Sunday, December 2, 2012
NJ needs to adopt rules to ensure everyone can vote more easily if another disaster hits.
All the ballots have finally been counted in New Jersey. Once they are certified by the state canvassers on Friday, New Jersey can finally close the book on this difficult election. Or can it? The constitutional litigation clinic of Rutgers Newark Law School is poking into the votes, asking for information about the processing of special balloting New Jersey Secretary of State Kim Guadagno ordered to help those displaced by Superstorm Sandy. Remember, thousands were homeless, either literally because their houses were destroyed or left uninhabitable, or by choice because they had left cold, dark buildings to stay with family or friends or at a hotel. Even some polling places were without power and so had to be moved. Guadagno ordered the …
Tuesday, November 6, 2012
Republicans have conceded the senatorial seat to incumbent Robert Menendez.
As the ballots pour in from Sandy-ravaged New Jersey, Robert Menendez has emerged victorious in reclaiming his U.S. Senate seat against Republican challenger Joe Kyrillos. With just over half of polling districts reporting, state Republicans have conceded victory to Menendez. The U.S. senator leads 58 percent to 40 percent as of 10:30 p.m., according to CBS News. "Senator Joe Kyrillos ran a great campaign against very tough circumstances and despite the loss, his family, campaign team, and supporters should be very proud of their efforts," New Jersey Republican Chairman Sam Raia said in a statement late Tuesday night. "Joe represents the very best of New Jersey and has fought for his constituents faithfully from the day he took office and …
ACLU asks Superior Court judge to intervene, high volume of application requests extends deadline for email, fax ballots.
- ELECTIONS
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Tuesday, November 6, 2012
The deadline for electronic voting has been extended after email and fax ballots caused headaches Tuesday throughout the state. A high volume of requests overwhelmed county officials, including in Morris where the chairman of the Morris County Board of Elections told NJ.com it may take weeks to determine the outcome of some close local elections. Morris County issues began to surface on Monday when it was discovered some information on the county clerk's website directing voters not able to get to the polls was either inaccurate or misleading, NJ.com reported. The American Civil Liberties Union of New Jersey also plans to file an emergency petition requesting a state Superior Court judge in Essex County to intervene to force the state to …
Politicians said this election season was 'very difficult' because of storm.
After millions of New Jersey residents spent most of last week without power, gas, and even lost their homes, Tuesday’s general election was likely the farthest from their minds. But for politicians who have continued to campaign through the storm, the election has remained a focus. “It’s been a very, very difficult procedure because of the storm,” Essex County Freeholder Vice President Patricia Sebold said. Sebold is the Democratic chairwoman in Livingston and has helped local candidates with their own races. She said her candidates have struggled to reach voters as power outages have stopped their printer, in Irvington, from producing mailers. “I’ve never experienced anything like this ever, in all my years of being involved in politics…
Monday, November 5, 2012
Both parties also approve of governor's level of support for those more affected by Sandy.
Republicans will be mostly likely to benefit from a down voter turnout Tuesday in the aftermath of superstorm Sandy, New Jersey political insiders believe. According to a Patch poll of state elected officials and party insiders, 15 of 22 Republican respondents believe voter turnout will be down slightly from where it would have been otherwise. Of 27 Democratic respondents, 26 expect there will be either a slight or sharp decline in turnout. "The areas likely to remain without power by Tuesday are predominantly smaller, suburban and rural communities that are typically Republican bases," one Republican respondent said. "Power restoration to urban areas, with higher Democratic concentration, seems to have been prioritized," the respondent …
State has given its electoral votes to a Democrat in the last five elections.
If history is any indication, Barack Obama should have no problem winning New Jersey's 14 electoral votes in his quest for re-election on Tuesday. In the past four presidential elections, the Republican candidate has never been within 240,000 votes, and only once did a candidate get within 500,000 of his Democratic opponent. A look at statistics kept by the state shows that in the last four elections, incumbent president George W. Bush was the closest at picking up the NJ's nod, still losing to John Kerry by more than 240,000 votes. The biggest winner among the Democratic candidates in that span was incumbent Barack Obama, who won the state by more than 600,000 votes in 2008. The closest vote in 20 years came in 1992, when Bill Clinton …
Sunday, November 4, 2012
Be sure to cast your vote as an unprecedented NJ election unfolds following historic storm.
There is an election on Tuesday. Who cares? Everyone should care. It's the big presidential balloting, comes around only once every four years. There's one U.S. Senate and all House seats up. Two statewide ballot questions. Three state Assembly seats, including one in District 26 that covers Parsippany and other parts of Morris County. County freeholders. mayors and council members. And, for the first time in a November, school board members—the majority of districts throughout the state pushed their school elections to November to eliminate the public vote on the budget. All of this is central to our democracy. And everyone should get out and vote. But it's the last thing on the minds of many people, and who can blame them. They're still …
Thursday, November 1, 2012
Polling stations could change, a New Jersey county clerk said.
Power outages have state officials worried about voting on Election Day, and New Jersey officials are working on a contingency plan. Monmouth County Clerk M. Claire French on Wednesday confirmed that polling stations could change. “As far as I know, we are going ahead with the election," said French, who has been in touch with the NJ Election Division in Trenton. "We have not been notified by any changes, no dates have been extended, no deadlines changed. We are planning on voting on Tuesday." Each municipal clerk will make plans for location changes if necessary, she said. According to a FoxNews.com story, a representative from the New Jersey Division of Elections said it’s too early to say what might happen, but postponing the election …
Wednesday, October 24, 2012
League of Women Voters forum draws 60 attendees.
Approximately 60 people attended a forum for Madison Borough Council candidates Tuesday evening at the Madison Community House to hear the four candidates give statements and field audience members' questions. Two three-year seats are up for vote, with Democrats Astri Baillie, a former councilwoman, and Ben Wolkowitz running against GOP nominees Board of Health President John Hoover and Carmen Pico. The event was hosted and moderated by the League of Women Voters, with audience members submitting questions about electric rates, taxes, Health Department contracts and the dismissal and reinstatement of Madison's borough administrator earlier in the year. Attendees wrote down questions on index cards, and before long moderator Louise Murray …
Tuesday, October 23, 2012
Statement from Ben Wolkowitz and Astri Baillie questions Health Department, touts joint court.
- ELECTIONS
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Tuesday, October 23, 2012
Ben Wolkowitz and Astri Baillie, candidates for Borough Council, have been investigating how economic pressures felt throughout our state are forcing municipalities to consider different ways of providing services. In a prepared press release, they stated, “Some municipalities have instituted or are considering complete town-wide consolidation of municipal services. Princeton has been a high visibility case where the Township and the Borough, previously independent municipalities, merged into a single entity.” Wolkowitz and Baillie are not in favor of such a wholesale move for Madison; however they view service sharing and purchasing as potentially viable alternatives to providing everything for itself. The candidates went on to state: “…
Bob Royal
1:57 pm on Tuesday, January 29, 2013
While there are bad apples on both sides, at least Republicans do not mock purity, honor, and family values. Republicans are upset when their fellow Republicans fail to live up to those ideals. Democrats think it is all one big funny joke. more ›