MIDDLESEX COUNTY ELECTION RESULTS: THE NUMBERS
The final election numbers for each race in Middlesex County can be viewed on the Middlesex County Clerk website at: http://co.middlesex.nj.us/countyclerk/electionsresults.asp.
MCRO CHAIR LEO ELECTION COMMENTS
Below is the text of press release from Middlesex County Republican Chairman Joseph P. Leo outlining the results of election day to major news organizations covering the County.
MIDDLESEX COUNTY REPUBLICAN BASE EXPANDS AGAIN
WOODBRIDGE-Convincing signs of continued growth in Middlesex County's Republican base are revealed in preliminary analysis of the November 3 election statistics, according to County Republican chairman Joseph P. Leo.
Leo summed up the Election Day returns in a report to the county's GOP leadership this week, stressing that final data is forthcoming from county officials.
Republican Chris Christie carried Middlesex County convincingly in his quest for governor and went on to carry the state, ousting incumbent Democrat Gov. Jon Corzine November 3, the first time a Republican has carried the county in a state-wide election in decades, Leo noted.
“The win here was a reflection not only of Christie's strong appeal to voters in Central Jersey but also the intense organizational effort by county and local GOP leaders and candidates.
Victories
“Voters in a majority of the county's towns supported Republican candidates for local office and brought our freeholder candidates closer to victory than in almost 20 years, “ the chairman said. “We'll mark these advances at our annual Holiday party in January and our annual 'Salute the Winners' brunch in March.
“Across the county, voters supported 22 local candidates in 13 municipalities, bringing to a total of 46 the number of Republicans serving in local office, an improvement of over 30 %. These victories triple our record last year (8) and demonstrate a continued expansion of the Republican base in the county. (An early clue to this improvement was found in the April petition filings when Republicans actually filed more candidates than did the Democrats in this predominantly Democrat county.)
“Certain Democrat leaders and media figures have attributed this movement to Christie's coat-tail effects, thereby suggesting our successes are just an anomaly. There is little doubt that Christie's showing had a positive effect on the overall election. But the story in Middlesex County goes much deeper than that.
Campaigns
“GOP victories at these levels reflect an intense organizational effort by those charged with leading these campaigns. The quality of the candidates is suggested by an open nominating convention for which 900 county Republicans registered in March. This exciting event was followed by a period of recruitment, training and education of a record number of local and county volunteer workers.
“The grass roots activity which was thus generated led to an ambitious telephone and door-to-door communications drive giving profile to our state, county and local candidates. We worked from three regional headquarters locations staffed by volunteers.
Our political web site was revitalized, and a periodic newsletter distributed to hundreds of GOP leaders through the office of the State Committeeman. A sign placement program was implemented.
“Mailings and literature drops stressed an anti-corruption, anti-spending and anti-tax message, tapping into the voters' disappointment with the all-Democrat control which we have experienced. An outreach program gave voice to specific special segments of our voter population (Youth, Women, Senior Citizens, veterans, ethnic groups, etc.) In all of this, including Election Day activity, our fine candidates were engaged and productive.
Results
“Although greatly out-funded and out-spent by our opposition, the results were victories in these municipalities:
Cranbury (1)
Dunellen (2)
East Brunswick (1)
Jamesburg (1)
Middlesex Borough (3)
Milltown (2)
Monroe (1)
Old Bridge (3)
Sayreville (2)
South Brunswick (1)
South Plainfield (2)
South River (2)
Woodbridge (1)
“Thanks to the excellent performance of our candidates, municipal leaders and county-level staff, the Republican presence on the scene continues to expand and, thus, improve the quality of government at every level,” the chairman continued.
“We must build on these extraordinary advances.”
MORE ELECTION QUOTES…
* For fear of the newspapers politicians are dull, and at last they are too dull even for the newspapers. (Gilbert K. Chesterton)
* One of my movies was called "True Lies." It's what the Democrats should have called their convention. (Arnold Schwarzenegger)
* If you want a friend in Washington, get a dog. (Harry Truman)
* The political machine triumphs because it is united minority acting against a divided majority. (Will Durant)
* Conservatives saw the savagery of 9/11 in the attacks and prepared for war; liberals saw the savagery of the 9/11 attacks and wanted to prepare indictments and offer therapy and understanding for our attackers. (Karl Rove)
* You campaign in poetry. You govern in prose. (Mario Cuomo)
* Don't fight a battle if you don't gain anything by winning. (General Erwin Rommel) (Not exactly an election quote, but still quite relevant.)
THANK YOU FROM CHRIS CHRISTIE & KIM GUADAGNO
Dear Friend -
Thank you.
Thank you for the countless hours you spent at campaign headquarters.
Thank you for the millions of phone calls you made and the hundreds of thousands of doors on which you knocked.
Thank you for talking to your friends, neighbors and family on our behalves.
Thank you for putting up our lawn signs (and taking them down now!).
Thank you for your financial support.
Thank you to the elected officials who gave us your early support.
Thank you for boisterously cheering us on at our rallies.
Thank you for your supportive letters to the editor and forwarding our emails to your friends.
Thank you for sticking with us when "the experts" questioned our strategy.
Thank you for standing by us when the negative television ads blanketed the airwaves.
Thank you for giving us strength when the days were long and the campaign trail hard.
Thank you for your faith and belief in us.
Thank you for being a part of our campaign family.
Rightfully so, many people are looking ahead to the next four years. It will be a time of needed change. But we wanted to pause and reflect upon the last 10 months, a time which will forever be engrained in our hearts and minds as a magical time that brought us together. From the bottom of our hearts, thank you.
We will never forget it.
Chris Christie Kim Guadagno
Mary Pat Christie Kevin Guadagno
Andrew Christie Michael Guadagno
Sarah Christie Anderson Guadagno
Patrick Christie
Bridget Christie
BUY POPCORN AND HELP THE BOY SCOUTS
Since you are probably going to be buying presents for the holidays or for other reasons, I would like you to consider buying popcorn and support the scouts at the same time. You can now buy on line by visiting www.orderpopcorn.com and when the home page comes up, there is a space that reads “Enter Order Key.” In that space please enter TEV4T3E. This is my special order key that allows the tracking of the sales generated from my efforts. This will take you to a new page where you can purchase all varieties and types of popcorn and other edibles, such as Trail Mix, Chocolatey Crunch, etc.). If you forget my order key number, you can shop without a key. Just make sure that when you select a council to receive credit, you select “NJ” and then: “Monmouth Junct: Central New Jersey Council.” (The Central New Jersey Council includes most or all of Middlesex, Mercer and Hunterdon Counties, and small portions of Somerset and other adjacent counties.)
UPDATED CALENDAR
What follows is an updated calendar. If you have any municipal or countywide fundraisers or functions you would like me to include in my e-mail calendar from time to time, please contact me at dkatzlaw@aol.com. Please note that organizations and campaigns sometime provide added information, change dates or cancel events, which information I include in this calendar if I receive the information in time. Therefore, if you plan to attend an event, please make sure you review the calendar listing in my latest e-mail and, to the extent you may not have pre-registered for the particular event so the sponsoring group will be able to contact you about any changes, you may want to check with the sponsoring group before you go, to make sure the information has not changed.
November 19 (Thursday 7:30 pm) - Middlesex County Republican Women's Club. Joint meeting with the Monroe Republican Club - Garvey's Restaurant, 405 Spotswood Gravel Hill Road, Monroe. Speaker: political analyst, Debbie Walsh, Director of the Center for American Women and Politics of the Eagleton Institute of Politics at Rutgers and our fabulous patriotic boutique including new items from the Reagan Library.
