There’s Barack Obama, John McCain – and Jeff Boss?
Yes, let’s not forget the eccentric Guttenberg resident who is running for both president of the United States and the U.S. Senate at the same time.
In fact, this coming Tuesday, this year’s historic presidential election is not the only one on the ballot – there are also U.S. Senate, the Hudson County freeholder board, and U.S. Congress. However, the more heavily contested races in the local arena were the Democratic primaries in June, since the registered Democrats outnumber Republicans five to one in Hudson County. Whoever gets on the ballot in local Democratic races usually wins in November.
On Tuesday, the Democrats are heavily favored to beat the Republicans in Hudson County, although the presidential contest remains to be seen.Things to remember when voting
Voting in New Jersey on Election Day starts at 6 a.m. and ends at 8 p.m.
Also, people can vote via absentee ballot by filling out an application that can be downloaded from the state’s Division of Elections website (http://www.state.nj.us/state/elections/absentee_doe.html).It may be brought to the Hudson County Clerk’s office at 583 Newark Ave. in Jersey City by 3 p.m. this coming Monday, Nov. 3.
Voting locations and other directions for voting can be found at state’s Division of Elections website and the Hudson County Clerk’s website (www.hudsoncountyclerk.org). Off to the races
Running for the U.S. Senate to represent northern New Jersey is longtime Democratic stalwart Frank Lautenberg running against Republican Dick Zimmer, who served two terms in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1991 to 1997. U.S. Senators serve a six-year term.
Congressional races affecting parts of Hudson County include the 13th District (currently represented by West New York native Albio Sires), the 9th District (represented by Steve Rothman of Englewood), and the 10th District (represented by longterm Newark Democrat Donald Payne.)
The 13th District includes most of Hudson County. The 9th includes part of North Bergen and Secaucus, and the 10th includes parts of Jersey City and Bayonne.
In the 13th District, Sires faces challenges from several candidates including Republican Joseph Turula, a Jersey City attorney, and independent candidates Julio Fernandez of Union City and Louis Vernotico of Jersey City.
Rothman faces several candidates including Republican Vincent Micco and Independent candidate Michael Perrone, Jr.
Payne is opposed by Michael Taber of the Socialist Workers Party.
Congressional seats are a two-year term. Don’t forget your freeholder
There are also seats up for election for the Hudson County Board of Freeholders, which is the nine-member body that approves the county budget and measures related to county roads, jails, and personnel. Freeholders serve a term of three years.
Many of the Hudson County freeholder candidates are running for office uncontested, unless otherwise noted. They are also Democrats unless otherwise noted.
In the 1st District (includes all of Bayonne and the southern end of Jersey City) are Doreen McAndrew DiDomenico and Denis Wilbeck (Independent).
In the 2nd District (including most of Jersey City’s West Side, south of Journal Square) is William O’Dea.
3rd District (covering southern and central Jersey City) is Jeffrey Dublin.
4th District (spanning Downtown and most of northern Jersey City) is Eliu Rivera.
5th District (part of northern Jersey City and Hoboken) is Anthony L. Romano.
6th District (all of Union City) is Tilo E. Rivas. 7th District (West New York, Weehawken, and Guttenberg) is Jose C. Munoz.
8th District (all of North Bergen, some of Secaucus, and small part of northern Jersey City) are Thomas F. Liggio and Michael Bartulovich (Republican).
9th District (part of Secaucus; all of East Newark, Kearny, and Harrison) are Albert J. Cifelli and Jacob Hahn (Republican). And then there’s the board issue
Jersey City voters also have a special question to vote on – whether to keep having an elected school board, or to move to an appointed board. Mayor Jerramiah Healy is currently advocating a hybrid of both (see sidebar). SIDEBAR 1 Princeton prof says NJ machines can be hacked
Some poll watchers are worried about a recent Princeton University report that showed that the type of electronic voting machines used in Hudson County can be tampered with.
The report, compiled by a Princeton professor as part of a lawsuit, said that the Sequoia VCS Advantage voting machine used in 16 of the state’s 21 counties can be easily altered.
Princeton Professor Andrew Appel prepared the report as part of a lawsuit against the state of New Jersey that claims the state violates its own election laws by employing electronic machines that do not provide the ability to count individual ballots, as with the mechanical machines they replaced.
The lack of a paper backup was an issue for the Hudson County Board of Chosen Freeholders when they first voted in 2002 to approve the machines for use in the county.
The machines were part of a national effort to modernize voting machines after problems occurred in Florida during the disputed 2000 presidential election.
The new machines were introduced in Hudson County in time for the 2004 school board elections, and have been used in every election since. While there have been problems from time to time, officials said these were the result of human error.
The lawsuit alleges that the voting machines used for years in a majority of New Jersey counties are inaccurate, insecure, and unreliable, and thus unconstitutional for use in New Jersey.
To conduct his research, Appel purchased a Sequoia voting machine and went on to show how votes could be tampered with using a variety of hacking software.
Representatives from Sequoia categorically denied this allegation.
Edwin Smith, a vice president with Sequoia, said that the scenarios painted about the machines depend on both corrupt poll workers and inattentive voters, and said that Appel’s machine did not have all of the security devices that are usually used.
A representative for the superintendent of elections for Hudson County said other precautions, including the use of security tapes, have been put in place in order to keep those machines deployed days prior to the election from being tampered with.
Smith pointed out that Appel had unfettered access to a machine without typical safeguards for more than 30 days. “The machines the academics tested had factory security hardware removed,” Edwin Smith said.
Lisa Gentile, supervisor of the Hudson County Voting Warehouse, expressed confidence in the integrity of the voting machines. But she was not surprised that Appel was able to hack into one.
“Any computer scientist who has the source code, the election programming, and the chips and is a genius can do anything they want [with the machines],” she said. “But what is not being said is that if someone tampers with a machine, it will be detected and that cartridge will be rejected.”
While the voting machines of other companies have had problems in places like Ohio, Smith and Gentile both said no Sequoia machine has been successfully hacked into.
“We have a lot of security,” Gentile said. “Everything is logged. If the seals are broken, it will be caught. The courts gave the Princeton professor everything he needed. But it wasn’t in the middle of a real election.”
Smith from Sequoia, however, said the company has recognized some of Appel’s concerns.
“There are some good and useful areas for improvement for both the Advantage specifically and election security in general that can be drawn from [Appel’s] report,” Smith said. “Sequoia has listened to the concerns of election officials, academics, and other stakeholders throughout the nation and developed enhanced security measures that are in place in its latest product offerings. These offerings are currently underway with both federal certification and New Jersey state certification, and some jurisdictions have already deployed these new products.” -Al Sullivan SIDEBAR 2 What’s on board for voters?
In Jersey City, voters will vote on whether to keep an elected school board or have a board appointed by the mayor.
In recent weeks, Mayor Jerramiah Healy has been advocating for a hybrid board, made up of three elected members, three mayoral appointments, and representatives from the three local colleges – St. Peter’s College, New Jersey City University, and Hudson County Community College. Those last three would be appointed by the state Department of Education.
He has been working with state Assemblywoman Joan Quigley (D-Jersey City) to draft a bill for a hybrid board.
Healy has also called for the Jersey City Board of Education to pull off the existing ballot question from the Election Day ballot. But that’s unlikely to happen, as the Board of Education has already advertised in local newspapers encouraging people to vote on the elected vs. appointed choice ballot question. School board members want to keep an elected board. – Ricardo Kaulessar