President Donald Trump and New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy. | Doug Mills/The New York Times/Pool/Getty Images
New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy on Wednesday accused President Donald Trump’s campaign of “full-throated propaganda” for filing a lawsuit against the state’s plan to hold a mostly vote-by-mail election in November.
Murphy said during a press conference in Trenton that the state will fight the lawsuit.
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“As the president and his team try to delegitimize our election and impact the health and safety of millions of New Jerseyans, we will defend our rights vigorously, and we will not back down,” Murphy said. “So as they say, ‘Bring it on.‘”
The Trump campaign filed the lawsuit Tuesday night, arguing that the plan — which largely repeats how New Jersey’s July 7 primary was conducted — violates the U.S. Constitution’s Electors and Elections Clauses as well as the 14th Amendment. It also argues that only the state Legislature can enact sweeping changes to elections, and that Murphy is bypassing it through an executive order.
The lawsuit cites several cases of voter fraud conducted through mail-in ballots in New Jersey over the years, most recently in Paterson’s May municipal elections.
“The Governor’s inconsistencies, coupled with the Order’s timing amid a nationwide push by the Democratic Party for the same measures, reveal that the Order is less about protecting the health of New Jerseyans and more about protecting the electoral prospects of the Governor’s political party,” the lawsuit states.
Murphy, citing the coronavirus pandemic, signed an executive order last week under which New Jersey’s 6.2 million registered voters will be sent mail-in ballots. Voters will also be able to go to polling places to cast provisional ballots in-person or hand poll workers their already-filled out mail-in ballots.
The lawsuit filed by the Trump campaign challenges Murphy’s health concern justification for the election plans, noting that he has allowed retail stores, hair salons and swimming pools to reopen.
Murphy said his plans “will move forward,” then referred to the president’s own vote by mail-in ballot in Florida.
“If vote-by-mail is good enough for our president, it is good enough for all of us,” said Murphy, a Democrat who in recent months has been reluctant to criticize the Republican president.
Context: The lawsuit comes as Republicans, led by Trump, have sought to clamp down on universal mail-in voting, and as the president has fought against supplemental funding for the U.S. Postal Service in an effort to stop states from expanding mail-in elections.
While there have been several cases of mail-in ballot fraud in New Jersey, it is not known to be widespread. The lawsuit and an accompanying Wall Street Journal op-ed from a Trump campaign official also cite an Asbury Park Press story about dead voters still on the voting rolls, with some having cast ballots after their death.
However, it leaves out the part of the article that found those instances were clerical errors.
New Jersey is not a battleground state for Trump, as it has a million more registered Democrats than Republicans and has voted blue in every presidential election since 1992. However, there are several competitive congressional elections, and Republican House candidates’ fortunes are expected to be tied to the president’s performance.
Impact: With the election less than three months away, a reversal of the governor’s plans could lead to election officials scrambling to staff polling places. Many poll workers are elderly, making them more susceptible to Covid-19. Some Republicans have called for instituting in-person early voting, but Murphy administration officials have said that would be difficult if not impossible to implement at this late stage.
What’s next? Since the lawsuit, which seeks an injunction, was just filed, the Murphy administration has not responded yet. But the courts will be under pressure to act fast in order to give the state as much time as possible to prepare or the election.
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NJ governor to Trump campaign on vote-by-mail lawsuit: 'Bring it on' - POLITICO
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