This Week in Politics: Prepping for New Jersey's All-Paper Election

WNYC News | Sep 25, 2020

New York is expanding absentee voting for the November election, but New Jersey is taking a very different approach to reduce the spread of the coronavirus at the polls. The entire election will be done on paper. It's a huge change for voters, and it also has some significant risks for democracy.

All registered voters will be sent a ballot, and people are encouraged to either mail it back or drop it off in special drop boxes. They can still go to the polls on Election Day, but even there, they will either drop off a mail-in ballot or cast a provisional vote on paper—not by machine.

WNYC's Nancy Solomon said it's all designed to minimize crowds and the risk of spreading COVID-19. Speaking with David Furst, she said there was a lot of concern about having a high turnout election at polling places. "It's impossible to really predict what the state of the pandemic will be in November."

 

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