Several Mount Laurel residents received a surprise in their mailboxes recently. Some residents received Evesham's Primary Election ballot, instead of Mount Laurel’s for the Primary Election to be held July 7th. How can this be? The company contracted by the Burlington County Board of Elections processed Evesham ballots that were wrongly left in the mailing tray and addressed to Mount Laurel voters.
This year, due to COVID-19, election ballots for the July 7th Primary for the November General election were mailed to all registered Democrats and Republicans as per Governor Phil Murphy's signed Executive Order #144, dated May 15, 2020. Unaffiliated or independent voters, as well as inactive Democrats and Republicans, received an application to vote by mail. The Order stipulates that most NJ voters MUST use Vote-By-Mail (VBM) for the Primary. Even if you received a VBM ballot and do not return it/mail it back, you will not be allowed to go to your polling station and cast your vote using a machine. Instead, you must fill out a Provisional ballot at the polling station. Polling stations will NOT accept your VBM ballot. Voting machines are only to be used by voters with disabilities.
Most residents who received Evesham ballots will probably not notice the errors. "Township of Evesham" is displayed on the left-hand side of the ballot. The only other difference is that the listing of the town's Council candidates are not Mount Laurel’s candidates, but those representing Evesham. Votes for Council members who actually represent another town will be invalid. Anyone who has received the faulty ballot is encouraged to contact the Burlington County Clerk's office at 609-265-5229.
Mount Laurel is not alone in this voting debacle. Several towns in New Jersey have experienced incidents surrounding their May or July elections. Republicans in Bernardsville received Democrat ballots. Belleville ballots were left in an apartment lobby. Ballot tampering is being investigated in Irvington. Suspicious ballots are being seized in Paterson. With voter fraud on everyone's mind, as well as the future of voting amid COVID-19, can the November election really be conducted as ALL VBM? Based on the errors already experienced, and the lack of resources available to the state's Election Boards, the answer is NO.
For your convenience, there is a receptacle for VBM ballots at the Mount Laurel Municipal Building, 100 Mt. Laurel Rd. For additional information about Mount Laurel's July 7th Primary and polling information, please click on the following link:
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