Voters who registered at MVC agencies are at risk of having their ballots rejected

[TexasTowelie]

The law that made voter registration easier by allowing drivers to register to vote at a motor vehicle office is making it harder for many New Jerseyans to have their ballots counted in this year’s mostly vote-by-mail election.

Several county election officials said registrations that include the signature created by using a Motor Vehicle Commission pin pad generally are not comparable to the inked signature on an individual’s ballot, leading officials to set aside those ballots. They then send out a “cure” letter that the voter must complete and sign, affirming that he did submit the ballot so it can be counted. But only about half of those letters are being returned, elections officials told NJ Spotlight News.

“I don’t know that we’ve accepted any ballot from a person that’s registered at MVC because it doesn’t come near to what their signature looks like, so we send them a cure letter,” said Evelynn Caterson, chair of the Atlantic County Board of Elections. “We make every effort to see if it is indeed the voter and it’s really easy if it’s a registration online or MVC because it doesn’t look like it.”

The problem is especially acute in this high-profile general election because voter turnout is highest in presidential election years and interest this year seems even greater. Adding to the problem is that every active New Jersey registered voter was sent a mail-in ballot and is being encouraged to vote this way to limit the spread of COVID-19.

Read more: https://www.njspotlight.com/2020/10/nj-election-2020-signature-problem-motor-vehicle-commission-voter-registration-ballots-set-aside/