For Immediate Release:
Just Stop with the Nonsense About Our Elections

MADISON, NJ, August 17, 2020 – Elected officials, especially those who are tasked with conducting our fair elections, the bedrock of our democracy, should support all methods of voting including voting by mail and stop sowing seeds of fear.

During a deadly pandemic, over 1.2 million New Jersey voters used this method to vote during the July 7th Primary Election. Yet several elections and elected officials have spoken out against voting by mail even though Governor Murphy’s Executive Order 177 does not preclude voting in person.

Mary Jo Couts, the Atlantic County Board of Elections Commissioner, posted on social media against Vote By Mail, a method that over 1.2 million New Jersey voters used during the July 7th Primary Election. Ms. Couts posted a meme that said, “We stand in line at Target, Walmart, Lowe’s, etc. We can stand in line in November. Say NO to mail in voting. Make this go viral.”

Senator Bramnick [R-21] tweeted multiple times about how “scary” voting by mail is tweeting, “I am very concerned about privacy and the mail-in ballot (sic). Who opens the ballot? Voters might be very concerned that whoever (sic) opens your ballot will know how you vote. Voting must be 100 percent private. Scary.” The Minority Leader tweeted a lie that stated that “no one can vote in person” in our upcoming November Elections.

Lastly, the Morris County Board of Freeholders passed a resolution against vote by mail which states in part that vote by mail “caused concerns for voter fraud.”

Voting on Election Day at local polling stations is a barrier and a burden to many voters across economic, education, racial, and mobility spectrums. This was the case before the pandemic and it is a situation made worse by coronavirus by several factors including the need to minimize community spread, the senior age of the majority of poll workers whose risk of long-term severe illness and mortality rates are much worse, and the low staffing. With Executive Order 177, Governor Murphy balanced the need to minimize the spread of coronavirus while also exercising our fundamental right to vote by having both voting in-person (albeit limited polling locations due to expected lower staffing) and voting by mail.

“As an immigrant from Vietnam to this great country, I know what it’s like to be in a country where there are no free and fair elections. We should all work together to ensure all New Jerseyans who are qualified to vote with all options for voting. Keeping voters and poll workers safe is our priority. Putting out these statements that sow doubt and fear in our elections not only scare and confuse our voters but also speaks poorly of our great local elections officials. Tweeting that our votes are not private when Senator Bramnick knows full well that all mail-in ballots are anonymous is an affront to our county Boards of Elections who are tasked with processing our ballots,” Uyen “Winn” Khuong, Executive Director.

About Action Together New Jersey
ATNJ is the largest non-profit grassroots organization in New Jersey. With local chapters in every county, ATNJ’s teams work with coalitions of like-minded groups to serve the public by educating the electorate, advancing legislative proposals with elected officials, and working in concert with advocacy groups for equity and human rights. ATNJ seeks to promote equality to secure a more inclusive and fair future for New Jersey and the nation. For more information, visit www.ATNJ.org.
### Contact: Kristine Winnik, Communications Manager, Action Together New Jersey,
kristinemwinnik@gmail.com | 973.687.7950