Atlantic County Clerk Joseph Giralo is calling on the Atlantic County Board of Elections to take immediate action to ensure that 24 voters are not disenfranchised because of a preventable administrative error involving cure letters that were delayed by the United States Postal Service.
The 24 returning “cure letters” (letters offering voters who have a deficiency in their already-received ballot, for instance, they forgot to sign it, etc.) that would have been considered for correcting their respective deficiency, were, in essence, held by USPS due to an alleged postage dispute. However, Giralo cites various conversations and communications with USPS where promises were made to deliver official election mail quickly and efficiently. For the 24 voters who did everything right here, these promises did not ring true. Giralo stated that these Atlantic County voters were, in effect, denied the opportunity to cure their ballots within the statutory timeframe “through no fault of their own,” Atlantic County election offices use envelopes that include the USPS suggested emblem that alerts of “Official Election Mail” and all 24 contained this emblem. “It’s just not fair,” Giralo says.
“These voters did everything they were asked to do,” he stated. “They should not lose their right to have their ballots counted because of an administrative failure outside of their control. Every legally cast vote deserves to be counted,” the County Clerk said.
Giralo is urging the Atlantic County Board of Elections (the entity that alerted the 24 voters of their respective ballot’s deficiency) to take all lawful and appropriate action within their statutory power to remedy the situation and count the affected ballots. Giralo then plans to file an amendment to the Certified Results previously provided to the State of New Jersey, which will include any applicable votes from the 24 ballots. He noted that election officials have a responsibility to protect the integrity of the electoral process while also ensuring that eligible voters are not disenfranchised due to government error.
“Our election system depends on public confidence,” Giralo said. “When mistakes occur, they must be corrected. I believe the Board of Elections will act promptly to ensure these 24 voters receive the representation they are entitled to under the law,” states Giralo. “Election Officials in this county work very hard to protect the public we serve. I can’t imagine that the Board of Elections feels any differently about this latest snafu with USPS. We’re counting on them to count these ballots.”
The Clerk’s Office remains committed to working with election officials to ensure every eligible vote has been handled lawfully and that the rights of Atlantic County voters are protected.
