New Jersey Investigates Double Voting That May Have Flipped Local Race

New Jersey is currently investigating double counting that could have altered the outcome of at least one local election in the 2022 elections.

The state’s attorney general, Matthew Platkin, Announced an inquiry Last week, the newspaper cited public reports on voting problems in Monmouth County. “Protecting New Jerseyans’ right to vote in a free and fair election is paramount to our democracy, and ensuring the integrity of that process is essential,” Platkin made the statement in a statement. He also added “a full investigation is warranted to encourage and preserve public trust in our elections, including recommendations for reforms to benefit the conduct of contests statewide.”

Numerous municipalities in Monmouth County on the coast of central New Jersey were affected by tabulation problems. These problems were only discovered during an investigation by the Board of Elections into an unrelated matter. The New Jersey Globe reported earlier in this month. But, the news blog continued with another report. Notifications were sent to the county officials About November’s voting machines.

Although multiple towns were affected by the vote, only one race, the Ocean Township Board of Education race, was close enough that double voting could have flipped the results. Steve Clayton (an ex-board member) won the election by 20 votes over Jeffrey Weinstein. Informal tally Weinstein was voted ahead by just one vote.

On January 20, Platkin joined hands with officials from Monmouth County in asking a judge to permit a “full recount and recheck” The affected communities are: CNN. Clayton assumed office this month, although he acknowledged that final results could change. “I’m a board member until I’m not a board member. My main concern is the integrity of the election and that whoever ends up taking the seat, the people have confidence in the outcome,” According to him, the Asbury Park Press.

The county’s voting machine vendor, Election Systems and Software (ES&S), blamed “human procedural error” For what it called an “isolated incident.” A technician, who was sent over the summer to investigate reports of slow performance in the county’s internal network, “excluded a step” That “optimizes the system database and ensures USB flash media cannot be read twice during the results loading process,” An ES&S spokesperson stated.

Platkin indicated that Patterson, Belknap, Webb, and Tyler LLP were retained by his office on a non-profit basis by the Division on Civil Rights in order to investigate whether anyone or entity was involved in any unlawful conduct as defined under the New Jersey Civil Rights Act. Peter Harvey, a former New Jersey attorney general and federal prosecutor, was picked to lead the investigation. Harvey brings “immense experience in civil rights matters and overseeing complex and sensitive investigations,” per the attorney general’s office.

Officials from Monmouth County They support New Jersey attorney General to investigate the election software issue. The state was urged to implement reforms. ES&S “pledges to work with Monmouth County to ensure all necessary steps are taken to ensure election accuracy,” The company spokeswoman said.

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