Directs Secretary of State to establish election incident reporting and complaint database; requires certain telephone numbers be provided with voter instructions.

S3198

SENATE, No. 3198

STATE OF NEW JERSEY

222nd LEGISLATURE

�

INTRODUCED JANUARY 28, 2026

Sponsored by:

Senator� KRISTIN M. CORRADO

District 40 (Bergen, Essex and Passaic)

SYNOPSIS

���� Directs Secretary of State to establish election
incident reporting and complaint database; requires certain telephone numbers
be provided with voter instructions.

CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT

���� As introduced.

��

An Act
concerning an election incident reporting and complaint
database, and amending P.L.2005, c.149 and P.L.2009, c.79 and supplementing
Title 19 of the Revised Statues.

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

���� 1.��� (New section) �a. �The
Secretary of State shall establish an election incident reporting and complaint
database to document civil rights violations, voter fraud, or other incidents
or complaints related to the conduct of an election in this State.� In real
time during the conduct of an election, the Secretary of State shall compile
any incidents or complaints submitted to the Department of State or to county
election officials in a manner and form the secretary deems appropriate.

���� b.��� At a minimum, the
reported incidents or complaints shall be categorized by the following:

���� (1)�� the location, if any,
and date of the incident or complaint;

���� (2)�� the type of incident or
complaint; and

���� (3)�� the action, if any,
taken in response to the incident or complaint.

���� The Secretary of State shall
provide the complied information to the appropriate officials, including, but
not limited to, the New Jersey Attorney General and the United States Attorney
for the District of New Jersey, in a manner and form consistent with the
provisions of Title 19 of the Revised Statues and applicable federal law.

���� c.���� Not later than 30 days
following the date of the closing of the polls, the Secretary of State shall
prepare and submit to the Governor and, pursuant to section 2 of P.L.1991,
c.164 (C.52:14-19.1), to the Legislature, a report detailing the total number of
incidents and complaints during the conduct of that election, including the
action, if any, taken in response to an incident or complaint.� The Secretary
of State shall also make this report available to the public on the
department�s Internet site in an easily accessible location.

���� 2.��� 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;

����
instruction on how to
contact the appropriate officials if a voter suspects voter fraud and
general
information on federal and State laws that prohibit acts of fraud or
misrepresentation and the penalties for those acts;

the telephone number of the
United States Attorney�s Office Election Hotline, the New Jersey Election
Hotline, and county election officials of the county;

���� 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)

���� 3.��� Section 12 of P.L.2009,
c.79 (C.19:63-12) is amended to read as follows:

���� 12.� Each county clerk shall
send, with each mail-in ballot, printed directions for the preparation and
transmitting of the ballots as required by this act.� The directions shall be
printed in such manner and form as the Secretary of State shall require,
together with two envelopes of such sizes that one will contain the other.� The
directions prepared by the
[
Secretary
of State
]

county clerk
shall inform the voter that the status of the voter's
mail-in ballot may be checked using the free-access system provided in section
5 of P.L.2004, c.88 (C.19:61-5).�
The directions prepared by the county
clerk shall also include instructions on how to contact the appropriate
election officials to report civil rights violations, voter fraud, and other
election related matters.� The county clerk, at a minimum, shall include the
telephone numbers of the United States Attorney�s Office Election Hotline, the
New Jersey Election Hotline, and the county election officials of that county.
�
Except for a primary election for the general election, each county clerk shall
ensure that the delivery envelope, which is the envelope that is used to mail
the blank ballot, the outer envelope, and the inner envelope to each voter
shall not contain any political affiliation or designation visible to the
public on the envelope's exterior.

���� The outer envelope shall be
addressed to the county board of elections of the county in which is located
the home address of the person to whom the mail-in ballot is sent, as certified
by the county clerk.� At the discretion of the county clerk, the outer envelope
may be a postage paid return envelope.� On the outside and front of each outer
envelope, there shall be printed or stamped the following:

���� To protect your vote:

���� IT IS AGAINST THE LAW FOR
ANYONE EXCEPT YOU THE VOTER TO MAIL OR TRANSPORT THIS BALLOT UNLESS THE
ENVELOPE IS SEALED AND THE FOLLOWING IS COMPLETED:

���� Ballot mailed or transported
by

���� (signature of bearer)

���� (print name of bearer)

���� (address of bearer)

���� The reserve side of the outer
envelope shall contain the following:

���� REMINDER

���� For your vote to count, you
must:

���� 1)��� Vote your ballot and
place it in the inner envelope with the attached certificate.

