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A170
ASSEMBLY, No. 170
STATE OF NEW JERSEY
222nd LEGISLATURE
�
PRE-FILED FOR INTRODUCTION IN THE 2026 SESSION
Sponsored by:
Assemblywoman DAWN FANTASIA
District 24 (Morris, Sussex and Warren)
Assemblyman MICHAEL INGANAMORT
District 24 (Morris, Sussex and Warren)
SYNOPSIS
���� Prohibits use of private funds and personnel in
governmental offices and procedures pertaining to administration of elections;
establishes crimes and penalties for violations.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
���� Introduced Pending Technical Review by Legislative
Counsel.
��
An Act
prohibiting the use of private funds and personnel in
governmental offices and procedures pertaining to the administration of
elections and supplementing chapter 34 of Title 19 of the Revised Statutes.
����
Be It
Enacted
by the Senate and General Assembly of
the State of New Jersey:
���� 1.� It shall be unlawful for
the State, a county, municipality, school district, fire district, or any other
government entity or employee thereof to accept or expend any funds from any
person, corporation, non-governmental organization, business entity, political
party, or any other private entity to be used in preparing, administering, or
conducting elections, including registering voters. This section shall not be
interpreted to prohibit the State or government entity or employee thereof from
receiving or expending any funds allocated to the government entity from the
State or federal government for preparing, administering, or conducting an
election. Any person who violates the provisions of this section shall be
guilty of a crime of the third degree.
���� 2.� It shall be unlawful for
any private person to self-appoint or to be employed or appointed in a
supervisory capacity to provide direction to any employee or have any role in
determining the eligibility of any ballots to be counted or disqualified,
unless such employment or appointment is authorized and governed by the
provisions of Title 19 of the Revised Statutes applicable to election officials
as members of the district boards of elections, county boards of elections,
boards of county canvassers, board of state canvassers, and any other officer, official,
employee, or judge in their respective capacities. Any person who violates the
provisions of this section shall be guilty of a crime of the third degree.
���� 3.� This act shall take effect
immediately.
STATEMENT
���� This bill prohibits the use of
private funds and personnel in governmental offices and procedures regarding
election administration and establishes crimes and penalties for violations.
���� Under current law, election
administration expenses are funded by counties, municipalities, school
districts, and the State from their respective budgets and appropriations. This
bill would make it unlawful for the State, a county, municipality, school
district, fire district, or any other government entity or employee to accept
or expend any funds from any person, corporation, non-governmental
organization, business entity, political party, or any other private entity to
be used in preparing, administering, or conducting elections, including registering
voters. This provision would not be interpreted to prohibit the State or
government entity or employee from receiving or expending any funds allocated
to the government entity from the State or federal government. Any person who
violates these provisions would be guilty of a crime of the third degree.
���� Under current law, designated
election officials, including members of the district boards of elections,
county boards of elections, boards of county canvassers, board of state
canvassers, and any other officer, official, employee, or judge in their
respective capacities, are authorized to process and canvass ballots in an
election. This bill would make it unlawful for any private person to self-appoint
or be employed or appointed in a supervisory capacity to provide direction to
any employee or have any role in determining the eligibility of any ballots to
be counted or disqualified, unless such employment or appointment is authorized
and governed by the provisions of Title 19 of the Revised Statutes. Any person
who violates these provisions would be guilty of a crime of the third degree.
���� This bill is based on legislation
enacted in the 11 states of Arizona, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Idaho,
Indiana, Kansas, North Dakota, Ohio, Tennessee and Texas, which limits or
prohibits the use of private or philanthropic funding to governmental offices
to administer elections.
���� It is the sponsor�s belief
that the use of private funding for historically publicly-funded governmental
election administration activities raises questions among the public about the
integrity of governmental election procedures.� Specifically, the use of
private funding for these governmental purposes raises questions about the
intent, expectations and actions of the private funder and any allied
organizations or individuals distributing the funding, implementing the private
funder�s plans, or receiving payment from the private funds.
���� The reported and apparently
unprecedented injection of hundreds of millions of private dollars into
governmental election agencies in 2020 by a billionaire chief executive officer
of a social media company has raised such questions. Further related reports of
private individuals giving directions to public employees, including deciding
which ballots would be counted and which would not, contribute to such
questions, as do reports of private funds being used by public agencies for
activities resembling �get out the vote� efforts normally funded by partisan
political candidates and parties.