Republicans alleged ballots on electronic voting machines in Camden, Hudson, Middlesex, Passaic and Union counties that were supposed to be blank had already been marked with a vote for Democratic U.S. Sen. Robert Menendez.
In Passaic County four people who wanted to vote for Republican Senate candidate Tom Kean Jr. left the booth with their ballot cast for Menendez because they couldn't figure out how to change the vote.
We’re not sure exactly what the cause of it is, but it seems to be too widespread to call it a coincidence.”
New Jersey Voters Have Trouble At The Polls
~ Nov 7, 2006 8:08 pm US/Eastern
(AP) TRENTON Some voters in New Jersey had trouble casting their votes Tuesday using electronic voting machines, but election officials said the glitches weren’t widespread.
Republicans, however, alleged they had trouble voting for their chosen candidate in several counties.
The state Attorney General’s Office said the GOP claims were not substantiated; the U.S. Attorney’s Office dispatched monitors to check into them.
Tuesday’s election was the first time voters in all 21 New Jersey counties cast ballots electronically in a statewide general election, though most counties have used the machines in other elections.
Republicans alleged ballots on electronic voting machines in Camden, Hudson, Middlesex, Passaic and Union counties that were supposed to be blank had already been marked with a vote for Democratic U.S. Sen. Robert Menendez. The GOP said it was told about the problems by voters who experienced difficulties.
Mark Sheridan, an attorney for the New Jersey Republican State Committee, said in Passaic County four people who wanted to vote for Republican Senate candidate Tom Kean Jr. left the booth with their ballot cast for Menendez because they couldn’t figure out how to switch the vote.
“We’re not sure exactly what the cause of it is, but it seems to be too widespread to call it a coincidence,” said Sheridan, who conceded he had no evidence of wrongdoing.
David Wald, a spokesman for the state Attorney General’s Office, said deputy attorneys general were sent to four districts in Passaic County’s Paterson to investigate claims. He said Republicans didn’t report about complaints in other counties to the Attorney General’s Office.
“So far, none of the pre-selection claims have been substantiated,” he said.
Michael Drewniak, a spokesman for the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Newark, said the office sent two monitors to two locations to check into the Republican concerns. He wouldn’t identify the locations. He said the office had received 10 calls by 3 p.m. to its election hotline, much less than usual.
“It’s been pretty quiet,” Drewniak said.
Sheridan said Republicans heard no more complaints about the alleged problem after the monitors were dispatched. He said the campaign would wait until either late Tuesday or until Wednesday to decide whether they would take their concerns to a judge.
Wald said about 25 machines didn’t work properly Tuesday in several communities in Essex County, which has about 600 voting machines.
He said people voted with emergency ballots as the machines were either repaired or replaced.
Andrew Sprung of South Orange said lights indicating a vote had been cast failed to stay lit when his wife voted.
“The question is: How many votes are they missing?” Sprung said.
Carmine P. Casciano, Essex County elections superintendent, said all machine problems were handled without disrupting voting.
Four counties; Camden, Essex, Monmouth and Warren used the computerized machines Tuesday for the first time in a general election, though they used the machines in elections such as primaries earlier this year without major problems.
Phyllis Pearl, Camden County elections superintendent, said the county had problems with about 30 of its 700 machines, but said the problems were not major and did not affect voting.
“We’re not experiencing any grave errors,” Pearl said.
She said county officials have been able to walk poll workers through most problems, and that emergency ballots were used if a machine technician wasn’t readily available.
Under orders from state Attorney General Stuart Rabner, 550 state deputy attorneys general were on duty Tuesday to help county officials resolve voting-related legal issues.
The U.S. Justice Department sent federal election monitors to five New Jersey counties: Bergen, Essex, Hudson, Middlesex and Salem.
New Jersey Democrats had 1,000 lawyers ready across the state to help voters who were improperly prevented from voting.
The state has about 4.86 million registered voters this Election Day.
© 2006 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.
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