���� 2)��� Seal the envelope.

���� 3)��� Place the envelope into
the larger envelope addressed to the board of elections and seal that envelope.

���� 4)��� If another person will
be mailing your ballot or bringing it to the board of elections, MAKE CERTAIN
THAT PERSON COMPLETES THE "BEARER PORTION" ON THE ENVELOPE ADDRESSED
TO THE BOARD OF ELECTIONS BEFORE THE BALLOT IS TAKEN FROM YOU.� NO PERSON WHO
IS A CANDIDATE IN THE ELECTION FOR WHICH THE VOTER REQUESTS THIS BALLOT IS
PERMITTED TO SERVE AS A BEARER.� NO PERSON IS PERMITTED TO SERVE AS A BEARER
FOR MORE THAN THREE QUALIFIED VOTERS IN AN ELECTION, BUT A PERSON MAY SERVE AS
SUCH FOR UP TO FIVE QUALIFIED VOTERS IN AN ELECTION IF THOSE VOTERS ARE
IMMEDIATE FAMILY MEMBERS RESIDING IN THE SAME HOUSEHOLD AS THE BEARER.

���� The Secretary of State is
authorized to make such changes to the instructions for mail-in ballot
materials as the Secretary of State deems necessary or as is mandated by
federal or State law.

���� The inner envelope shall be so
designed that it can be sealed after the mail-in ballot has been placed therein
and the flap thereof shall be of such length and size as to leave sufficient
margin, after sealing, for the printing thereon of the certificate hereinafter
described.� The flap shall be so arranged that, after the inner envelope has
been sealed, the certificate can be contained, with the inner envelope, in the
outer envelope, and that the margin containing the certificate can be detached
without unsealing the inner envelope.

���� On the outside of each
envelope in which a mail-in ballot is sent to a mail-in voter by the clerk,
there shall be printed or stamped the words �Official Mail-In Ballot.�� In
addition, there shall be printed or stamped the following:

���� To protect your vote:

���� IT IS AGAINST THE LAW FOR
ANYONE EXCEPT YOU THE VOTER TO OPEN, MARK, INSPECT OR SEAL THIS BALLOT.

���� However, a family member may
assist you in doing so.

���� The reverse side of each inner
envelope shall contain the following statement:

���� A PERSON MAY BE FINED AND
IMPRISONED AND MAY ALSO LOSE THE RIGHT TO VOTE UNTIL RESTORED BY LAW if that
person attempts to vote fraudulently by mail-in ballot, prevents the voting of
a legal voter, certifies falsely any information, interferes with a person's
secrecy of voting, tampers with ballots or election documents or helps another
person to do so.

(cf: P.L.2022, c.69, s.5)

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

STATEMENT

���� This bill directs the
Secretary of State to establish an election incident reporting and complaint
database and requires certain telephone numbers be provided with voter
instructions.

���� Under the bill, the Secretary
of State is required to establish an election incident reporting and complaint
database to document civil rights violations, voter fraud, or other incidents
or complaints related to the conduct of an election in this State.� The
Secretary of State, in real time during the conduct of an election, must
compile any incidents or complaints submitted to the Department of State or to
county election officials.

���� At a minimum, the reported
incidents or complaints must be categorized by the following:

���� (1)�� the location, if any,
and date of the incident or complaint;

���� (2)�� the type of incident or
complaint; and

���� (3)�� the action, if any,
taken in response to the incident or complaint.

���� The Secretary of State is
directed to also provide the complied information to the appropriate officials,
including, but not limited to, the NJ Attorney General and the U.S. Attorney
for the District of New Jersey, in a form and manner consistent with State and
federal law.� Following the election, the Secretary of State is also required
to prepare and submit a report to the Governor and the Legislature detailing
the total number of incidents or complaints.

���� The bill also requires the
telephone numbers of the U.S. Attorney�s Office Election Hotline, the NJ
Election Hotline, and county election officials to be posted at polling places
in the voter information notice required by current law and in the printed directions
transmitted with mail-in ballots that is also required by current law.