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JON S. CORZINE |
Nina Mitchell Wells |
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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE |
Contact: Press Office |
STATEMENT ON ACLU/LWV OF NEW JERSEY REPORT: (Trenton, NJ) –Secretary of State Nina Mitchell Wells today issued the following statement on “Making Every Vote Count: A Review of the 2008 Elections in New Jersey” – a joint report issued by the American Civil Liberties Union of New Jersey and the League of Women Voters of New Jersey. “After a careful and thorough review of the joint American Civil Liberties Union and League of Women Voters report on the statewide 2008 elections, I wish to strongly reaffirm my faith and utmost confidence in New Jersey 's voting process – in every way and at every level – throughout New Jersey . November's general election witnessed state and county election officials log a record number of new voter registrations – over 630,000 since January 1, 2008 , and more than 5.3 million total – while processing a record 3.9 million ballots on Election Day; including, it must be noted, a record number of absentee (vote by mail) and provisional ballots. I was proud that a state-wide collective proactive approach to voter education, poll worker recruitment and training played such an instrumental part in this success. Under such historic and unprecedented circumstances, there were some issues and concerns that we can improve upon in the future and we will work diligently to do so. Once again, county election officials should be applauded for their tremendous work, an extraordinary collaborative effort that made the 2008 general election arguably the most historic and successful in state history. Our citizens also were incredible partners, and did their part. The people of New Jersey deserve nothing less than the most accurate, reliable, and secure oversight and implementation of the elections process. Maintaining the highest standard, accuracy and confidence in the democratic process is ongoing; so too are the challenges. Educating the voting public; engaging in an open, ongoing dialogue with stakeholders; and maintaining aggressive recruitment and training of poll workers is a formidable task, and these are our highest priorities.” # # # |
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