New Jersey governor to announce state will move to mostly mail-in voting for November

New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy (D) is slated to announce that the Garden State will vote primarily by mail-in ballots in November, a move that comes as President Trump has repeatedly expressed opposition to the voting practice.

A pair of people with knowledge of the situation told NJ.com that all 6.2 million of the state’s registered voters will receive a mail-in ballot to vote with on Nov. 3. A number of polling stations will still be open for residents who want to cast their ballots in person, the sources added.

This plan is the same one that New Jersey used for its primary elections, largely in part because of the coronavirus pandemic.

In addition to the presidential election, the state has numerous other elections happening November 3. Sen. Cory Booker (D-N.J.) is up for reelection, and all 12 of New Jersey’s congressional House seats are in play. 

The Trump administration and many Republican lawmakers have taken a public stance against expanded mail-in voting, often pointing to potential rampant voter fraud.

Voter fraud is exceedingly rare, however, and a handful of states, including Utah, Oregon and Washington, already have well-established mail-in voting systems in place. Trump has also voted by mail before in Florida, his official state of residence.

There is also concern among Democrats that the United States Postal Service (USPS), which is in need of funding, won’t have resources to accommodate such a large influx of ballots. Democrats have proposed $25 billion in additional funding for the USPS in the House’s latest coronavirus stimulus package, but Trump on Thursday sent mixed signals regarding if he supports the funding or not.

In the morning, Trump suggested that he was opposed to giving more funding to the USPS because it will allow for the expansion of mail-in voting for November’s elections.

“They want $25 billion for the post office. Now, they need that money in order to have the post office work so it can take all of these millions and millions of ballots,” Trump said. “Now in the meantime, they aren’t getting there. By the way, those are just two items. But if they don’t get those two items that means you can’t have universal mail-in voting, because they’re not equipped to have it.”

Later in the day, the president pivoted slightly, saying that he would support funding for the USPS but would not change policies the agency has adopted that Democrats warn hamper mail-in voting.