November 19 (Thursday 7:30 pm) - New Jersey Conservative GOP Meeting, Hopelawn VFW, 113 James Street, Hopelawn (Woodbridge Township) 08861. Please use entrance in the back parking lot. We will have a discussion of New Jersey's conservative movement post election. For further information contact: 732-596-2116 or njcgop@aol.com.
December 6 (Sunday 5:00 - 8:00 pm) - East Brunswick GOP Holiday Party, VFW, Cranbury Road, East Brunswick. $35.00 per person. Buffet, beer wine, soda, coffee and dessert. Send check made payable to EBRC to Charlie Bruno, 11 Westwood Road, East Brunswick, NJ 08816. Any questions, call Charlie 732-846-3817.
December 8 (Tuesday 6:30 - 8:30 pm) - Bill Baroni's 38th Birthday Party. West Windsor Fire House #1, 153 South Mill Road, West Windsor. $38.00 per person. RSVP to sandy@bilbaroni.com or 609-587-0111.
December 12 (Saturday 10:00 am) - Conservative Leadership Breakfast and Holiday Celebration sponsored by Conservatives with Attitude. Omega Diner, 1337 Route 1 South, North Brunswick. Registration is $10.00 if paid in advance or $12.00 at the door if space is available. For more information: michael@gopusanj.com.
February 20, 2010 (Saturday 6:00 - 11:00 pm) - South River GOP Red & White Victory Ball, Portuguese Fisherman, 11 Jackson Street, South River. $50.00 per ticket in advance (recommended as space is limited) and $60.00 at the door. For more details call 732-387-5378 or email sbuffalino@southrivergop.org.
Please forward this information to any Middlesex County Republican, or other individual, who you think might be interested in seeing it. Further, if you know of any Middlesex County Republican who would like to receive periodic e-mail reports about NJ Republican State Committee meetings and other information I believe might be interesting or useful, please have them send me, Donald Katz, an e-mail to dkatzlaw@aol.com, and I will add them to my e-mail list. By the same token, if you ever want to be removed from my e-mail list, send me an e-mail and I will remove you.
Donald Katz, Esq.
Republican State Committeeman - Middlesex County and Counsel, Middlesex County Republican Organization
dkatzlaw@aol.com
Office:
Huff, Moran & Orron
1246 South River Road
Cranbury, New Jersey 08512
(O) 609-655-3600 x 27 or 732-521-3666 x 27
(F) 609-655-5825
Home:
17 Buffalo Run
East Brunswick, New Jersey 08816
(H) 732-251-3804
Sunday, November 15, 2009
Monday, November 9, 2009
Middlesex County Election Results: WOW!
At the gubernatorial level, Democrat counties voted Democrat, Republican counties voted Republican, but only in Middlesex County, (and in one small South Jersey county, perhaps one quarter of our size), did our Republican candidate, Governor-Elect Chris Christie, win in a Democrat County, carrying Middlesex County by several percentage points. In a major part, it was our work that made the difference. As those of you who have been reading this newsletter know, campaign phone calls were made, on an on-going basis, for our Republican team, at the MCRO headquarters in Woodbridge and in South Plainfield, etc. and we also had people walking. The Middlesex County statistics for just the last 5 days of the campaign: 54,474 phone calls made out of the headquarters and 13,117 doors knocked.
We handily re-elected Sam Thompson, (former MCRO chair), and Amy Handlin to the state assembly by about a 2-1 margin over their Democrat opponents. Joe Sinagra, in the 18th Legislative District - an all in Middlesex County district - got a better percentage vote than almost any other Republican challenger anywhere in the State of New Jersey, (closely followed by his running mate, Bob Jones), even with just a fraction of the resources spent in “targeted” districts. Some of the media called these great results “surprising” and, I would quess, some of those who made the targeting decisions may also have been surprised. It was no surprise to many of us here in Middlesex County. (I would note that this also happened in 2001 in the 18th Legislative District, where our untargeted Republican candidates for state senate and state assembly did better than all of the Republican legislative candidates in “targeted” districts.)
On a local level, we did better than we have done in at least 15 years. We elected 22 Republicans to local office in Middlesex County, which represents a gain of 15!!! Therefore, the number of Republicans in local elected office in Middlesex County will increase by almost 50% - from the low 30s to the high 40s.
This is the story:
In Cranbury, James Taylor was elected to a Democrat seat on the Township Committee, so that, come January, the Republicans will hold 2 of the 5 seats.
In Dunellen, the Republican administration continues to roll along - maintaining control - where Republican Councilmen Kenneth Baudendistel and Anthony Aversa were re-elected without opposition.
In East Brunswick, Republican Camille Ferraro was easily elected to the council - breaking up what had been an all Democrat council for several years. Since the seat Camille won was for an unexpired term, she will take office within the next week, as soon as the results are certified.
In Jamesburg, Republican GOP Chair, (and active Scouter), Greg Newton, was elected to the Council, breaking up a several year Democrat monopoly.
In Middlesex Borough, Robert Sherr was elected as Mayor, the first Republican Mayor there since 1972 and Jeff First and Michael Paff replaced two Democrats on the Council. (Mayor-Elect Sherr, elected to a 3 year unexpired term, will take office later this month after the results are certified.) The Republicans will now have the Mayoralty and a majority on the Council by 4 to 2 margin. Middlesex was a municipality where a short few years ago we didn't even have a municipal chair!
In Milltown, where for a number of years, many of the victories - or losses - were by paper thin margins, Republicans Robert Owens and Gary Holsten were elected to the Council by comfortable margins, keeping the seats Republican and maintaining Republican mayoral and council control.
In Monroe, Republican Mike Leibowitz defeated an incumbent Democrat, breaking the monopoly the Democrats had on the Council for around 20+ years.
In Old Bridge, Republicans Richard Greene and Lucille Panos were re-elected to the Council from their respective wards and Republican Mary Sohor beat an incumbent Democrat for a seat on the Council, which gives the Republicans 4 seats on the 9 member council. As another example of how true the statement is that every vote counts, Republican Debbie Walker lost her ward race against an incumbent Democrat by a small double-digit margin. A change in only a few votes in each district in her ward would have also elected her - which would have given the Republicans control of the Old Bridge Council for the first time in many years.
In Sayreville, Republicans Frank Bella and Nicholas Perrette will replace 2 Democrats on the Council, so that the Republicans will have a Republican Mayor and 5 to 1 Republican Council.
In South Brunswick, Republican John O'Sullivan broke the Democrat monopoly on the Council. Since John was elected to an unexpired term, he will also take office this month after the results are certified.
In South Plainfield, Matthew Anesh and Robert Bengivenga, Jr. replaced two Democrats on the Council - coming back after their loss in the Obama landslide last year, bringing back Republican control to the Council by 4 to 2 majority.
In South River, Republican John Trzeciak was re-elected and Republican GOP Chair, (and Eagle Scout), John Krenzel, defeated a Democrat to return to the Council after his loss last year. South River will have a Republican Mayor and a 4-2 Republican Council majority.
In Woodbridge, Democrat Councilman Bob Luban, who switched to Republican in the spring, was re-elected in his ward, to the Woodbridge Council as a Republican.
Congratulations to all our winners and condolences to all of our Republican candidates who did not win. Thank you for carrying the Republican banner in this election.
HOLT TOWN MEETING
I am advised that Congressman Rush Holt, who presently holds the New Jersey's 12th Congressional District seat - which includes about half of Middlesex County, is holding a Town Meeting on Thursday, November 12th from 7:00 - 8:30 pm at the Grover Middle School, 10 Southfield Road, West Windsor, NJ 08550. This would be an excellent time to give him your positions on Health Care “Reform”, etc.
