Bill O’Dea, freeholder for the West Side district of Jersey City, promised to begin a civil rights lawsuit if a requested report comes back showing that employees from the Hudson County office for elections rejected qualified applicants for voting based solely on the color of the ink in their pens.
In asking for the report at the May 6 freeholder caucus meeting, O’Dea said he had learned from published reports as well as from personal interviews that some people may have been rejected for voting registration because they filled out the forms with green, red or purple ink rather than blue or black.
Election personnel apparently scan the applications into computers, and colors other than blue or black do not work with the software.
O’Dea, however, noted the forms had no notice printed on them to inform applicants of the color choice.
“If they want to limit the colors to blue and black, then they need to change the application form to say that,” O’Dea said. “If it is true that these people were rejected because of the color of their ink, I intend to file a lawsuit.”
The matter was later resolved when several campaign workers approached the state Attorney General’s office and the state ordered the applicants reinstated.
“The state told us that the applications had to be honored,” said former Freeholder Lou Manzo, who is running for state Assembly in the 31st District. The Manzo campaign has an ongoing voter registration drive.
O’Dea asked County Administrator Abe Antun to seek a report as to which applicants were rejected and why.
“I can understand if a person failed to put in some information such as an address, but in some of these cases, the color of the ink was the only reason,” he said. “And I hope that the report doesn’t try to show other reasons for some of the cases, because I have copies of some of the applications in which all the information was included.”
In a somewhat mocking tone, Freeholder Chairman Sal Vega hinted at some political motivation behind O’Dea’s call for the report. O’Dea serves as Manzo’s co-campaign manager. O’Dea, however, said politics did not play a role in his objection to the possible rejection of qualified candidates. He said he had a history of objecting to voter-suppression from the 1980s when he ran for Jersey City council, and felt that people should not be disfranchised.
Freeholder and Union City Mayor Brian Stack said he had concerns about a new law going into effect shortly that would require residents to provide the last four digits of their Social Security numbers with the applications.
“Instead of making it easier to vote, this makes it more difficult,” Stack said.
Vega noted that this was a result of the 2000 Florida election in which the presidential choice was in dispute and as variety of problems occurred in the election process.
“Under the guise of reform, voting has become more difficult,” Vega said.
O’Dea said the Social Security requirement might make some potential voters fearful because many credit companies ask for the same information.
“People might believe their credit reports might be accessed,” O’Dea said.
Other matters
Issuing a rare complement, O’Dea gave praise to Antun and his staff for reducing the cost of a contract with Janis Solutions, a consulting firm hired to help provide expert opinions for the county’s Human Services department.
Ben Lopez, director of the recently created Department of Human Services, said the contract with Janus Solutions has been reduced from $349,482 last year to $290,000 this year due to consolidation of services in the county.
O’Dea, who has been a sharp critic of the county’s use of Janus and other consulting firms, acknowledged that the 20 percent reduction as the a positive step.
“Hopefully as we continue to consolidate, we can continue to reduce our need for consultants,” he said. “This will allow us to put more dollars towards providing services.”
In another matter, O’Dea grilled Susan Mearns, director of the county’s Department of Housing and Community Development, over past HOME funds not yet allocated. HOME funds are federal Housing and Urban Development dollars issued to communities to help promote, purchase, rehabilitate or construct affordable housing. Mearns said that the county has two years to allocate money issued in any given calendar year. Mearns said there is money still outstanding, but only from last year, and would be dedicated before the year is out.
Mearns said her office relies on municipalities to make recommendations, which is why the county does not issue request for proposals. She said the county works with 11 of the municipalities through three programs that provide for affordable housing.
Stack, in his role as chairman of the Freeholder’s Homelessness Taskforce, said he had been looking into the HOME program as a possible way to provide for the estimated 1,600 homeless people in the county.