Gloucester County Faces Challenges with Ballot Reprogramming
A state appellate court has ordered Gloucester County to revert to column-based general election ballots, with a tight deadline to reprogram voting machines before in-person early voting starts on October 24.
County Clerk James Hogan's attorney expressed uncertainty about meeting the October 15 deadline for the newly designed ballots. This decision follows a ruling by Superior Court Judge Benjamin Telsey, who found that Hogan's original ballot design was illegal but allowed it to stand due to concerns about voter confusion.
The conventional wisdom was that the illegal design would favor Democrats who are fighting for two Assembly seats and control of the Gloucester County Board of Commissioners.
Notably, Republican gubernatorial candidate Jack Ciattarelli won the county by ten points in 2021, and the original ballot design could have limited his coattails.
Author's summary: Gloucester County faces a tight deadline to reprogram voting machines.