CHARLIE DOWD - R.I.P.
Charlie Dowd, long-time active Edison Republican who served as GOP chair of Edison from 1979-1981 recently passed away. Our deepest sympathies to his wife Pat and the rest of his family. Condolence messages may be sent through the funeral home website at www.flynnfuneral.com.
ANNOUNCEMENT FROM THE WOODBRIDGE TOWNSHIP REPUBLICAN ORGANIZATION
Woodbridge GOP Chair John Vrtaric has requested that I include the following announcement in my e-mail newsletter:
“The Woodbridge Township Republican Organization (WTRO) wishes to advise all Middlesex County Republicans that a rogue website run by a lone individual operating under the name woodbridgegop.net is NOT in any way associated with the WTRO. The views expressed therein have NEVER been approved by either the WTRO membership or the WTRO Executive Board. The site is an unreliable source for any information regarding Republicans in Woodbridge Township or Middlesex County. Questions or comments may be addressed to John Vrtaric, WTRO Chair, jvrtaric@gmail.com”
MORE ELECTION QUOTES…
* I must say the Senator's victory in Wisconsin was a triumph for democracy. It proves that a millionaire has just as good a chance as anyone else. (Bob Hope)
* Politics is not a bad profession. If you succeed there are many rewards, if you disgrace yourself you can always write a book. (Ronald Reagan)
* If Governor Fields is right, I am going to stand by him because he is right. If he is wrong, I am going to stand by him because he is a Democrat. (Augustus O. Stanley)
* If you can't convince them, confuse them. (Harry Truman)
* In Washington, a man gets up to speak and doesn't say a thing, and the other men disagree with him for three hours. (Milton Berle)
* One of the penalties for refusing to participate in politics is that you end up being governed by your inferiors. (Plato)
* As people do better, they start voting like Republicans - unless they have too much education and vote Democratic, which proves there can be too much of a good thing. (Karl Rove)
NOTE REGARDING COMCAST.NET
The last two newsletters I sent out had an unusually disproportionate number of bounce backs from “Comcast.net” e-mail addresses. If you know someone who has been getting my newsletters and didn't get the one or two I sent out during the immediate pre-election period, have him or her do whatever he or she needs to do with their internet service provider to make sure my e-mails get through to them.
BUY POPCORN AND HELP THE BOY SCOUTS
Since you are probably going to be buying presents for the holidays or for other reasons, I would like you to consider buying popcorn and support the scouts at the same time. You can now buy on line by visiting www.orderpopcorn.com and when the home page comes up, there is a space that reads “Enter Order Key.” In that space please enter TEV4T3E. This is my special order key that allows the tracking of the sales generated from my efforts. This will take you to a new page where you can purchase all varieties and types of popcorn and other edibles, such as Trail Mix, Chocolatey Crunch, etc.). If you forget my order key number, you can shop without a key. Just make sure that when you select a council to receive credit, you select “NJ” and then: “Monmouth Junct: Central New Jersey Council.” (The Central New Jersey Council includes most or all of Middlesex, Mercer and Hunterdon Counties, and small portions of Somerset and other adjacent counties.)
UPDATED CALENDAR
What follows is an updated calendar. If you have any municipal or countywide fundraisers or functions you would like me to include in my e-mail calendar from time to time, please contact me at dkatzlaw@aol.com. Please note that organizations and campaigns sometime provide added information, change dates or cancel events, which information I include in this calendar if I receive the information in time. Therefore, if you plan to attend an event, please make sure you review the calendar listing in my latest e-mail and, to the extent you may not have pre-registered for the particular event so the sponsoring group will be able to contact you about any changes, you may want to check with the sponsoring group before you go, to make sure the information has not changed.
November 19 (Thursday 7:30 pm) - Middlesex County Republican Women's Club. Joint meeting with the Monroe Republican Club - Garvey's Restaurant, 405 Spotswood Gravel Hill Road, Monroe. Speaker: political analyst, Debbie Walsh, Director of the Center for American Women and Politics of the Eagleton Institute of Politics at Rutgers and our fabulous patriotic boutique including new items from the Reagan Library.
November 19 (Thursday 7:30 pm) - New Jersey Conservative GOP Meeting, Hopelawn VFW, 113 James Street, Hopelawn (Woodbridge Township) 08861. Please use entrance in the back parking lot. We will have a discussion of New Jersey's conservative movement post election. For further information contact: 732-596-2116 or njcgop@aol.com.
December 6 (Sunday 5:00 - 8:00 pm) - East Brunswick GOP Holiday Party, VFW, Cranbury Road, East Brunswick (Further details added when available.)
December 12 (Saturday 10:00 am) - Conservative Leadership Breakfast and Holiday Celebration sponsored by Conservatives with Attitude. Omega Diner, 1337 Route 1 South, North Brunswick. Registration is $10.00 if paid in advance or $12.00 at the door if space is available. For more information: michael@gopusanj.com.
Please forward this information to any Middlesex County Republican, or other individual, who you think might be interested in seeing it. Further, if you know of any Middlesex County Republican who would like to receive periodic e-mail reports about NJ Republican State Committee meetings and other information I believe might be interesting or useful, please have them send me, Donald Katz, an e-mail to dkatzlaw@aol.com, and I will add them to my e-mail list. By the same token, if you ever want to be removed from my e-mail list, send me an e-mail and I will remove you.
Donald Katz, Esq.
Republican State Committeeman - Middlesex County and Counsel
Middlesex County Republican Organization
dkatzlaw@aol.com
We handily re-elected Sam Thompson, (former MCRO chair), and Amy Handlin to the state assembly by about a 2-1 margin over their Democrat opponents. Joe Sinagra, in the 18th Legislative District - an all in Middlesex County district - got a better percentage vote than almost any other Republican challenger anywhere in the State of New Jersey, (closely followed by his running mate, Bob Jones), even with just a fraction of the resources spent in “targeted” districts. Some of the media called these great results “surprising” and, I would quess, some of those who made the targeting decisions may also have been surprised. It was no surprise to many of us here in Middlesex County. (I would note that this also happened in 2001 in the 18th Legislative District, where our untargeted Republican candidates for state senate and state assembly did better than all of the Republican legislative candidates in “targeted” districts.)
On a local level, we did better than we have done in at least 15 years. We elected 22 Republicans to local office in Middlesex County, which represents a gain of 15!!! Therefore, the number of Republicans in local elected office in Middlesex County will increase by almost 50% - from the low 30s to the high 40s.
This is the story:
In Cranbury, James Taylor was elected to a Democrat seat on the Township Committee, so that, come January, the Republicans will hold 2 of the 5 seats.
In Dunellen, the Republican administration continues to roll along - maintaining control - where Republican Councilmen Kenneth Baudendistel and Anthony Aversa were re-elected without opposition.
In East Brunswick, Republican Camille Ferraro was easily elected to the council - breaking up what had been an all Democrat council for several years. Since the seat Camille won was for an unexpired term, she will take office within the next week, as soon as the results are certified.
In Jamesburg, Republican GOP Chair, (and active Scouter), Greg Newton, was elected to the Council, breaking up a several year Democrat monopoly.
In Middlesex Borough, Robert Sherr was elected as Mayor, the first Republican Mayor there since 1972 and Jeff First and Michael Paff replaced two Democrats on the Council. (Mayor-Elect Sherr, elected to a 3 year unexpired term, will take office later this month after the results are certified.) The Republicans will now have the Mayoralty and a majority on the Council by 4 to 2 margin. Middlesex was a municipality where a short few years ago we didn't even have a municipal chair!
