Ocean County elections board, GOP chair sued over voter challenges

The New Jersey League of Women Voters and a trio of Bay Head residents sued the Ocean County Board of Elections and its Republican chairman, George Gilmore, alleging they violated a state voting rights law.

The lawsuit comes after the board warned Democrats and unaffiliated voters on a list compiled by Dennis Shaning, who chairs the all-Republican borough council, that they may be deemed ineligible to vote because their tax bills were sent to an address outside Bay Head. The list excluded Republican voters in the same position, the suit argues.

“The Ocean County Board of Elections has intimidated and discriminated against voters in Bay Head and put unconstitutional barriers in the way of the exercise of their fundamental right to vote,” said Liza Weisberg, supervising attorney for the American Civil Liberties Union of New Jersey, which is representing the plaintiffs.

Voters on the list were told their suffrage may be challenged unless they filled a lengthy questionnaire and attended an Oct. 13 Board of Elections hearing. The deadline to register to vote in the Nov. 3 elections is Oct. 13.

The suit alleges the board violated a recently enacted state voting rights law by attempting to intimidate voters.

It also says the board violated the equal protection clause of New Jersey’s Constitution by leaving in place the registrations of Republicans whose tax bills were sent to an address outside the borough.

“The Gilmore Letters created a separate class of voters — registered non-Republican voters whose tax bills are mailed to addresses outside Ocean County — and treated them differently than everyone else,” the suit says.

Gilmore, who is also chair of Ocean County’s Republican Party, did not immediately return a text message seeking comment.

Last month, Gilmore told the New Jersey Monitor that the elections board is merely following up on a letter it received, a practice the board has done for more than three decades.

“We don’t go out looking for people. We react to challenges that come into the board,” he said.

The suit asks a judge to enjoin the board from weighing the eligibility of voters on Shaning’s list based on their party affiliation, tax bill mailing address, questionnaire responses, and meeting attendance.

Those voters should not be required to cast their vote using a provisional ballot, the suit said. The plaintiffs asked the court to declare the board’s inquest unlawful and award attorneys’ fees and damages under the New Jersey Voter Empowerment Act.