GOP Lawmakers Demand Changes In NJ After Cedar Grove Election

CEDAR GROVE, NJ — A Cedar Grove councilman’s unusual, door-to-door visits to local voters after last week’s municipal election have inspired an effort to change the way vote-by-mail ballots are counted in New Jersey.

On Monday, a trio of Republican lawmakers in District 40 (Bergen, Essex, Morris and Passaic counties) announced that they’re planning to introduce new legislation that would upgrade penalties and bar anyone from filing official and completed absentee ballots after polls close on Election Day.

According to a joint statement from the lawmakers, Senator Kristin Corrado and Assemblymen Kevin Rooney and Christopher DePhillips, their proposal is directly related to the recent municipal election in Cedar Grove, which ended with a narrow defeat for current Councilman Harry Kumburis.

• See related article: Town Council Results For Verona, Cedar Grove (Election 2019)

On Tuesday, May 14, Kumburis was captured on a doorbell surveillance video knocking on neighborhood doors at 10:30 p.m., more than two hours after polls had closed. Kumburis told NorthJersey.com that he was concerned about whether absentee ballots were being counted, and that he knocked on eight doors in an attempt to learn if the residents had voted by mail or provisionally.

Kumburis said he didn't ask anyone which candidate they voted for. He denied any wrongdoing.

An attorney said that Kumburis’ behavior was “absurd” but didn’t violate any election laws. However, several residents were disturbed by the late-night visit, with one person describing it as “dodgy” behavior, NorthJersey.com reported. (Read the full article here)

According to the Essex County Clerk’s Office, the final totals once provisional ballots had been tallied were:

• Peter Tanella – 918 votes
• Joseph Maceri – 804 votes
• Harry Kumburis – 777 votes
• James Palma – 749 votes
• Write-In - 10 votes

Sen. Corrado was blunt about the incident and what it should mean for Kumburis’ future as an elected official.

“Anyone who has the audacity to bang on doors at 10:30 p.m. to round up extra votes has no business serving in government,” she said. “That’s an egregious violation of public trust.”

Patch reached out to Kumburis for comment about the proposed legislation. We will include any reply we receive in this article.

CHANGING ELECTION LAW IN NEW JERSEY

Under the mail-in ballot law signed in 2018 by Gov. Phil Murphy, vote-by-mail ballots that are received within 48 hours of the close of polls are eligible to be counted, as long as they are postmarked on Election Day.

The legislation planned by the three lawmakers would change the 2018 law by repealing the 48-hour rule, so that any ballot filed after polls close on Election Day will not be counted.

To prevent voter fraud, the new legislation would also upgrade the penalties for filing more than three mail-in-ballots at the same time, and for any candidate who poses as a “bearer,” Corrado, Rooney and DePhillips said.

“Choosing who represents us in government is a sacred responsibility,” Rooney said. “This commonsense bill would upgrade the penalties for breaking the law and correct the sweeping changes Governor Murphy made in 2018.”

“Voters shouldn’t have to question the legitimacy of our elections,” DePhillips said. “This case proves that we need a much stronger deterrent to prevent voter fraud in Cedar Grove, and across New Jersey.”

The state’s 40th District includes the following towns: Allendale, Cedar Grove, Franklin Lakes, Ho-Ho-Kus, Little Falls, Midland Park, Pequannock, Pompton Lakes, Ridgewood, Riverdale, Totowa, Waldwick, Wayne, Woodland Park, Wyckoff.

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