October 29, 2009 - 4:44pm
News

Josephson asks secretary of state to stop rejecting absentee ballots based on signatures

A lawyer for the state Democratic Party wants county clerks to stop rejecting applications for mail-in ballots solely on the basis of signature mismatches.

Instead, Democratic State Committee General Counsel Paul Josephson thinks county clerks should send those applicants provisional ballots -- a position that troubles Republican State Chairman Jay Webber. 

“To date more than 2,300 persons have been denied VBM ballots based on signature comparison alone,” wrote Josephson in a letter dated yesterday to Secretary of State Nina Mitchell Wells.  “Allowing these people to cast provisional ballots most efficiently provides a fail safe mechanism whereby their electoral choices can be timely submitted and evaluated.”

Josephson said that many more Democratic and unaffiliated voters’ ballots had been rejected based on their signatures than those of Republicans’.  He also said that the disparity in rejection rates between counties indicates that all clerks are not applying a uniform standard.

“It is our position that unless and until a uniform process for signature comparison is implemented by all clerks, and in view of the disparate rejection rate to date, no VBM application should be rejected solely on the basis of a signature comparison by county clerk staff, who are over-worked and are likely not trained in handwriting analysis.”

County clerks do attempt to reach voters whose mail-in ballot applications have been rejected by mail or phone.  

Josephson’s letter brought about suspicion from Republican State Chairman Jay Webber and a reporter for the conservative National Review.

“This is highly unusual,” said Webber.  “The Democrats should do what we do every year, which is let the county clerks do their jobs. If there’s something suspicious or there’s something off with these ballots, there’s a process for dealing with them.  And the Democrats are asking them to bypass that and let them vote anyway.”

“To me it’s an indication that they’re losing and need any vote they get to pull it out.”

Josephson could not immediately be reached for comment.

Matt Friedman is a PolitickerNJ.com Reporter and can be reached via email at matt@politicsnj.com.

Related topics: Paul Josephson, Jay Webber

Comments

How is the signee supposed


to know how a dead person signed his/her name ? a little latitude here huh !

10/30/09 10:24 am

This opens the door to Voter Fraud


We have seen how Democrats have exploited the absentee ballots and provisional ballots in Minnisota where a clown like comedian Al Franken was elected on the basis of highly questionable provisonal ballots. The Democrats and organizations like the infamous ACORN group are well schooled in implementing voter fraud.If a signature does not match the ballot should not be allowed. Additionally, voters should be made to present a valid form of identification before they are allowed to enter a voting booth. In Hudson , Essex and Camden the local Democrat bosses have lists of voters that they know have passed away or moved. With a bundle of Corzine street money they will be paying their operatives and union thugs to go in and vote for Corzine. The FBI should be notified of what is being planned and the perpetrators should be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.

10/30/09 10:55 am