TOMS RIVER, NJ -Toms River lawyer Terrance Turnbach was ousted from politics by voters last November when he lost his re-election bid for township council. Today, Turnbach is running to become Ocean County’s next Democrat party chairman.
He doesn’t stand much of a chance at winning though. Last week, Turnbach fought and won a measure to block mail-in-ballots during the election. Now, he’s asking a judge to block opponents from voting with remote voting, a process allowed since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.
This year, the Ocean County Democrat party changed its bylaws to offer concerned voters a chance to remotely vote in the chairman’s race with COVID-19 concerns in mind. Turnbach is now crying foul, saying it will give his opponents an unfair advantage.
Now, he’s asking a judge to have the courts bar Democrats from voting in the election remotely.
“Remote voting is permitted at our reorganization Meeting by our bylaws. We have allowed remote voting in every county committee meeting since the pandemic began well over 2 years ago, without a single complaint from Mr. Turnbach or anyone else,” said Wyatt Earp, the current Chairman of the Ocean County Democrat party. “This is a clear attempt by Mr. Turnbach to disenfranchise voters. Given the Republican efforts to disenfranchise voters across the country, maybe Mr. Turnbach should be running to be the Republican Chair.”
Turnbach now says the decision to allow disabled and at-risk voters to vote remotely is illegal.
“The chairman’s unilateral attempt to change the voting procedure in an election in which he himself is a candidate…is a desperate and unlawful attempt to override the voices of the county committee who have already voted on this issue,” Turnbach said. “All we are seeking is a fair election.”
By fair election, Turnbach means everyone must show up in person to vote and will not be allowed to use mail-in ballots or the allowed remote voting, against the core principals of the Democrat Party.
Turnbach is expected to lose the election even without remote voting. Turnbach is a staunch supporter and political ally of Toms River Mayor Maurice Hill.
Turnbach, described by many as a political snake oil salesman has always been a showman of political theater, which is one of the reasons Toms River voters showed him the door in November. He once called for a homeless shelter to be built in his community where he owned two large and expensive homes. Turnbach is a criminal defense attorney.