TRENTON, NJ – New Jersey Senate passed Senator Vin Gopal’s bill, S-3598, aiming to enhance voting machine accuracy. This legislation requires annual recertification and checks upon software modifications by the Secretary of State. The bill responds to a Monmouth County incident where a school board election result was overturned due to a voting machine error. It mandates testing and a checklist to ensure accurate vote recording and tabulation. The Senate approved the bill unanimously with a 34-0 vote.
The bill, S-3598, is partly in response to a November 2022 school board election in Monmouth County where the wrong candidate was initially declared the winner and sworn in before an audit and subsequent hand recount revealed that an error had occurred during an improper software installation the previous July.
After a court-ordered recount, the first declared winner was determined to have lost by four votes. “The privilege to vote is a right we hold dear across New Jersey. Those who do their civic duty and take the time and effort to cast a ballot must have the assurance that their vote taken will be counted but once, and counted correctly. This legislation is another safeguard we can implement to make sure every vote is recorded and tabulated accurately,” said Senator Gopal (D-Monmouth).
