Bateman urges Murphy to allow in-person machine voting

Add State Sen. Kip Bateman (R-Neshanic Station) to the list of Republicans displeased with Gov. Phil Murphy’s almost entirely-vote-by-mail general election.

“The mail box is not the ballot box,” Bateman said. “Voting, in person voting, is the centerpiece of our freedom, but in Murphy’s New Jersey, residents cannot go to the polls this fall for a presidential election and vote in person. That baseless decision shuns tradition and defies our American rights, chipping away at the essence of our democracy.”

Under a plan Murphy announced last week, every registered voter in the state will receive a mail-in ballot with postage prepaid. Those who don’t wish to vote by mail can still vote provisionally at a reduced number of polling places, and voters with disabilities can still cast machine votes.

Voters will be able to deliver completed mail-in ballots to polling places on election day. They can also deposit them in a secure ballot drop box. Each county will have at least 10.

“This action isn’t about health risks, it’s about ideology. Men and women of all colors shed blood, sweat and tears to fight for the right to vote, and that sacred right is being adulterated by this order that exposes the entire election process to the flaws and vulnerabilities of voting by mail,” Bateman said. “Our residents should be voting in person, unless they choose the mail-in alternative.”