Vigilante seeks injunction against planned placement of secure ballot drop boxes

Gloucester County Republican Chairwoman Jacci Vigilante and two GOP County Board of Elections members asked a Superior Court judge to block the election board’s proposed locations for ballot drop boxes, claiming the body’s Democrats tried to circumvent its GOP members.

“Both, the law and Governor Murphy’s executive order 177, are clear, you cannot place, open, publish or utilize any ballot drop box or polling location which has not been approved by the Board of Elections.” Vigilante said, “No plan can be approved by the Board without input from all four Commissioners and the Republican Commissioners were left out of the process.”

The Republicans claim the board’s Democrats drafted the plan without input from the group’s two Republican members and shared the unapproved plan with members of the Gloucester County Democratic Committee.

They further claim the plan puts the county’s 10 secure ballot dropboxes in primarily Democratic areas.

“The plan released for ballot drop box locations concentrates five drop boxes within ten miles of each other in the northern part of the county and another five within ten miles of each other along the 322 corridor, all in towns with higher concentrations of Democratic voters.” Vigilante said, “The plan leaves Harrison and East Greenwich, both with populations of 10,000 or more, with no ballot drop box locations. These towns also happen to have heavy concentrations of Republican voters.”