In Milltown, where for a number of years, many of the victories - or losses - were by paper thin margins, Republicans Robert Owens and Gary Holsten were elected to the Council by comfortable margins, keeping the seats Republican and maintaining Republican mayoral and council control.
In Monroe, Republican Mike Leibowitz defeated an incumbent Democrat, breaking the monopoly the Democrats had on the Council for around 20+ years.
In Old Bridge, Republicans Richard Greene and Lucille Panos were re-elected to the Council from their respective wards and Republican Mary Sohor beat an incumbent Democrat for a seat on the Council, which gives the Republicans 4 seats on the 9 member council. As another example of how true the statement is that every vote counts, Republican Debbie Walker lost her ward race against an incumbent Democrat by a small double-digit margin. A change in only a few votes in each district in her ward would have also elected her - which would have given the Republicans control of the Old Bridge Council for the first time in many years.
In Sayreville, Republicans Frank Bella and Nicholas Perrette will replace 2 Democrats on the Council, so that the Republicans will have a Republican Mayor and 5 to 1 Republican Council.
In South Brunswick, Republican John O'Sullivan broke the Democrat monopoly on the Council. Since John was elected to an unexpired term, he will also take office this month after the results are certified.
In South Plainfield, Matthew Anesh and Robert Bengivenga, Jr. replaced two Democrats on the Council - coming back after their loss in the Obama landslide last year, bringing back Republican control to the Council by 4 to 2 majority.
In South River, Republican John Trzeciak was re-elected and Republican GOP Chair, (and Eagle Scout), John Krenzel, defeated a Democrat to return to the Council after his loss last year. South River will have a Republican Mayor and a 4-2 Republican Council majority.
In Woodbridge, Democrat Councilman Bob Luban, who switched to Republican in the spring, was re-elected in his ward, to the Woodbridge Council as a Republican.
Congratulations to all our winners and condolences to all of our Republican candidates who did not win. Thank you for carrying the Republican banner in this election.
HOLT TOWN MEETING
I am advised that Congressman Rush Holt, who presently holds the New Jersey's 12th Congressional District seat - which includes about half of Middlesex County, is holding a Town Meeting on Thursday, November 12th from 7:00 - 8:30 pm at the Grover Middle School, 10 Southfield Road, West Windsor, NJ 08550. This would be an excellent time to give him your positions on Health Care “Reform”, etc.
CHARLIE DOWD - R.I.P.
Charlie Dowd, long-time active Edison Republican who served as GOP chair of Edison from 1979-1981 recently passed away. Our deepest sympathies to his wife Pat and the rest of his family. Condolence messages may be sent through the funeral home website at www.flynnfuneral.com.
ANNOUNCEMENT FROM THE WOODBRIDGE TOWNSHIP REPUBLICAN ORGANIZATION
Woodbridge GOP Chair John Vrtaric has requested that I include the following announcement in my e-mail newsletter:
“The Woodbridge Township Republican Organization (WTRO) wishes to advise all Middlesex County Republicans that a rogue website run by a lone individual operating under the name woodbridgegop.net is NOT in any way associated with the WTRO. The views expressed therein have NEVER been approved by either the WTRO membership or the WTRO Executive Board. The site is an unreliable source for any information regarding Republicans in Woodbridge Township or Middlesex County. Questions or comments may be addressed to John Vrtaric, WTRO Chair, jvrtaric@gmail.com”
MORE ELECTION QUOTES…
* I must say the Senator's victory in Wisconsin was a triumph for democracy. It proves that a millionaire has just as good a chance as anyone else. (Bob Hope)
* Politics is not a bad profession. If you succeed there are many rewards, if you disgrace yourself you can always write a book. (Ronald Reagan)
* If Governor Fields is right, I am going to stand by him because he is right. If he is wrong, I am going to stand by him because he is a Democrat. (Augustus O. Stanley)
* If you can't convince them, confuse them. (Harry Truman)
* In Washington, a man gets up to speak and doesn't say a thing, and the other men disagree with him for three hours. (Milton Berle)
* One of the penalties for refusing to participate in politics is that you end up being governed by your inferiors. (Plato)
* As people do better, they start voting like Republicans - unless they have too much education and vote Democratic, which proves there can be too much of a good thing. (Karl Rove)
NOTE REGARDING COMCAST.NET
The last two newsletters I sent out had an unusually disproportionate number of bounce backs from “Comcast.net” e-mail addresses. If you know someone who has been getting my newsletters and didn't get the one or two I sent out during the immediate pre-election period, have him or her do whatever he or she needs to do with their internet service provider to make sure my e-mails get through to them.
BUY POPCORN AND HELP THE BOY SCOUTS
Since you are probably going to be buying presents for the holidays or for other reasons, I would like you to consider buying popcorn and support the scouts at the same time. You can now buy on line by visiting www.orderpopcorn.com and when the home page comes up, there is a space that reads “Enter Order Key.” In that space please enter TEV4T3E. This is my special order key that allows the tracking of the sales generated from my efforts. This will take you to a new page where you can purchase all varieties and types of popcorn and other edibles, such as Trail Mix, Chocolatey Crunch, etc.). If you forget my order key number, you can shop without a key. Just make sure that when you select a council to receive credit, you select “NJ” and then: “Monmouth Junct: Central New Jersey Council.” (The Central New Jersey Council includes most or all of Middlesex, Mercer and Hunterdon Counties, and small portions of Somerset and other adjacent counties.)
UPDATED CALENDAR
What follows is an updated calendar. If you have any municipal or countywide fundraisers or functions you would like me to include in my e-mail calendar from time to time, please contact me at dkatzlaw@aol.com. Please note that organizations and campaigns sometime provide added information, change dates or cancel events, which information I include in this calendar if I receive the information in time. Therefore, if you plan to attend an event, please make sure you review the calendar listing in my latest e-mail and, to the extent you may not have pre-registered for the particular event so the sponsoring group will be able to contact you about any changes, you may want to check with the sponsoring group before you go, to make sure the information has not changed.
November 19 (Thursday 7:30 pm) - Middlesex County Republican Women's Club. Joint meeting with the Monroe Republican Club - Garvey's Restaurant, 405 Spotswood Gravel Hill Road, Monroe. Speaker: political analyst, Debbie Walsh, Director of the Center for American Women and Politics of the Eagleton Institute of Politics at Rutgers and our fabulous patriotic boutique including new items from the Reagan Library.
November 19 (Thursday 7:30 pm) - New Jersey Conservative GOP Meeting, Hopelawn VFW, 113 James Street, Hopelawn (Woodbridge Township) 08861. Please use entrance in the back parking lot. We will have a discussion of New Jersey's conservative movement post election. For further information contact: 732-596-2116 or njcgop@aol.com.
December 6 (Sunday 5:00 - 8:00 pm) - East Brunswick GOP Holiday Party, VFW, Cranbury Road, East Brunswick (Further details added when available.)
December 12 (Saturday 10:00 am) - Conservative Leadership Breakfast and Holiday Celebration sponsored by Conservatives with Attitude. Omega Diner, 1337 Route 1 South, North Brunswick. Registration is $10.00 if paid in advance or $12.00 at the door if space is available. For more information: michael@gopusanj.com.
Please forward this information to any Middlesex County Republican, or other individual, who you think might be interested in seeing it. Further, if you know of any Middlesex County Republican who would like to receive periodic e-mail reports about NJ Republican State Committee meetings and other information I believe might be interesting or useful, please have them send me, Donald Katz, an e-mail to dkatzlaw@aol.com, and I will add them to my e-mail list. By the same token, if you ever want to be removed from my e-mail list, send me an e-mail and I will remove you.
