Establishes "The Voter Convenience Act" to allow voters to vote at any polling place in their municipality on election day.

S585 TR

SENATE, No. 585

STATE OF NEW JERSEY

222nd LEGISLATURE

�

PRE-FILED FOR INTRODUCTION IN THE 2026 SESSION

Sponsored by:

Senator JAMES BEACH

District 6 (Burlington and Camden)

Senator� SHIRLEY K. TURNER

District 15 (Hunterdon and Mercer)

Co-Sponsored by:

Senators Polistina, Diegnan, Zwicker, Tiver, Ruiz and Stack

SYNOPSIS

���� Establishes "The Voter Convenience Act" to
allow voters to vote at any polling place in their municipality on election
day.

CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT

���� As reported by the Senate State Government, Wagering,
Tourism & Historic Preservation Committee with technical review.

��

An Act
concerning the ability of voters to vote at any polling
place in their municipality on election day, amending R.S.19:6-1, R.S.19:14-22,
and R.S.19:23-31, and supplementing Title 19 of the Revised Statutes.

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

���� 1. �(New section) This act
shall be known and may be cited as �The Voter Convenience Act.�

���� 2. �(New section) a.
Notwithstanding any provision of Title 19 of the Revised Statutes, or any other
law, rule, or regulation to the contrary, the Secretary of State in conjunction
with all county clerks, county boards of elections, and superintendents of
elections shall develop uniform guidelines to enable a county board of
elections and superintendent of elections, at the discretion of the county
board or superintendent, to implement a process by which the voters of each
municipality in that county may be permitted to cast their vote at any polling
place in their municipality on the day of any election.� Under the process
permitted by this section, the district boards of elections at each polling
place in a municipality shall be organized at the polling place in a manner
that permits any member of a district board to check-in any voter walking into
the polling place within their municipality, using the electronic poll books
authorized under P.L.2019, c.80 (C.19:31-35 et seq.).� The process shall also
enable the voter to vote at any voting machine at the polling place. The
uniform guidelines shall develop the means by which the voter will be provided
the correct ballot for that voter, which shall identify the voter�s election
district. To the extent made possible by available technology, the requirement
to issue a voting authority to each voter pursuant to section 1 P.L.1944, c.213
(C.19:52-2.1) may be replaced by a suitable procedure.���

���� b. In addition to allowing any
voter to vote at any polling place within their municipality, the Secretary of
State in conjunction with all county clerks, county boards of elections, and
superintendents of

elections may authorize the uniform guidelines
developed pursuant to subsection a. of this section to be implemented in a
manner that enables any voter residing within each county to cast their vote at
designated polling places within their county of residence on the day of any
election.�

���� 3. �R.S.19:6-1 is amended to
read as follows:

����
19:6-1.
The district
boards in each election district shall consist of four members,� except that
where electronic voting systems are in use any election district in which there
are more than 900 registered voters the district board shall� consist of six
members. The members shall be appointed by the county board of the county in
which such election district is located, in the manner hereinafter provided.

���� In election districts in which
the primary language of 10% or more of the registered voters is Spanish, the
county board shall appoint two additional members who shall be of Hispanic
origin and fluent in Spanish.

����
Notwithstanding any
provision of this section to the contrary, where the provisions of section 1 of
P.L.�� , c.��� (C.�� ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill) are
implemented, the number of district board members shall be determined by the
county board of elections in accordance with the uniform guidelines developed
pursuant thereto.

(cf: P.L.1975, c.316, s.3)

���� 4. �R.S.19:14-22 is amended to
read as follows:

���� 19:14-22. The official general
election sample ballots shall be as nearly as possible facsimiles of the
official general election ballot to be voted at such election and shall have
printed thereon, after the words which indicate the number of the election
district for which such sample ballots are printed, the name of the school
district, when appropriate, the number or name and municipality or
municipalities of the fire district, when appropriate, the street address or
location of the polling place in the election district
and a website that
lists all of the polling places at which the voter may vote where the
provisions of section 1 of P.L.�� , c.��� (C.�� ) (pending before the
Legislature as this bill) are implemented
, and the hours between which the
polls shall be open.� Such sample ballots shall be printed on paper different
in color from the official general election ballot, and have the following
words printed in large type at the top: "This ballot cannot be voted.� It
is a sample copy of the official general election ballot used on election
day."� The sample ballot shall also state clearly the days, hours and
places at which early voting shall be available in the county.

(cf: P.L.2021, c.40, s.11)

���� 5. �R.S.19:23-31 is amended to
read as follows:

���� 19:23-31.� The official
primary sample ballot shall be, as nearly as possible, a facsimile of the
official primary ballot to be voted at the primary election and shall be
printed on paper different in color from the official primary ballot, so that
the same may be readily distinguished from the official primary ballot.� It
shall state clearly the days, hours, and places at which early voting shall be
available in the county.� The official primary sample ballot shall have printed

at the top in large type the words:� "This official primary sample ballot
is an exact copy of the official primary ballot to be used on primary election
day.� This ballot cannot be voted."� The official primary sample ballot
shall also have printed thereon, following the words which indicate the
election district, the following words: "The polling place for this
election district is (Stating the location of said polling place)."
Where
the provisions of section 1 of
P.L. , c. (C. )
(pending before the Legislature as this bill) are implemented, the official
primary sample ballot shall have printed thereon, following the words which
indicate the election district, the street address or location of the polling
place in the election district and a website that lists all of the polling
places at which the voter may vote.

(cf: P.L.2021, c.40, s.14)

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