Requires additional notice of certain penalties for voter fraud.

A5174

ASSEMBLY, No. 5174

STATE OF NEW JERSEY

222nd LEGISLATURE

�

INTRODUCED JUNE 1, 2026

Sponsored by:

Assemblyman� GREGORY E. MYHRE

District 9 (Ocean)

Co-Sponsored by:

Assemblymen Kanitra, Barlas and Assemblywoman Fantasia

SYNOPSIS

���� Requires additional notice of certain penalties for
voter fraud.

CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT

���� As introduced.

��

An Act
concerning voter information notices and amending
P.L.2005, c.149.

����
Be It
Enacted
by the Senate and General Assembly of
the State of New Jersey:

���� 1.� Section 1 of P.L.2005,
c.149 (C.19:12-7.1) is amended to read as follows:

���� 1. �a. �A county board of
elections shall have posted a voter information notice, which shall be referred
to as a voter's bill of rights, in a conspicuous location in each polling place
and each specially designated polling place used for early voting before voting
begins.

���� The notice shall contain:

���� the date of the election and
the hours during which polling places will be open;

���� a statement that sample
ballots are available at the polling place for review by the voter;

���� instruction for the use of the
voting machine in that polling place and an explanation of what instructions
for voting are available at the polling place for the voter;

���� instruction for a voter who is
voting for the first time;

���� instruction for a voter who is
required to provide identification pursuant to the federal "Help America
Vote Act of 2002" and R.S.19:15-17 prior to casting a vote;

���� instruction on how to cast a
vote if the voter cannot be present at a polling place on the day of the
election;

���� an explanation of the right of
the voter to vote in private, regardless of the voter's physical abilities;

���� an explanation of the right of
the voter to a provisional ballot, including in the event that a mail-in ballot
has been applied for and not received or not transmitted to the county board of
elections before the day of any election, and the other circumstances under
which a voter has a right to a provisional ballot;

���� an explanation of the right of
the voter to receive a replacement ballot for a ballot that has been spoiled,
destroyed, lost or never received;

���� an explanation of the right of
the voter to ask for and receive assistance in voting;

���� an explanation of the right of
the voter to take a reasonable amount of time in casting a vote on a voting
machine;

���� an explanation of the right of
the voter to bring written material into the polling place for the voter's
personal use in casting a vote;

���� instruction on how to contact
the appropriate officials if a voter's right to vote or right to otherwise
participate in the electoral process has been challenged or violated;

����
a statement that �VOTER
FRAUD IS A CRIME� and
general information on federal and State laws that
prohibit acts of fraud or misrepresentation and the penalties for those acts
,
including an explanation that only citizens of the United States may vote and any
non-citizen convicted of unlawful voting may be subject to removal from the
United States and may jeopardize the opportunity to obtain United States
citizenship in the future
;

���� an explanation of the right of
the voter to confidentially discover the status of their ballot using the
"Track My Ballot" user portal;

���� an explanation that "All
ballots are counted and your vote remains anonymous";

���� an explanation of the right of
the voter that if their ballot was rejected, a notice will be issued to the
voter within 24 hours after a decision is made to reject the ballot.� The voter
will have up to 48 hours prior to the date for the final certification of the
results of the election to provide a cure for their ballot;

���� an explanation giving the
options for the voter to provide the cure to their rejected ballot;

���� an explanation that no voters
shall be intimidated or otherwise unduly influenced by political insignia while
voting.� No person shall wear, display, sell, give or provide any political or
campaign slogan, badge, button or other insignia associated with any political
party or candidate to be worn at or within one hundred feet of the polls or
within the polling place or room, on any primary, general or special election
day or on any commission government election day, except the badge furnished by
the county board as provided by law.� This includes any political gear
representing the campaign slogans, logos, or depictions or representations of
any political party or candidate such as merchandise sold directly from a
political party, campaign, candidate, or by third parties and vendors
representing any political party or campaign or candidate.� A person violating
any of these provisions is guilty of a disorderly persons offense and will not
be permitted on the premises and can only return to vote after the removal of
prohibited political insignia; and

���� such other statement,
instruction or explanation the Secretary of State may deem appropriate to
ensure the full and knowledgeable participation of the voter in the process.

���� The requirement to post this
notice in each polling place shall not replace, supersede or void any other
requirement set forth in law for the posting of information in each polling
place apart from the voter information notice.� The poster promoting the use of
voting by mail prepared and distributed by the Secretary of State pursuant to
R.S.19:8-6 shall be displayed next to or as close as may be possible to the
voter information notice.

���� b.��� The Secretary of State
shall prescribe the form and specific content of the voter information notice,
which may be comprised of more than one page.� If the notice is comprised of
more than one page, each page shall be posted separately.� For an election district
in which the primary language of 10 percent or more of the registered voters is
a language other than English, the Secretary of State shall prescribe an
official version of the voter information notice in that other language or
languages for use in that election district.� The notice shall be posted in
English and in the other language or languages in the polling places in each
such district.� The alternate language shall be determined based on information
from the latest federal decennial census.

���� c.���� A county board of
elections may modify or supplement the voter information notice used in a
county or municipality to provide additional information specific to that
county or a municipality in that county, provided, however, that any such
modification or supplementation shall be submitted to the Secretary of State
for prior approval.

���� d.��� The voter information
notice shall be printed on each sample ballot, to the extent practicable, or if
not practicable, information on how to view or obtain a copy of the voter
information notice shall be printed on each sample ballot.

���� e.���� The voter information
notice, including one modified or supplemented pursuant to subsection c. of
this section, shall be made accessible on the official Internet site of the
State by the Secretary of State and each county board of elections shall ensure
that the official Internet site of the county contains a link to that notice.

���� f.���� (Deleted by amendment,
P.L.2020, c.70)

���� g.��� The State shall be
liable for the costs incurred by local government entities for compliance with
this section, and they shall be reimbursed for those costs, upon application,
by the State Treasurer.

(cf: P.L.2021, c.40, s.9)

���� 2. �This act shall take effect
immediately.

STATEMENT

���� This bill modifies the
requirements regarding voter information notices placed at polling places during
elections to explain that federal and State laws prohibit acts of fraud or
misrepresentation and the penalties for those acts.� The bill requires that the
notices include the statement �VOTER FRAUD IS A CRIME� and include an
explanation of the consequences of non-citizens voting.

���� Under current law, county
boards of elections are required to display information at polling places
related to voter registration requirements, laws prohibiting voter fraud, and
any associated penalties for such acts in English and in any other language which
is the primary language of 10 percent or more of the registered voters in the
election district.