MAYS LANDING — Twenty-four ballots from Atlantic County's recent primary election were initially left uncounted after mail involving voters who needed to correct issues with their ballots was not delivered until after the election had already been certified, according to Atlantic County Clerk Joe Giralo.
Giralo detailed the unusual situation Thursday during an appearance on Talking with Anne with Anne Baker on WOND, saying the problem involved so-called “cure letters” sent to voters whose vote-by-mail ballots required additional verification.
The letters give voters an opportunity to correct — or “cure” — an issue that otherwise could prevent their ballots from being counted.
Giralo said the issue primarily involved signatures.
“Their handwriting may have changed,” Giralo said. “It's mainly signature stuff to make sure that it's the person.”
According to Giralo, the Atlantic County Board of Elections sent the letters to affected voters, asking them to verify that they had signed their ballots and providing instructions for correcting the problem.
But Giralo said the letters became caught up in an issue involving the post office and were not returned until July.
By then, the primary election had already been certified.
“They handed them over in July,” Giralo said. “We had already certified the election.”
Giralo Pushed to Have Votes Counted
Giralo said he wasn't satisfied with simply accepting that the election had already been certified.
After consulting with election officials and county counsel, Giralo publicly called on the Board of Elections to count the affected ballots.
“I'm not one ... to take, ‘No, we're not going to do this,' as an answer,” Giralo said. “Do what's right.”
The Board of Elections subsequently held a public vote and unanimously agreed to count the ballots, according to Giralo.
After the ballots were counted, the results were forwarded to the County Clerk's Office. Giralo said the state Attorney General's Office then directed him to reopen and recertify the election.
“I did,” Giralo said. “Those 24 people did nothing wrong not to have their vote counted.”
Results Did Not Change
Giralo emphasized that the additional ballots did not change the outcome of any election.
The votes came from different areas of Atlantic County, he said, and none of the primary races were close enough for the 24 ballots to affect the result.
But Giralo said the larger principle mattered regardless of whether an election outcome was at stake.
“It didn't matter to me who they were,” Giralo said. “Their vote should be counted.”
He said failing to count the ballots could also potentially create problems in election records by making it appear that voters had failed to return their ballots when, in fact, they had attempted to vote.
Giralo said he was prepared to take the matter further if necessary.
“If the state had said, ‘No, we're not going to count those votes,' this county clerk was ready to go to court because I believe a vote is a vote,” Giralo said.
He said election officials around New Jersey contacted him after the situation became public and praised the decision to pursue the uncounted ballots.
Giralo said his position had nothing to do with political affiliation.
“Why wouldn't I be fair?” he said. “You should all be fair. You should all do what is proper.”
Clerk Says He's Been in Contact With Postal Officials
Giralo said he has since been in contact with the post office regarding what happened, although he did not provide details about those discussions.
“I think that they fully understand where we are with all of that right now,” Giralo said. “And they understand that, yeah, there are people that are watching.”
The clerk did not identify a specific cause for the delay during the interview or suggest that it was intentional.
For Giralo, the episode underscored a basic principle of election administration: eligible voters who properly participate in the process should have their ballots counted.
“It was the point that your vote should count,” Giralo said.
About the Author
Scott Stephens
Scott has been an on-air personality, producer and newscaster for 30+ years. He has been a mainstay in the South Jersey Community and on the air across many different area stations. Scott can currently be heard on Kool 98.3 and News Talk 1400 & 92.3 WOND.
