?  If so, who gets that contract?  And will the state pay for modernized ballot counting machines?

7. Will there be early counting?

Some states allow election officials to begin counting ballots before Election Day.  That’s often a challenge in New Jersey, where county party chairs appoint members of the Board of Elections, it might be challenging to keep early vote totals confidential.

8. Is Early Voting on the table for 2020?

Murphy has been a longtime supporter of early voting, where voters can go to a polling location to cast their ballots in-person before Election Day.  He said earlier this month that he remains hopeful that the legislature will pass an early voting law.  Senate President Steve Sweeney and Assembly Speaker Craig Coughlin both told the New Jersey Globe that they support early voting, although there is no indication that the legislature can get this done in time for the fall election.

9. What is Murphy’s confidence level with the U.S. Postal Service?

President Donald Trump’s new Postmaster General, Louis DeJoy, has initiated substantial changes to how the U.S. Postal Service processes mail, including slowing down deliveries and reducing some high-speed sorting equipment. Democrats have expressed concern that the restricting of the postal service by the Trump administration would disenfranchise voters. Delays in the delivery of ballots at both ends were experienced during the May and July VBM elections in New Jersey.  In some cases, ballot were never delivered to voters — or to the Board of Elections.

10. What about cure letters?

The state agreed to settle a lawsuit in federal court about ballots being thrown out when signatures don’t match.  The settlement required county election officials to send notify the voters of their ballot issue and gave them until July 23 to cure the defect.  Around half of the voters who received cure letters responded.  It’s not clear if that policy will be in effect for the general election.  If it’s not, this issue could easily wind up back in court.