Sponsored by:
Assemblywoman VERLINA REYNOLDS-JACKSON
District 15 (Hunterdon and Mercer)
Assemblyman BENJIE E. WIMBERLY
District 35 (Bergen and Passaic)
Assemblywoman ANGELA V. MCKNIGHT
District 31 (Hudson)
Co-Sponsored by:
Assemblyman Caputo and Assemblywoman Haider
SYNOPSIS
Provides police officers may be present at senior residential center being used as polling place under certain circumstances.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
As introduced.
An Act providing that police officers may be present at a senior residential center being used as a polling place under certain circumstances and amending R.S.19:6-16.
Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. R.S.19:6-16 is amended to read as follows:
19:6-16. a. The commission, committee, board or official having charge of the police department in any county or municipality shall not assign police officers to any district board in that county or municipality, in order to enforce the election laws, maintain order, peace and quiet during the hours of registry and election, assist the board by performing the duties of a board member, or serve at the polling place of that district board, or in order to perform other routine purposes related to the conduct of elections, except that a district board, superintendent of elections, or a county clerk may request that a police officer or sheriff’s officer be assigned to transport specific election materials to a polling place or from a polling place to the district board or county clerk and a police officer or sheriff’s officer may be assigned for that purpose. The commission, committee, board or official having charge of the police department in any county or municipality may assign one or more police officers to a senior residential center [that has reported a threat or safety concern] at the request of the center, and any such officer assigned to a senior residential center shall be in plain clothes and shall not interfere with any person present at the location for the purpose of voting.
If the center requests that a police officer be assigned, the center shall promptly notify the district board and the district board shall follow the same procedure for notification in the manner specified in subsection b. of this section. Once notified, the county board of elections or superintendent of elections shall notify the Secretary of State in the same manner specified in subsection b. of this section.
b. Nothing in subsection a. of this section, subsection b. of 16 R.S.19:6-15, or subsection b. of section 2 of P.L.1991, c.306 (C.19:6-15.1) shall be construed to prohibit the dispatch, detail, or assignment of a police officer or other law enforcement officer due to a request for assistance made to the commission, committee, board, body, authority, or official having charge of the police department in any county or municipality, or to any other law enforcement agency, for assistance with regard to a specific emergency, allegation of criminal conduct, or disturbance that exists at the time the request for assistance is made. The police officers or law enforcement officers responding to the request for assistance shall take any prompt actions as may be available and as may be necessary in order to address the emergency, allegation, or disturbance and ensure the continued orderly conduct of the election and election processes, and shall remain present at that location during the conduct of the election only as long as necessary to investigate, address, and remove that specific emergency or disturbance.
The district board shall promptly notify the county board of elections or superintendent of elections, as appropriate, of the dispatch of any police officer or other law enforcement officer in response to a request for assistance in accordance with this subsection. The county board of elections or superintendent of elections, as appropriate, shall promptly notify the Secretary of State of the dispatch of that police officer or other law enforcement officer. The Secretary of State, county boards of elections, and superintendents of elections shall maintain a record of all dispatches issued and reported pursuant to this section, which shall include, but need not be limited to, the time of the dispatch, polling place location, reason for the dispatch, name of the police or law enforcement officer, the police or law enforcement officer’s badge number, the duration of the police or law enforcement officer’s presence, and the immediate outcome of the dispatch. Information obtained pursuant to this section is deemed to be a public or government record and shall be subject to disclosure as provided in the public records law, P.L.1963, c.73 (C.47:1A-1 et seq.).
(cf: P.L.2021, c.459, s.3)
2. This act shall take effect immediately.
STATEMENT
This bill provides that one or more police officers may be present at a senior residential center being used as a polling place if there is a request by the center. The bill specifies that the officers must be in plain clothes.
Under current law, police officers are permitted to be present at a senior residential center being used as a polling place when there is a threat or safety concern. The provision of current law that prohibits any such officer from interfering with any person present at the location for the purpose of voting will remain in place.
The bill also requires the center notify the district board if the center requests a police officer, the district board then will notify the county board of elections or superintendent of elections who will notify the Secretary of State.
The bill will take effect immediately.