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LD12 GOP Legislators Offer Fair Automatic Voter Registration Laws NJGOP Remains Strongly Opposed To 2019 VBM Election Rigging

August 28, 2019
LD12 GOP Legislators Offer Fair Automatic Voter Registration Laws
NJGOP Remains Strongly Opposed To 2019 VBM Election Rigging

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Trenton, NJ – Yesterday the New Jersey Assembly passed concurrent legislation with Monday’s Senate special session that would change the state’s vote by mail laws for the 2019 election.
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NJGOP Chairman Doug Steinhardt already called this a prime example of abuse of power by one party control in Trenton.
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It is important to note that vote-by-mail applicants in all counties have an option to register to VBM in perpetuity. The legislation that Democrats passed this week will automatically add to the permanent VBM rolls voters who intentionally opted out.
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NJ Globe reported that, “Including the 2017 and 2018 vote-by-mail universe for 2019, traditionally an off-off year when it comes to voter turnout, would be hugely advantageous to Democrats. Election results show that in key legislative races, the Democratic advantage could be as much as 70%.”
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With the following statement, NJGOP Chairman Doug Steinhardt reiterated his strong objection to this legislation:
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“Mark Twain said that, ‘[w]henever you find yourself on the side of the majority, it is time to pause and reflect,’ unless, of course, you’re a New Jersey Democrat. Every time New Jersey gives Democrats complete control in Trenton they take everything not nailed to the floor. With this bill, they’ll take your right to choose.”
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“Trenton Democrats know that our state’s election pattern always swings back to giving Republicans a seat at the table, because of the self serving, predatory nature of their politics. These new vote-by-mail laws are an attempt to rig the 2019 elections and prevent that from happening in the Murphy Midterms. Everyone must be clear what they’re doing here.  It’s selective inclusion, and it’s wrong, if not illegal.”
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Senator Sam Thompson added, “If Democrats are so willing to create special sessions to address our election system, then let’s all come back as soon as possible and amend our new auto voter registration laws. If we’re going to dive into automatic voter registration, then let’s jump in with both feet and make it fair across the board.”
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Earlier this year, Democrats created a new law for automatic voter registration. Any New Jersey residents who visit certain state agencies, like the Motor Vehicle Commission, are automatically registered to vote.
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Following the NJGOP’s suggestion last week, Senator Thompson and Assemblyman Dancer have introduced legislation extending automatic voter registration to applicants for hunting and fishing licenses, too.
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Assemblyman Ron Dancer said, “Democrat leadership in Trenton are using their positions of power to game the election system. We’ve introduced legislation to start addressing this by expanding automatic voter registration instead of selectively applying it, as our Democrat counterparts do.”
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