For the first time, New Jersey offered a Secure Mobile Voting Option with, a Paper Ballot, for Voters with Disabilities in Direct Response to COVID-19 Voting Concerns.

Tusk Philanthropies (TP) announced, New Jersey is implemented a Mobile Voting Option that produced a Paper Ballot for Voters with Disabilities in the May 12th Elections.

Earlier this month, New Jersey Expanded Vote-by-Mail with Paper Ballots to All New Jersey Residents, but announced it was including a Secure Accessible Ballot Portal to ensure Voters facing Additional Barriers still had the Option to Vote Privately and Independently. Postal Paper Ballots still Require Voters to Read Standard Text, Physically Write and/or Fill-In the Ballot Choices, Seal, and Certify the Ballot, via a Signature on the Envelope, and Mail the Ballot.

Democracy Live’s OmniBallot Portal provides a Secure Option for Eligible Voters to Receive, Mark, and Return their Ballots without Assistance either Electronically or by Mail. Through the Democracy Live system, a Paper Ballot is always Tabulated.

The Election in May was for a Select Number of Townships, Counties, and Municipalities, throughout the State that were Scheduled to Conduct Elections earlier this year and Postponed due to Coronavirus. Eligible Voters were able to Participate in the Elections by Opting-In to Access their Ballot Electronically on their Smartphones or other Electronic Devices. All Voters that Qualify to use the System had the Option to Print and Mail their Ballot or the Elections Office can Print the Ballot after it has been Submitted via the Portal. 100% of All Ballots are Verified by the Voter and Tabulated via a Paper Ballot.

“By offering online voting in their elections, New Jersey just took a monumental step in the right direction for every voter in our country,” said Bradley Tusk, CEO and Founder of Tusk Philanthropies. “New Jersey understands that online voting is the only way to enable disabled Americans to vote privately and independently in this year’s elections. The technology exists, it’s been successfully tested and it’s time for every state to step up and implement online voting so every American has the opportunity to cast their vote in this year’s elections.”

To Access their Ballot, participating Voters Logged into the Secure Democracy Live Portal on their Computers or Smart Devices using their Login Credentials. Once the Voter had made All their Selections, they had the Opportunity to Review their Ballot to Ensure it was Marked Correctly. Similar to how Traditional Absentee Voting is done in New Jersey, All Voters Review their Ballot and Sign their Name before Returning their Ballot. The Signature and Ballot may be Submitted via Mail, or Printed by the Elections Office, through the Portal. Ballots were Verified and Tabulated by the Local Elections Office.

“An alternative to voting in person is necessary during this COVID-19 crisis,” said Dan Spoone, President American Council of the Blind. “People who are blind should not have to unnecessarily and unfairly expose themselves to the virus by physically visiting public polling places. Just as all other New Jersey residents have the right to vote via absentee ballot, we commend Governor Murphy for providing an accessible remote voting method available to people with disabilities.”

“Nearly 15% of voters cannot see, hold, or mark a paper postal ballot due to disabilities,” said Democracy Live CEO, Bryan Finney. “Thanks to New Jersey’s leadership no voter will be left behind in the upcoming election. All voters, regardless of disabilities will be able to vote safely, securely and independently from home.

MD: I would add one more step: When the Paper Ballot is created, an Image should be sent to the Voter so they can Verify their Choices, and then the Ballot can be Scanned and Counted.

Human rights Activists and Law School Students are Challenging the New Voting System, arguing it's Unfair to Expose only One Category of Voters to Significant Risk their Ballots will get Hacked with Impunity. Penny Venetis of Rutgers Law School Sued on Behalf of the Human Rights Organization Coalition for Peace, its New Jersey Affiliate, and a State Legislator. The Lawsuit maintains the Electronic Voting System Violates a 2010 Court Order that New Jersey conduct its Elections in the Traditional, Offline Manner.

State Officials have Not yet Indicated whether they will Use the System for the Presidential and Congressional Primaries, which have been Postponed to July 7th. But the Lawsuit seeks to Prevent them from doing so.

Since this method of Online Voting generates a Paper Ballot that is Counted by Election Officials, is this Online Voting?










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