Donald Katz, Esq.
Republican State Committeeman - Middlesex County and Counsel
Middlesex County Republican Organization
dkatzlaw@aol.com
Thursday, November 5, 2009
Pre Election Newsletter
CHALLENGER'S INSTRUCTIONS FOR DISTRIBUTION
Set forth below the calendar is a set of instructions for election day challengers, which I have prepared, and which I suggest that you might want to copy and distribute to any volunteers who will be working for the GOP on election day: challengers, candidates, etc.
FINAL DAYS HELP NEEDED - CONTACT/GO TO HEADQUARTERS IN WOODBRIDGE OR SOUTH PLAINFIELD - NOW!
Get out the vote phone calls are now being made at our phone banks to identified supporters among Middlesex County voters - including voters in your town - at the phone banks in Middlesex County in Woodbridge at 530 Amboy Avenue, Woodbridge, NJ 07095 and in South Plainfield at 119 Hamilton Boulevard, South Plainfield, NJ 07080. The phone banks are now open every day through and including election day. (9 am -9 pm in Woodbridge, 10 am - 9
pm in South Plainfield and until the polls close at 8 pm on election day) Call or e-mail Vinny Napolitano, NJGOP Regional Field Director for Middlesex County at 908-591-2415 or vinny@njgop.org. or just show up. We are also knocking on doors for the same GOTV effort, and some money may still be available for those who participate in that effort. Contact Vinny.
STATEWIDE VOTER REGISTRATION STATISTICS - AND PAST GUBERNATORIAL ELECTION VOTE INFO AVAILABLE
Want to know how New Jersey's counties voted in past gubernatorial elections? Find the data for the 2001, 2005 gubernatorial elections and the 2008 presidential election at www.eagleton.rutgers.edu/programs/njproject/ campaigns_elections.php.
You will find that state wide - and in Middlesex County - for the last 2 gubernatorial elections - the turnout was less than 50% of the registered voters. Over _ of the registered didn't vote. Can you imagine what the results for our Republican candidates would be if we got out every Republican minded voter from that non-voting _ on election day?
ANY MAIL IN BALLOTS (FORMERLY KNOWN AS ABSENTEE BALLOTS) NOT YET SENT BACK?
As of about 1:00 pm on Friday, about 15,100 mail in ballots had been sent out by the Middlesex County Clerk, but only about 8,800 of those ballots had been received by the Middlesex County Board of Elections at 777 Jersey Avenue, New Brunswick. If you helped someone obtain a mail in ballot or you know someone who obtained a mail in ballot, check with him or her, now, to see if he or she has sent it back. If they haven't, it is really too late to trust the ballot to US Postal Service, since it must arrive at the Board of Elections Office by 8:00 pm on Tuesday - election day - so the ballot should be hand delivered.
Remember that if a mail-in ballot is hand delivered to the Board of Elections by a messenger, (legally called a “bearer”), the name and address of the actual bearer delivering the ballot must be completed on the outer envelope before the ballot is brought to the Board of Elections or, by law, the ballot won't be counted. Also remember that a candidate who is on the ballot this election may not be a bearer. Don't do all the work and then lose the vote via a technicality! As we know, every vote counts!
ANY MORE ATTORNEYS WANT TO VOLUNTEER TO HELP ON ELECTION DAY?
If there are any additional attorneys who would like to help the GOP on election day, they should contact Chris Struben at his law office at 908-925-9111 or via e-mail at cfstruben@aol.com, immediately. Although all day availability would be preferable, if the attorney can volunteer a block of time of several hours or more, it would be acceptable.
SOME ELECTION QUOTES…
* If Thomas Edison invented electric light today, Dan Rather would report it on CBS News as "candle making industry threatened". (Newt Gingrich)
* Asking an incumbent member of Congress to vote for term limits is a bit like asking a chicken to vote for Colonel Sanders. (Bob Inglis)
* If elected, I will win. (Pat Paulsen)
* Never vote for the best candidate, vote for the one who will do the least harm. (Frank Dane)
* The best reason I can think of for not running for president of the United States is that you have to shave twice a day. (Adlai Stevenson)
* Politicians are the same all over. They promise to build a bridge where there is no river. (Nikita Khrushchev)
ELECTION NIGHT LOCATIONS/CELEBRATIONS
The various election night locations/celebrations, of which I am aware, as of this writing, are as follows. (Please note that some of these - other than for Christie, -may be subject to change, so if you are coming from a distance, confirm the location first) :
Christie/Guadagno - Parsippany Hilton, 1 Hilton Court, (off Route 10), Parsippany
Middlesex County GOP candidates - MCRO HQ, 530 Amboy Avenue, Woodbridge
Carteret - Ukrainian American Citizens Club, 728 Roosevelt Avenue, Carteret
East Brunswick - VFW, 485 Cranbury Road, East Brunswick
Edison - Edison GOP HQ, Colonial Village Shopping Center, Route 27 & Parsonage Road, Edison
Monroe - Garvey's Restaurant, 405 Spotswood Gravel Hill Road, Monroe
Old Bridge - Cheesequake Firehouse, 113 Route 34, Old Bridge (Matawan P.O.)
South Plainfield & 18th Assembly candidates - SP HQ, 119 Hamilton St., SP
South River - Byelorussian Hall, Whitehead Avenue, South River
Kothari for 19th Assembly - Holiday Inn, Raritan Center, Edison
If you expect to go to one or more of these functions, the various campaigns all want you to help make them victory celebrations by helping get out the vote from now through and including the time the polls close on election day.
BUY POPCORN AND HELP THE BOY SCOUTS
Since you are probably going to be buying presents for the holidays or for other reasons, (pre-election day Halloween party?), I would like you to consider buying popcorn and support the scouts at the same time. You can now buy on line by visiting www.orderpopcorn.com and when the home page comes up, there is a space that reads “Enter Order Key.” In that space please enter TEV4T3E. This is my special order key that allows the tracking of the sales generated from my efforts. This will take you to a new page where you can purchase all varieties and types of popcorn and other edibles, such as Trail Mix, Chocolatey Crunch, etc.). If you forget my order key number, you can shop without a key. Just make sure that when you select a council to receive credit, you select “NJ” and then: “Monmouth Junct: Central New Jersey Council.” (The Central New Jersey Council includes most or all of Middlesex, Mercer and Hunterdon Counties, and small portions of Somerset and other adjacent counties.)
UPDATED CALENDAR
What follows is an updated calendar. If you have any municipal or countywide fundraisers or functions you would like me to include in my e-mail calendar from time to time, please contact me at dkatzlaw@aol.com. Please note that organizations and campaigns sometime provide added information, change dates or cancel events, which information I include in this calendar if I receive the information in time. Therefore, if you plan to attend an event, please make sure you review the calendar listing in my latest e-mail and, to the extent you may not have pre-registered for the particular event so the sponsoring group will be able to contact you about any changes, you may want to check with the sponsoring group before you go, to make sure the information has not changed.
November 2 (Monday, 3:00 pm) - Last day to apply for a vote by mail ballot in person (or by authorized messenger) at the County Clerk's office in order to vote in the General Election.
November 3 (Tuesday 6:00 am - 8:00 pm) - General Election
November 19 (Thursday 7:30 pm) - Middlesex County Republican Women's Club. Joint meeting with the Monroe Republican Club - Garvey's Restaurant, 405 Spotswood Gravel Hill Road, Monroe. Speaker - Political analyst from Eagleton Institute and our fabulous patriotic boutique including new items from the Reagan Library.
