Opinion: Are NJ Democrats Playing Games With Ballot Boxes?

We know how risky it is to have only mail-in ballots in the state as a voting option. I can name you 20 ways that the system can be compromised, but at least there are some safeguards built into the system to try to make it fair for everyone.

One of the safeguards is that a ballot box can’t be placed anywhere without the permission, knowledge, and approval of the Board of Elections — including all of its commissioners. And that’s not what happened in Gloucester County, according to County Republican Chairwoman Jacci Vigilante and two GOP County Board of Elections members. They’re questioning the placement of ballot boxes in their towns, according to an article in the New Jersey Globe.

Vigilante and the other Republicans claim that the board made a plan for placement of the ballot boxes without consulting the Republicans, which shifted the ballot receptacles to unfairly favor Democrats. And I don’t doubt that the Democrats, resolute in their mission to get Trump out of office, would do exactly that. According to the piece, Vigilante and company claim that the ballot boxes, which are meant to be an alternative to sending ballots through the U.S. Postal Service, have been placed in a very concentrated way cramming in five boxes within 10 miles of each other on one end and five within 10 miles of each other on the other end of Gloucester County.

This makes boxes, according to the complaint, more accessible to towns with higher concentrations of Democratic voters. Vigilante said: “The plan leaves Harrison and East Greenwich, both with populations of 10,000 or more, with no ballot drop box locations. These towns also happen to have heavy concentrations of Republican voters."

Coincidence? I think not. Since the mail-in ballot system is rife with problems, it’s just waiting for some unscrupulous member of either party to take advantage of its many flaws.