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S3532
SENATE, No. 3532
STATE OF NEW JERSEY
222nd LEGISLATURE
�
INTRODUCED FEBRUARY 19, 2026
Sponsored by:
Senator� LINDA R. GREENSTEIN
District 14 (Mercer and Middlesex)
SYNOPSIS
���� Requires availability of free parking at polling
places on election day.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
���� As introduced.
��
An Act
concerning the availability of free parking at polling
places on election day and amending R.S.19:8-2.
����
Be It
Enacted
by the Senate and General Assembly of
the State of New Jersey:
���� 1.�� R.S.19:8-2 is amended to
read as follows:
���� 19:8-2.� The clerk of every
municipality, on or before April 1 shall certify to the county board of every
county wherein such municipality is located a suggested list of places in the
municipality suitable for polling places.� The county board shall select the
polling places for the election districts in the municipalities of the county
for all elections in the municipalities thereof, including all commission
government elections in the county.� The county boards shall not be obliged to
select the polling places so suggested by the municipal clerks, but may choose
others where they may deem it expedient.� Preference in locations shall be
given to schools and public buildings where space shall be made available by
the authorities in charge, upon request, if same can be done without
detrimental interruption of school or the usual public services thereof, and
for which the authority in charge shall be reimbursed, by agreement, for
expenses of light, janitorial and other attending services arising from such use.
�Each polling place selected shall be accessible to individuals with
disabilities and the elderly. A polling place shall be considered accessible if
it is in compliance with the federal "Americans with Disabilities Act of
1990" (42 U.S.C. s. 12101 et seq.).�
Each polling place selected shall
also have onsite parking available free of charge.
In no case shall the
authorities in charge of a public school or other public building deny the
request of the county board for the use, as a polling place, of any building
they own or lease.
���� Where the county board shall
fail to agree as to the selection of the polling place or places for any
election district, within five days of an election, the county clerk shall
select and designate the polling place or places in any such election district.
���� The county board may select a
polling place other than a schoolhouse or public building outside of the
district but such polling place shall not be located more than 1,000 feet
distant from the boundary line of the district.� The Secretary of State may, however,
permit a polling place to be more than 1,000 feet distant from the boundary
line of the district if there is no suitable polling place accessible to
individuals with disabilities and the elderly within the district or 1,000 feet
distant from the boundary line of the district.
���� Whenever possible, the county
board shall contact the managers or owners of commercial or private buildings
that the board deems suitable to use as polling places, and are in or near an
election district lacking an accessible polling place, to determine whether a
portion of such a building may be used as a polling place on the day of an
election.� Reimbursement for the use of a portion of such a building shall be
the same as provided by this section for schools and public buildings.
���� Neither the owner nor operator
of a facility designated as a polling place by the county board is permitted or
authorized to relocate the polling place room in the building without the
express prior approval of the board.
(cf: P.L.2011, c.134, s.11)
���� 2. This act shall take effect
immediately.
STATEMENT
���� This bill requires the availability
of free parking at polling places on election day. Under current law, preference
in locations to be selected as polling places is given to schools and public
buildings. Current law also requires each polling place to be accessible to
individuals with disabilities and the elderly in compliance with the �Americans
with Disabilities Act of 1990.� This bill would institute an additional
requirement for polling places to have onsite parking available free of charge.