42 Atlantic County ballots in limbo amid signature dispute

A dispute over a few dozen mail-in ballots has embroiled the Atlantic County Board of Elections in a legal dispute as officials look to certify the results on time.

The board, split between two Republicans and two Democrats, deadlocked on whether to accept more than 140 ballots due to signature discrepancies, and officials sent “cure letters” to voters to allow them to address the issues. They didn’t hear back from 42 voters, however, and the parties are split on how to move forward.

Elliott Almanza, an attorney for the Atlantic County Democrats, argues that a Superior Court judge can serve as a tiebreaking vote for each ballot and determine whether the signatures match the voter’s signature on file. Kenneth Warren, an attorney for the Atlantic County GOP, argued the distribution of cure forms constituted a rejection of the ballots and that the failure to return cure forms means the ballots must be rejected.

In a Tuesday hearing, Superior Court Judge M. Susan Sheppard said she will rule on the issue Thursday and asked for further details on how the Board of Elections handled the curing process.


https://newjerseyglobe.com/local/42-atlantic-county-ballots-in-limbo-amid-signature-dispute/