Coalition urges Christie to sign N.J. voting overhaul

http://www.nj.com/politics/index.ssf/2015/08/coalition_urges_christie_to_sign_nj_voting_overhau.html

TRENTON — A coalition of labor unions, women and minority groups, and civil rights organizations are urging Gov. Chris Christie to a sign what they call a groundbreaking piece of legislation sitting on his desk.

The Democratic-controlled state Legislature sent the "Democracy Act," a sweeping overhaul of New Jersey's voting laws, to the Republican governor last month — though Democratic leaders aren't confident he'll approve it. 

But the coalition of 35 groups sent a letter to Christie this week stressing that the measure would make it easier for more New Jersey residents to cast ballots and would bring the state's "voting practices into the 21^st century."

"The right to vote is meant to be the great equalizer, but that equality only has meaning if we have equal access to the ballot box," the coalition says in the letter, according to a copy obtained by NJ Advance Media. "Unfortunately, narrow windows for participation, outdated voting practices and New Jersey's failure to take advantage of technology create unnecessary hurdles for far too many New Jerseyans and limit full participation in our democracy."

If signed by Christie, the measure (A4613) would allow for more early voting options, online voter registration, and automatic registration at the Motor Vehicle Commission. It would also require pre-election materials to be printed in more languages. 

And it would clear up New Jersey's contradictory U.S. Senate succession laws and curtail the governor's power in appointing temporary senators by requiring them to be from the same party as the person who vacated the seat.

It remains unclear whether Christie will sign the measure. During his monthly radio show in June, the governor — a Republican presidential candidate — expressed concerns about automatic voter registration.

"I don't think that people ought to be automatically registered to vote," he said. "Is it really too much to ask to ask someone to fill out a form?"

Christie also suggested the bill is an attempt by the Democratic National Committee to increase voter fraud.

"There's no question in my mind that there are some advocates of this who are looking to increase the opportunity for voter fraud," he said on the radio show. "I think there's much more politics behind this than there is democracy."

Brian Murray, a spokesman for Christie's office, said Monday that "we cannot comment until (the bill has) been fully reviewed on this end, per usual on most bills."

Christie has also criticized former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, the frontrunner for the Democratic presidential nomination, after she called for every American to be automatically registered to vote when they turn 18 unless they choose not to be. She also suggested Republican-backed voter fraud prevention laws in Texas and Wisconsin curtail minority and youth voting.

Christie said in June that Clinton "doesn't know what she's talking about."

The coalition noted that it sent the letter during the week of the 50th anniversary of the Voting Rights Act, which Congress passed in 1965 to prohibit racial discrimination in voting across the nation.

Analilia Mejia, executive director of New Jersey Working Families — one of the group's leading the initiative — stressed that New Jersey ranks toward the bottom of the 50 states for voter registration and participation  "thanks to outdated voting practices that don't reflect modern life, modern families or modern technology."

"How can the governor say with a straight face that he should lead the greatest democracy in the world if he won't strengthen democracy and protect voters in his own state?" Mejia asked.

Here is the full list of the 35 groups that signed the letter:

AFSCME Council 1

American Civil Liberties Union of New Jersey

Blue Wave NJ

Brennan Center for Justice at the NYU School of Law

Clean Water Action

Communication Workers of America District 1

Committee of Interns and Residents

DEMOS

Environment NJ

La Casa De Don Pedro

Latino Action Network

Laundry Distribution and Food Services, Joint Board, Workers United

League of Women Voters of New Jersey

Make the Road New Jersey

NAACP New Jersey State Chapter

National Organization of Women of New Jersey

New Jersey Black Issues Convention

New Jersey Citizen Action

New Jersey Communities United

New Jersey Education Association

New Jersey PIRG Citizens Lobby

New Jersey Progressive Democrats for America

New Jersey State Industrial Union Council

New Jersey Working Families

Northeast Regional Council of Carpenters

Rutgers Council of AAUP Chapters — AFT

Save Our Schools March

Sierra Club, NJ

SEIU 32BJ

SEIU 1199

SEIU State Council

SEIU New Jersey State Council

Teamsters Local 469

Union of Rutgers Administrators — AFT Local 176

Wayne League of Women Voters

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Brent Johnson may be reached at bjohnson@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @johnsb01. Find NJ.com Politics on Facebook.