A North Bergen resident says that when she voted in the school board election April 20, a poll worker not only stepped into the booth with her, but told her whom to vote for.
According to Lorraine Murphy, she arrived at Lawlor Towers in the North Bergen public housing buildings at 6121 Grand Ave. at 8:35 p.m. that day, 25 minutes before the polls were to close.
She claims that as she walked into the building, she was surprised to see a poll worker and a voter in front of her leave a booth at the same time “with thanks from the ‘helpee.’ ”
Murphy said that the person who was being helped was “very old and very shaky” and didn’t appear to be fluent in English. She said that the worker allegedly helped the person out of the room.
“It is rare and I hope it is rare.” – Michael Harper
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Murphy said that the woman allegedly pointed her finger to 1, 2, and 3 – the incumbents – and told her to press the buttons and answer the question. The question was whether to vote in favor of the school budget. (The budget ultimately lost anyway, although the board favored it.) The incumbents were – and still are – Charlotte DiGennaro, Edward LaTour, and Miguel Hector.
Murphy said she asked what would happen if she instead pressed 4, 5 and 6 – three long-shot candidates who have run in numerous local elections – and the woman allegedly told her “no” before demonstrating what she should do again.
Murphy says she voted for one of the losing candidates anyway, after the poll worker left. She claims that she sent a letter to the Hudson County Commissioner of Registration the next day.
But she said that as of last week, it had still gone unanswered.
She said that because she is a Republican, she routinely hears comments from poll workers about her party affiliation when she votes. But she said that she has never had anything like this happen to her.
Murphy said that she is friends with William Koehler, one of the challengers in the race, but that they are “kind of neighbors” who don’t see each other much. She said she told his wife what had happened a day or two later, but did not speak to Koehler because he was at work.
The Hudson Reporter has not seen a copy of the letter that was sent to the county officials, but Murphy said that it was the same letter that she sent to this publication, which was printed last week.
Waiting for a response
According to a New Jersey Department of State spokesperson, a voter complaint should go to the appropriate county official or to the New Jersey Attorney General’s Office for investigation.
County Superintendent of Elections Marie Borace said on Thursday that her office never received a letter from Murphy. She said that out of that district’s 253 votes cast, there were only 14 placed against the incumbents in North Bergen, and that she did not receive any complaints about that election. She said that mail does occasionally get mixed up at her office, but that it is usually resolved.
“Naturally, I would have sent a deputy and I would have investigated this situation,” said Borace.
The laws
Last week, Hudson County Board of Elections Clerk Michael Harper said that every poll worker this year received mandatory training, and that this sort of behavior is something that should not happen. That should “almost go unsaid,” he said.
He said that it sounded like a “legitimate complaint” that he will look into. He said that if it is true, the person could possibly be removed from working future elections.
Harper said that if his office was notified on Election Day, he or an investigator would have visited the voting site and would have observed the situation or confronted the poll worker and heard that person’s side of the story.
“It is rare and I hope it is rare,” said Harper about voter coercion claims. “It should be rare.”
He added that voter coercion claims have been reported before and that by the time he hears about it, the complaint is usually a “he said, she said.”
Stepping into the booth
People campaigning for a specific side in an election are required to stay outside the polling area and remain at least 100 feet from it. The poll workers inside are not supposed to advocate for one side or another.
In fact, by law, a poll worker can step into the booth with a voter who may need help with the procedure. However, Harper said that legislative changes have made it more and more difficult in the last 10 years.
Harper said that previously, if a person wanted assistance in a voting booth, they had to choose whether they wanted a Republican or a Democrat poll worker.
Now, voters do not have to make that personal decision, but if they need assistance, they are encouraged to have a family member or friend help them first. The only exception to this rule is an employer or a union representative, who are barred from giving assistance.
“We really want that person to choose personally,” said Harper. “It makes my life easier if they have a friend or family member and do not ask for my poll workers to go in there, because that just opens a can of worms.”
Even if they receive this help, the voter has to fill out a form that states that he or she wanted the assistance.
Local residents deny claims
One Lawlor Towers resident, who preferred to speak anonymously, said that she has lived in the building for six years and had never experienced anything like what the voter described.
Another woman, who also declined to give her name, said she had been a resident of the building for 16 years. She said she had never experienced voter coercion and that if she had, she would have told them how illegal their actions were.
Choosing poll workers
Harper said that poll workers are suggested by the local municipal party chairperson, but that the county makes the ultimate decision on where people are placed.
LaTour, who is also the president of the Board of Education, declined to comment on the issue, but said that it was a “serious allegation.”
North Bergen Board of Education Attorney Joseph Ryglicki said that choosing poll workers is something that the township hasn’t had anything to do with for 10 to 15 years now.
“We don’t know who anyone is,” said Ryglicki. “They just tell us the results.”
He said he had not heard of the allegation until reading the letter in the North Bergen Reporter.
Tricia Tirella may be reached at TriciaT@hudsonreporter.com.