[EL] An Election Day Report from New Jersey

[John Pomeranz]

And from Virginia, a happier tale...

I survived the problematic pre-election purge of the Virginia voter rolls (but you can be sure I confirmed that before election day).  My polling place is a neighborhood elementary school that's undergoing some renovation, and the local registrar sent all precinct voters a detailed notice with a marked-up map of the school grounds directing us to the new entrance and room for voting.  The polling place was not very crowded when I arrived just before 9:00 am.  I was asked for my ID and chose to provide it.  (When asked, the poll worker agreed that had I failed to produce ID I could have voted a provisional ballot.)  I was delighted to see new poll workers this election, including several young people.

25 minutes until the polls close.  Hurry up, you procrastinating Virginians!


John Pomeranz
Harmon, Curran, Spielberg & Eisenberg, LLP
1726 M Street, NW, Suite 600
Washington, DC  20036
office: 202.328.3500
mobile: 703.597.7663
fax: 202.328.6918
e: jpomeranz at harmoncurran.com 



-----Original Message-----
From: law-election-bounces at department-lists.uci.edu [mailto:law-election-bounces at department-lists.uci.edu] On Behalf Of Lori Minnite
Sent: Tuesday, November 05, 2013 6:20 PM
To: law-election at department-lists.uci.edu
Subject: [EL] An Election Day Report from New Jersey

Lest anyone doubt it couldn't happen to you...Today is Election  Day in New Jersey.  We are voting for governor, assembly and state senate seats, township committee, as well as for/against amending the state constitution to raise the minimum wage, and to allow some of the proceeds from "games of chance" to be used to support veterans' 
organizations.

In the summer of 2012, I moved to New Jersey from New York City.  I spent days driving around and visiting federal and state government offices to obtain a certified copy of my birth certificate and a new Social Security card, to change my driver's license and do all the other things one must to do to establish legal residency in a new state.  I attempted to register to vote via the drivers' license process; sometime later (about a month of two later, I can't remember exactly when it was, but it was well after I changed my license), I went to the county Board of Elections to check on my registration, only find that it had not gone through yet.  I kept on top of things over the next several weeks because I wanted to be sure I could vote in the fall.  Finally, I showed up in the registered voters database and received my voter registration card in the mail.  As it turned out, I had to be out of town on election day, so I applied for and voted an absentee ballot.

Today, I realized I did not know where my polling place was, so I drove to the county Board of Elections to find out.  With voter registration card in hand, I was told that my registration had been "deleted" because I had moved to New York.  I explained that I had moved FROM New York, not TO New York and asked how it was that the sample ballot they said they mailed to me in January got forwarded to New York City where I no longer live.  I asked them why I get all of my other mail at my new home address, including tax bills and water and sewer bills - they don't get forward to New York City.  I asked them why they didn't call me to verify whatever strange information they had when they got it.  They had no explanation.  They told me that my polling place is a fire hall about
.1 of a mile from my home, and that I could vote a provisional ballot there.  I drove back to the fire hall - it was fairly empty, and I voted my provisional ballot.  I asked how I could be sure that it would be counted, and was told "I don't know."  Before I was given the ballot, the poll worker called the county Board of Elections to find out if he had permission to give me the provisional ballot.  He asked them how my registration would get straightened out and was told the county Board would fix the problem based on the information I submitted with my provisional ballot.  He told me to follow up again in about a month with the county Board of Elections since "they make so many mistakes."

In the meantime, despite having notified the New York City Board of Elections three times - once through the voter registration process in New Jersey, a second time by personal letter sent First Class mail, and a third time by phone - I continue to be listed on the rolls there, although my registration is now coded "Inactive."  This has not stopped the campaign literature from going to my old address (where a friend saves it for me).

Just thought I would share.

Lori Minnite
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