Please forward this information to any Middlesex County Republican, or other individual, who you think might be interested in seeing it. Further, if you know of any Middlesex County Republican who would like to receive periodic e-mail reports about NJ Republican State Committee meetings and other information I believe might be interesting or useful, please have them send me, Donald Katz, an e-mail to dkatzlaw@aol.com, and I will add them to my e-mail list. By the same token, if you ever want to be removed from my e-mail list, send me an e-mail and I will remove you.
Donald Katz, Esq.
Republican State Committeeman - Middlesex County and Counsel, Middlesex County Republican Organization
dkatzlaw@aol.com
INSTRUCTION TO CHALLENGERS (10/09)
Job Description:
To make sure that only those people who are legally eligible to vote do vote, that only legal votes are counted at the end of the day and to keep track of the individuals who have voted by checking their names off on a registered voters' list, if same is provided.
Who can be at the polls - in the building?
Only the following people can be at the polls (19:15-8), if anyone else is there they must leave: 1) Officers connected with the election, ie: Members of the County Board of Elections, the District Election Board (the four or six people behind the table, ie: the poll clerks), the Municipal Clerk, and their duly appointed representatives. 2) The Candidates (they don't have to wear badges). 3) The Duly Authorized Challengers (those who have a certificate filed with the District Election Board and who are wearing a badge) (19:7-6). (Each candidate is allowed two challengers at every poll but only one of them can be in the poll at any one time) (19:7-6.1). 4) Voters who are present for the purpose of voting (they may not stay in the polls after they vote and talk - use your judgment on this). 5) Police Officers who are detailed to preserve order. Note that, as per a September, 2009 NJ Supreme Court decision, not only can there be no campaigning within 100 feet of the polls, but, neither members of the media nor other “exit pollers” may be in the polls or within that distance from the polls.
How can I challenge a voter, and for what reasons?
You may challenge any voter you suspect may not legally be eligible to vote as long as you are not acting in a discriminatory manner. The challenge can be made on several grounds, including that the voter is not the person he says he is, is not a citizen, is under age 18, or if the person does not meet the requirements for residency. A registered voter who has moved out of his election district but still lives in Middlesex County can not vote at his old district, but can vote in his new district via provisional ballot. A registered voter who has moved within his election district is entitled to vote in his district by signing an affirmation of transfer. A registered voter who has moved out of Middlesex County more than 21 days before the election, or, similarly, a person who is registered in another county and has moved into Middlesex County more than 21 days before the election, can not vote either at his old election district or at his new election district. A registered voter who has moved out of Middlesex County less than 21 days before the election can vote at his old election district but must first sign an affidavit of residency.
To challenge a voter, you tell the District Election Board that "I challenge this voter's right to vote on the grounds of residency" or for whatever other applicable reason. The challenger then "shall have the power and right to ask all questions which are suitable and necessary to determine such person's right (to vote)" (19:15-18). After questioning the voter, and giving the voter the opportunity to sign an affidavit and provide written proof, the District Election Board must officially vote on whether or not the person can vote. If the Board decides to allow the voter to vote (with a tie 2 to 2 decision the voter can vote), the challenger has the right to, and should have the voter sign an affidavit that he is a legal voter (19:15-21), by signing this, the voter is open to prosecution if he is voting illegally. If a challenge is successful, the challenger also must sign an affidavit.
Provisional (Paper) Ballots.
Under the election law, (19:31-11b), voters who have moved within Middlesex County who allege they are registered in the county may vote at their new election district, and voters who allege that they live and are registered in the election district, (after the poll clerks verify that the address is, indeed, in the election district even though their registration page is not in the registration books), may vote at their election district, but in each instance, the voter must vote through the use of provisional (paper) ballots. Similarly under the Vote by Mail law which went into affect on July 1, 2009, a voter who has applied for a mail-in ballot but wants, instead, to vote in person at the polls may do so, but only by provisional ballot, not on the voting machine. The results of the provisional ballots are not counted nor reported by the poll clerks, (only the number of ballots used, not used and spoiled). The ballots are kept sealed and segregated in a ballot bag which, in turn, is sealed at the time the polls close and are returned to the County Board of Elections for verification and counting, if appropriate. The poll clerks must, at all times, keep tight custody of all provisional ballots - including spoiled ballots, (where the voter made a mistake), which must be kept in the ballot bag except while being voted by the individual voter.
Misc. items you should know.
No political buttons, badges or other insignia are allowed in the polls or within 100 feet of the polls (19:34-19), and no campaigning or distribution of literature is allowed in or within 100 feet of the polls (19:34-15).
Challengers have the right to check all challengers' certificates filed with the Board at any time. If a certificate is mutilated by erasing the name of a person, word or district, the certificate is invalid.
No one except the Board may ask the voter's name and address. The voter must give his name and address himself and then the Board member must repeat the name and address loud enough for the Challengers to hear (19:31A-8).
If a voter is blind, disabled or unable to read English, he may take a person of his choice into the booth with him or he may have two members of the Board in the booth with him, one member of each party. However, in each instance where someone goes into the booth with a voter, a disability certificate of assistance must be completed and signed by the appropriate parties before entering the voting booth (19:50-3). (These certificates are in the front of the A-K poll book.) In no other case may anyone enter the voting booth with the voter. Being drunk is not a physical disability.
Bring change with you to the polls, (or a cell phone), and if there are any problems during the day, have someone call the HQ.
In the case of challenging a voter on the basis of residency, just ask the voter when and where he moved, do not ask if he moved more than 21 days ago or whether he moved inside or outside Middlesex County, chances are that he will say no as to the date, or tell you that he moved inside the county. If the voter doesn't know what the deadline is or whether its important that the voter still lives in the county, he is more likely to tell the truth and therefore more likely to disqualify himself.
Only English may be spoken at the polls, with the following exceptions: 1) The Spanish speaking poll clerks, if there are any assigned in your district, may speak to the voter in Spanish for the sole purpose of determining his eligibility to vote and explaining the actual mechanics of voting. 2) Non-English speaking voters may be accompanied to the polls by an interpreter. In the event a voter, who you believe is favorable to us, needs language help in the various Indian or Chinese languages, and there is no interpreter at the location, you can suggest that the poll clerks, the voter or you, on a cell phone, call the Board of Elections Office (732-745-3471) and ask to speak to an Indian or Chinese language interpreter for such help.
Selected penalties for violating the Election Law.
UNREGISTERED VOTERS - Voting by persons not properly registered or soliciting non-qualified persons to vote is a crime punishable by a fine of $500 or imprisonment in the state prison for 3 years, or both (19:34-20).
ILLEGAL VOTING - Any person who fraudulently attempts to vote or who attempts to vote more than once or impersonates or attempts to impersonate a person legally entitled to vote is guilty of a crime, is subject to punishment and can be imprisoned in a state prison (19:34-12).
AND AS A FEDERAL OFFENSE (For Federal Elections only - so not this year): Anyone who gives false information as to his name, address or period of residence for the purpose of establishing his eligibility to vote, or anyone who conspires with another for the purpose of encouraging his illegal voting, or anyone who pays or offers to pay or accepts money for voting is guilty of a crime. CONVICTION CARRIES A SENTENCE OF UP TO A $10,000 FINE AND 5 YEARS IN PRISON (42 U.S.C.§ 1973i(c)). (Please note that this provision does not apply in years where there are no federal offices on the ballot).
REMEMBER, IF YOU HAVE ANY PROBLEMS, HAVE SOMEONE CALL HQ!
