Republicans in Burlington County are challenging hundreds of voter mail-in ballots with three days left to go until Tuesday’s general election, according to reports.
“We’re challenging it because we want to ensure appropriate votes are cast, and we want to make sure it’s done ethically,” Bill layton, chairman of the Burlington County Republican Committee, told PolitickerNJ.
At issue is approximately 600 mail-in ballots submitted by voters in the county who received assistance from the New Jersey Democratic State Committee in filling out the forms, according to Layton. For voters who requested it, the committee sent out applications pre-populated with their names and addresses, a legal method of voter assistance during elections.
The applications failed, however, to include the name, address and signature of the Democrats’ representative who printed and mailed the applications, also know as the “assistor” — an oversight Layton and others argue invalidate the ballots.
“As a party, both Democrats and Republicans have a responsibility to make sure the integrity of an election is upheld, and I don’t think it would be any different if we had left assistors off, Democrats I’m positive would be challenging the same issue,” Layton said.
For their part, Democrats are condemning the complaints as an act of voter suppression. Joe Andl, chairman of the Burlington Coutny Democratic Committee, told PolitickerNJ last night that while the mail-in ballots were co-ordinated by the state committee, he doesn’t expect the challenge to hold up.
“We’re confident the votes will be counted,” he said.
The Burlington County Republican Committee filed an affidavit with the county Board of Elections on Friday.