Jeff Van Drew wrote a spot on letter to Czar Murphy which sums it all up. Unfortunately Murphy will do whatever he wants because thats what he does.
September 7, 2020 Governor Phil Murphy Office of Governor PO Box 001 Trenton, NJ 08625 Dear Governor Murphy, The integrity of our elections in New Jersey is at stake based on your decision to force a vote-by- mail election this year. We must also allow in-person voting so that every citizen feels their vote is verified. Everyone should have the choice to vote by mail or safely in-person. Fair elections are paramount to a free society, and our constituents are requesting the option of exercising the fundamental right of voting in-person. We have faith in the ability of our constituents to safely vote by the means that they, not you, decide. If someone feels unsafe or concerned about voting in-person, they should always have the option of voting by mail. We also have numerous constituents who will volunteer their time and energy to ensure safety measures are enacted to keep their neighbors safe. The health and well-being of every individual is a serious and valid concern, but your varied and differing approach has left many, including me, wondering about a few glaring double standards: 1. Is ordering a lunch on a touchscreen at the local store scientifically safer than the basic right of non-provisionally voting at a polling place on a touchscreen? 2. Is waiting in a line with hundreds of people at an MVC location which you opened safer than voting in-person? 3. Is the fundamental 1st Amendment right of protesting more protected or safer than voting in -person? A voting operation that is completely by mail will be fraught with issues. Not only are there delays in mail delivery – which could delay election results for weeks – there are numerous examples of fraud and manipulation. Voter rolls must be sanitized, and we must ensure that ballots are sent to voters where they are living; not to an old registration address, to a deceased individual, or to someone who no longer lives in the state. We must have faith in our system—and while relatively rare, instances of election malfeasance do exist in New Jersey and they must be used to inform our decisions. In New Jersey alone, since 2009 there have been: • At least ten instances of fraudulent use of absentee ballots. • At least two instances of false registrations. • An election overturned and re-held. • Ten percent of ballots cast in all Vote-by-Mail May 2020 Primary election rejected. • This year in Patterson, NJ, four City Council candidates were found to have manipulated an election and are currently facing charges for that allegedl misconduct. I have faith in our communities to safely make the choice that is right for them, and we can do both in-person and vote by mail this November. We must ensure the integrity of our elections. Please allow for safe and secure in-person voting. Sincerely, Jeff Van Drew Member of Congress
nypost.com