Middlesex County GOP HQ: 732-634-2922 Your local GOP HQ: _____________
Middlesex County Board of Elections: 732-745-3471 (Sylvia Engel and Donald Katz, Republican Commissioners) 777 Jersey Avenue, New Brunswick
Set forth below the calendar is a set of instructions for election day challengers, which I have prepared, and which I suggest that you might want to copy and distribute to any volunteers who will be working for the GOP on election day: challengers, candidates, etc.
FINAL DAYS HELP NEEDED - CONTACT/GO TO HEADQUARTERS IN WOODBRIDGE OR SOUTH PLAINFIELD - NOW!
Get out the vote phone calls are now being made at our phone banks to identified supporters among Middlesex County voters - including voters in your town - at the phone banks in Middlesex County in Woodbridge at 530 Amboy Avenue, Woodbridge, NJ 07095 and in South Plainfield at 119 Hamilton Boulevard, South Plainfield, NJ 07080. The phone banks are now open every day through and including election day. (9 am -9 pm in Woodbridge, 10 am - 9
pm in South Plainfield and until the polls close at 8 pm on election day) Call or e-mail Vinny Napolitano, NJGOP Regional Field Director for Middlesex County at 908-591-2415 or vinny@njgop.org. or just show up. We are also knocking on doors for the same GOTV effort, and some money may still be available for those who participate in that effort. Contact Vinny.
STATEWIDE VOTER REGISTRATION STATISTICS - AND PAST GUBERNATORIAL ELECTION VOTE INFO AVAILABLE
Want to know how New Jersey's counties voted in past gubernatorial elections? Find the data for the 2001, 2005 gubernatorial elections and the 2008 presidential election at www.eagleton.rutgers.edu/programs/njproject/ campaigns_elections.php.
You will find that state wide - and in Middlesex County - for the last 2 gubernatorial elections - the turnout was less than 50% of the registered voters. Over _ of the registered didn't vote. Can you imagine what the results for our Republican candidates would be if we got out every Republican minded voter from that non-voting _ on election day?
ANY MAIL IN BALLOTS (FORMERLY KNOWN AS ABSENTEE BALLOTS) NOT YET SENT BACK?
As of about 1:00 pm on Friday, about 15,100 mail in ballots had been sent out by the Middlesex County Clerk, but only about 8,800 of those ballots had been received by the Middlesex County Board of Elections at 777 Jersey Avenue, New Brunswick. If you helped someone obtain a mail in ballot or you know someone who obtained a mail in ballot, check with him or her, now, to see if he or she has sent it back. If they haven't, it is really too late to trust the ballot to US Postal Service, since it must arrive at the Board of Elections Office by 8:00 pm on Tuesday - election day - so the ballot should be hand delivered.
Remember that if a mail-in ballot is hand delivered to the Board of Elections by a messenger, (legally called a “bearer”), the name and address of the actual bearer delivering the ballot must be completed on the outer envelope before the ballot is brought to the Board of Elections or, by law, the ballot won't be counted. Also remember that a candidate who is on the ballot this election may not be a bearer. Don't do all the work and then lose the vote via a technicality! As we know, every vote counts!
ANY MORE ATTORNEYS WANT TO VOLUNTEER TO HELP ON ELECTION DAY?
If there are any additional attorneys who would like to help the GOP on election day, they should contact Chris Struben at his law office at 908-925-9111 or via e-mail at cfstruben@aol.com, immediately. Although all day availability would be preferable, if the attorney can volunteer a block of time of several hours or more, it would be acceptable.
SOME ELECTION QUOTES…
* If Thomas Edison invented electric light today, Dan Rather would report it on CBS News as "candle making industry threatened". (Newt Gingrich)
* Asking an incumbent member of Congress to vote for term limits is a bit like asking a chicken to vote for Colonel Sanders. (Bob Inglis)
* If elected, I will win. (Pat Paulsen)
* Never vote for the best candidate, vote for the one who will do the least harm. (Frank Dane)
* The best reason I can think of for not running for president of the United States is that you have to shave twice a day. (Adlai Stevenson)
* Politicians are the same all over. They promise to build a bridge where there is no river. (Nikita Khrushchev)
ELECTION NIGHT LOCATIONS/CELEBRATIONS
The various election night locations/celebrations, of which I am aware, as of this writing, are as follows. (Please note that some of these - other than for Christie, -may be subject to change, so if you are coming from a distance, confirm the location first) :
Christie/Guadagno - Parsippany Hilton, 1 Hilton Court, (off Route 10), Parsippany
Middlesex County GOP candidates - MCRO HQ, 530 Amboy Avenue, Woodbridge
Carteret - Ukrainian American Citizens Club, 728 Roosevelt Avenue, Carteret
East Brunswick - VFW, 485 Cranbury Road, East Brunswick
Edison - Edison GOP HQ, Colonial Village Shopping Center, Route 27 & Parsonage Road, Edison
Monroe - Garvey's Restaurant, 405 Spotswood Gravel Hill Road, Monroe
Old Bridge - Cheesequake Firehouse, 113 Route 34, Old Bridge (Matawan P.O.)
South Plainfield & 18th Assembly candidates - SP HQ, 119 Hamilton St., SP
South River - Byelorussian Hall, Whitehead Avenue, South River
Kothari for 19th Assembly - Holiday Inn, Raritan Center, Edison
If you expect to go to one or more of these functions, the various campaigns all want you to help make them victory celebrations by helping get out the vote from now through and including the time the polls close on election day.
BUY POPCORN AND HELP THE BOY SCOUTS
Since you are probably going to be buying presents for the holidays or for other reasons, (pre-election day Halloween party?), I would like you to consider buying popcorn and support the scouts at the same time. You can now buy on line by visiting www.orderpopcorn.com and when the home page comes up, there is a space that reads “Enter Order Key.” In that space please enter TEV4T3E. This is my special order key that allows the tracking of the sales generated from my efforts. This will take you to a new page where you can purchase all varieties and types of popcorn and other edibles, such as Trail Mix, Chocolatey Crunch, etc.). If you forget my order key number, you can shop without a key. Just make sure that when you select a council to receive credit, you select “NJ” and then: “Monmouth Junct: Central New Jersey Council.” (The Central New Jersey Council includes most or all of Middlesex, Mercer and Hunterdon Counties, and small portions of Somerset and other adjacent counties.)
UPDATED CALENDAR
What follows is an updated calendar. If you have any municipal or countywide fundraisers or functions you would like me to include in my e-mail calendar from time to time, please contact me at dkatzlaw@aol.com. Please note that organizations and campaigns sometime provide added information, change dates or cancel events, which information I include in this calendar if I receive the information in time. Therefore, if you plan to attend an event, please make sure you review the calendar listing in my latest e-mail and, to the extent you may not have pre-registered for the particular event so the sponsoring group will be able to contact you about any changes, you may want to check with the sponsoring group before you go, to make sure the information has not changed.
November 2 (Monday, 3:00 pm) - Last day to apply for a vote by mail ballot in person (or by authorized messenger) at the County Clerk's office in order to vote in the General Election.
November 3 (Tuesday 6:00 am - 8:00 pm) - General Election
November 19 (Thursday 7:30 pm) - Middlesex County Republican Women's Club. Joint meeting with the Monroe Republican Club - Garvey's Restaurant, 405 Spotswood Gravel Hill Road, Monroe. Speaker - Political analyst from Eagleton Institute and our fabulous patriotic boutique including new items from the Reagan Library.
