The outcome of a close Democratic primary race for a New Jersey congressional seat could hinge on a judge’s ruling over whether to count over 1,900 mailed-in ballots that were illegally opened early by county election officials.
A deadlock within the Atlantic County Board of Elections over how to proceed with the prematurely opened ballot envelopes has put the matter before Superior Court Judge Michael J. Blee, who will hear arguments Friday.
At issue are 1,909 mail ballots whose outer envelopes were opened about a month before the state’s June 6th primary, violating a law allowing such ballots to be unsealed only within 5 days of Election Day to begin preparations for counting.
In the Democratic primary for New Jersey’s 2nd Congressional District, businessman Joe Salerno currently holds a 400-vote lead over attorney Tim Alexander based on unofficial results.
But the dispute over whether to accept or reject those 1,900-plus ballots could potentially sway the outcome.
County election officials are split. Democrats voted to allow them after stating the early unsealings were an innocent mistake during a change to ballot tracking procedures.
However, the two Republicans members objected, asserting there are indications the envelopes may have been opened intentionally over multiple days — and if officials knew it was a mistake, they would have stopped it the GOP members argued.
The Republicans are calling for an investigation while still allowing the ballots to be tallied.
“I’m not saying to throw these ballots out. I’m saying the election process was compromised,” Don Purdy, chair of the Atlantic County Republicans, said. “You can’t fix something unless you admit there is a problem and fix it.”
The impasse has now put the matter in Judge Blee’s hands to effectively break the tie and decide whether to count the prematurely opened ballots or reject them over chain-of-custody concerns – a ruling that could prove pivotal in the tight congressional primary race… and could establish an important legal precedent.
The Atlantic County ballot controversy also underscores overall concerns with mail-in ballots in this year’s high-scrutiny voting environment heading into a razor-thin 2024 presidential election.