Terms Used In New Jersey Statutes 19:15-18.3

  • Affidavit: A written statement of facts confirmed by the oath of the party making it, before a notary or officer having authority to administer oaths.
  • Commissioner: means the commissioner of registration in counties. See New Jersey Statutes 19:1-1
  • County board: means the county board of elections in a county. See New Jersey Statutes 19:1-1
  • District board: means the district board of registry and election in an election district. See New Jersey Statutes 19:1-1
  • Election: means the procedure whereby the electors of this State or any political subdivision thereof elect persons to fill public office or pass on public questions. See New Jersey Statutes 19:1-1
  • Evidence: Information presented in testimony or in documents that is used to persuade the fact finder (judge or jury) to decide the case for one side or the other.
  • filed: means deposited in the regularly maintained office of the public official wherever said regularly maintained office is designated by statute, ordinance or resolution. See New Jersey Statutes 19:1-1
  • person: includes corporations, companies, associations, societies, firms, partnerships and joint stock companies as well as individuals, unless restricted by the context to an individual as distinguished from a corporate entity or specifically restricted to one or some of the above enumerated synonyms and, when used to designate the owner of property which may be the subject of an offense, includes this State, the United States, any other State of the United States as defined infra and any foreign country or government lawfully owning or possessing property within this State. See New Jersey Statutes 1:1-2
  • Pro se: A Latin term meaning "on one's own behalf"; in courts, it refers to persons who present their own cases without lawyers.
  • State: extends to and includes any State, territory or possession of the United States, the District of Columbia and the Canal Zone. See New Jersey Statutes 1:1-2
  • Superintendent: means the superintendent of elections in counties wherein the same shall have been appointed. See New Jersey Statutes 19:1-1
  • Testimony: Evidence presented orally by witnesses during trials or before grand juries.
6. Any person whose name does not appear on a challenge list prepared by the superintendent of elections of the county but who is challenged and denied the right to vote on the day of a municipal, primary, general, or special election by a duly authorized challenger or by a member of a district board of elections, may apply to a Superior Court judge sitting at the county seat for permission to vote. No papers need be filed; the court shall entertain oral applications. The challenged voter may appear pro se or with counsel. The challenger or the member of the district board, as the case may be, may appear or be represented by counsel. The challenged voter shall be permitted to state by oath or affirmation the facts which the voter believes establish eligibility to vote, shall furnish a copy of the affidavit the voter signed when challenged, a copy of the affidavit signed by the challenger and the identifying document found invalid by the challenger and the district board. The rules of evidence shall not apply to those proceedings. The judge shall grant the application and provide the challenged voter with written authorization to vote on that day if the judge finds the following facts to be established by the testimony of the applicant or, in the case of a dispute of facts or some questions as to the challenged voter’s credibility, by a preponderance of the following evidence:

a. The challenged voter is at least 18 years old and a citizen of the United States and of this State, has resided in the county at least 30 days prior to the date of the election, and has not been convicted of a crime which would disenfranchise a person under the laws of this State, and either:

b. The challenged voter is properly registered at his location; or

c. The challenged voter was properly registered at his location as of the last election at which the challenged voter voted but has moved to another location within the county since then and in good faith attempted to register at the new address within the time prescribed by law.

For the purposes of this section, a good faith attempt to register shall include: completing the prescribed registration form no later than 21 days before the election in the presence of a person who appears to be over 18 years old and says that he or she can and will witness the form and mail it to the register for the applicant; completing a form received in the mail from the commissioner of registration, superintendent of elections or the county board which states that information has been received that the applicant has moved and placing the completed form in a proper mailbox with proper postage, if necessary, no later than 21 days before the election; completing a registration form in any government office; and reasonably relying upon the oral statements of an official at a polling place that they will insure proper reregistration.

The judge of the Superior Court having the application shall cause a full record of the proceeding to be taken stenographically, transcribed and filed in the office of the county clerk of the county, which record shall be open and public record. All costs and expenses of such proceedings shall be paid by the county.

L.1991,c.249,s.6; amended 2005, c.139, s.5.

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