Please forward this information to any Middlesex County Republican, or other individual, who you think might be interested in seeing it. Further, if you know of any Middlesex County Republican who would like to receive periodic e-mail reports about NJ Republican State Committee meetings and other information I believe might be interesting or useful, please have them send me, Donald Katz, an e-mail to dkatzlaw@aol.com, and I will add them to my e-mail list. By the same token, if you ever want to be removed from my e-mail list, send me an e-mail and I will remove you.
Donald Katz, Esq.
Republican State Committeeman - Middlesex County and Counsel, Middlesex County Republican Organization
dkatzlaw@aol.com
INSTRUCTION TO CHALLENGERS (10/09)
Job Description:
To make sure that only those people who are legally eligible to vote do vote, that only legal votes are counted at the end of the day and to keep track of the individuals who have voted by checking their names off on a registered voters' list, if same is provided.
Who can be at the polls - in the building?
Only the following people can be at the polls (19:15-8), if anyone else is there they must leave: 1) Officers connected with the election, ie: Members of the County Board of Elections, the District Election Board (the four or six people behind the table, ie: the poll clerks), the Municipal Clerk, and their duly appointed representatives. 2) The Candidates (they don't have to wear badges). 3) The Duly Authorized Challengers (those who have a certificate filed with the District Election Board and who are wearing a badge) (19:7-6). (Each candidate is allowed two challengers at every poll but only one of them can be in the poll at any one time) (19:7-6.1). 4) Voters who are present for the purpose of voting (they may not stay in the polls after they vote and talk - use your judgment on this). 5) Police Officers who are detailed to preserve order. Note that, as per a September, 2009 NJ Supreme Court decision, not only can there be no campaigning within 100 feet of the polls, but, neither members of the media nor other “exit pollers” may be in the polls or within that distance from the polls.
How can I challenge a voter, and for what reasons?
You may challenge any voter you suspect may not legally be eligible to vote as long as you are not acting in a discriminatory manner. The challenge can be made on several grounds, including that the voter is not the person he says he is, is not a citizen, is under age 18, or if the person does not meet the requirements for residency. A registered voter who has moved out of his election district but still lives in Middlesex County can not vote at his old district, but can vote in his new district via provisional ballot. A registered voter who has moved within his election district is entitled to vote in his district by signing an affirmation of transfer. A registered voter who has moved out of Middlesex County more than 21 days before the election, or, similarly, a person who is registered in another county and has moved into Middlesex County more than 21 days before the election, can not vote either at his old election district or at his new election district. A registered voter who has moved out of Middlesex County less than 21 days before the election can vote at his old election district but must first sign an affidavit of residency.
To challenge a voter, you tell the District Election Board that "I challenge this voter's right to vote on the grounds of residency" or for whatever other applicable reason. The challenger then "shall have the power and right to ask all questions which are suitable and necessary to determine such person's right (to vote)" (19:15-18). After questioning the voter, and giving the voter the opportunity to sign an affidavit and provide written proof, the District Election Board must officially vote on whether or not the person can vote. If the Board decides to allow the voter to vote (with a tie 2 to 2 decision the voter can vote), the challenger has the right to, and should have the voter sign an affidavit that he is a legal voter (19:15-21), by signing this, the voter is open to prosecution if he is voting illegally. If a challenge is successful, the challenger also must sign an affidavit.
Provisional (Paper) Ballots.
Under the election law, (19:31-11b), voters who have moved within Middlesex County who allege they are registered in the county may vote at their new election district, and voters who allege that they live and are registered in the election district, (after the poll clerks verify that the address is, indeed, in the election district even though their registration page is not in the registration books), may vote at their election district, but in each instance, the voter must vote through the use of provisional (paper) ballots. Similarly under the Vote by Mail law which went into affect on July 1, 2009, a voter who has applied for a mail-in ballot but wants, instead, to vote in person at the polls may do so, but only by provisional ballot, not on the voting machine. The results of the provisional ballots are not counted nor reported by the poll clerks, (only the number of ballots used, not used and spoiled). The ballots are kept sealed and segregated in a ballot bag which, in turn, is sealed at the time the polls close and are returned to the County Board of Elections for verification and counting, if appropriate. The poll clerks must, at all times, keep tight custody of all provisional ballots - including spoiled ballots, (where the voter made a mistake), which must be kept in the ballot bag except while being voted by the individual voter.
Misc. items you should know.
No political buttons, badges or other insignia are allowed in the polls or within 100 feet of the polls (19:34-19), and no campaigning or distribution of literature is allowed in or within 100 feet of the polls (19:34-15).
Challengers have the right to check all challengers' certificates filed with the Board at any time. If a certificate is mutilated by erasing the name of a person, word or district, the certificate is invalid.
No one except the Board may ask the voter's name and address. The voter must give his name and address himself and then the Board member must repeat the name and address loud enough for the Challengers to hear (19:31A-8).
If a voter is blind, disabled or unable to read English, he may take a person of his choice into the booth with him or he may have two members of the Board in the booth with him, one member of each party. However, in each instance where someone goes into the booth with a voter, a disability certificate of assistance must be completed and signed by the appropriate parties before entering the voting booth (19:50-3). (These certificates are in the front of the A-K poll book.) In no other case may anyone enter the voting booth with the voter. Being drunk is not a physical disability.
Bring change with you to the polls, (or a cell phone), and if there are any problems during the day, have someone call the HQ.
In the case of challenging a voter on the basis of residency, just ask the voter when and where he moved, do not ask if he moved more than 21 days ago or whether he moved inside or outside Middlesex County, chances are that he will say no as to the date, or tell you that he moved inside the county. If the voter doesn't know what the deadline is or whether its important that the voter still lives in the county, he is more likely to tell the truth and therefore more likely to disqualify himself.
Only English may be spoken at the polls, with the following exceptions: 1) The Spanish speaking poll clerks, if there are any assigned in your district, may speak to the voter in Spanish for the sole purpose of determining his eligibility to vote and explaining the actual mechanics of voting. 2) Non-English speaking voters may be accompanied to the polls by an interpreter. In the event a voter, who you believe is favorable to us, needs language help in the various Indian or Chinese languages, and there is no interpreter at the location, you can suggest that the poll clerks, the voter or you, on a cell phone, call the Board of Elections Office (732-745-3471) and ask to speak to an Indian or Chinese language interpreter for such help.
Selected penalties for violating the Election Law.
UNREGISTERED VOTERS - Voting by persons not properly registered or soliciting non-qualified persons to vote is a crime punishable by a fine of $500 or imprisonment in the state prison for 3 years, or both (19:34-20).
ILLEGAL VOTING - Any person who fraudulently attempts to vote or who attempts to vote more than once or impersonates or attempts to impersonate a person legally entitled to vote is guilty of a crime, is subject to punishment and can be imprisoned in a state prison (19:34-12).
AND AS A FEDERAL OFFENSE (For Federal Elections only - so not this year): Anyone who gives false information as to his name, address or period of residence for the purpose of establishing his eligibility to vote, or anyone who conspires with another for the purpose of encouraging his illegal voting, or anyone who pays or offers to pay or accepts money for voting is guilty of a crime. CONVICTION CARRIES A SENTENCE OF UP TO A $10,000 FINE AND 5 YEARS IN PRISON (42 U.S.C.§ 1973i(c)). (Please note that this provision does not apply in years where there are no federal offices on the ballot).
REMEMBER, IF YOU HAVE ANY PROBLEMS, HAVE SOMEONE CALL HQ!
Middlesex County GOP HQ: 732-634-2922 Your local GOP HQ: _____________
Middlesex County Board of Elections: 732-745-3471 (Sylvia Engel and Donald Katz, Republican Commissioners) 777 Jersey Avenue, New Brunswick
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