Bay Head Voter Eligibility Dispute Ends: 11 Removed at Their Own Request, Others Clear to Vote
BAY HEAD, N.J. — A weeks-long dispute over voter eligibility in this Ocean County borough concluded October 30 with 11 people voluntarily asking to be removed from the voter rolls, county officials said. The remaining voters who were scrutinized will face no impediments or challenges when they vote on Election Day, Ocean County Board of Elections Chairman George Gilmore told the Asbury Park Press on October 30.
The controversy began in August, when Borough Council President and municipal Republican chairman Dennis Shaning submitted a list of 39 registered voters whose municipal property tax bills were mailed outside the borough. The list included only registered Democrats and unaffiliated voters, omitting registered Republicans in identical billing circumstances. The county election board then mailed questionnaires asking the residents to verify their primary domicile.
The ACLU of New Jersey sued on behalf of the League of Women Voters of New Jersey, arguing the inquiries violated state law against pre-election voter-roll purges. Superior Court Judge Robert Lougy denied an injunction on October 13, allowing the board to continue.
Gilmore said the early removal requests came from people who in fact did not live in Bay Head or were otherwise ineligible to vote there. Board secretary Wyatt Earp criticized the one-sided composition of the original list as creating needless obstacles for local voters. Election Day is November 3.
Source: GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 图：LOVELAND HOMESTEAD MUSEUM, BAY HEAD, OCEAN COUNTY。Jerrye & Roy Klotz, MD 摄，CC BY-SA 3.0，经 Wikimedia Commons。 / Photo: LOVELAND HOMESTEAD MUSEUM, BAY HEAD, OCEAN COUNTY. By Jerrye & Roy Klotz, MD, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
