The Burlington County Board of Commissioners is still looking for answers on what went wrong in November’s General Election.
The board cited long lines and hours of delays for voters at multiple polling locations in November as a reason for hiring an “independent special counsel” this week to report findings and recommendations for improvements.
“Burlington County residents deserve accountability and appropriate action to ensure the 2024 election failures are not repeated, and our Board is committed to making sure that occurs,” Felicia Hopson, the Burlington County Commissioner Director, said in a statement this week. “We have decided that it is in the best interest of all parties that the review be performed by an independent third-party.”
The fall election was the first to use ballot marking devices and tabulators at polling locations. Older switch-based machines had been used for the past 25 years. The new machines used a voter-verifiable paper record that is a “significant increase in security that wasn’t present with the old machines,” the county said.
The state Attorney General’s Office went to court on election day to extend voting hours in the county by an hour, until 9 p.m., citing the breakdown of some voting machines. Several sites ran out of emergency ballots, resulting in long lines and voters leaving polling places without being able to cast votes, the state complaint said.
Voters have effectively been disenfranchised, Attorney General Matthew Platkin said after filing the action. His office said it received reports that multiple people left without voting because machines were not working.
“This election saw an extremely high turnout at the polls, ranking it as one of the highest for total voter participation,” Hopson said the day after the election.
The polls on election day are under the control of the county Board of Elections, which is appointed by the governor, according to David Levinsky, a county spokesman. It is also overseen by the county Superintendent of Elections, who is also appointed by the state. Both work with the county clerk, who oversees the final ballot language and certifies candidates have met requirements including petitions for nomination.
In November, the Commissioner Board asked the Superintendent of Elections and the Board of Elections to submit a report about the issues on election day, a county statement said.
“While both offices have gathered information, neither has the expertise to complete the review process,” the statement concluded.
Commissioners have appointed Connell Foley LLP as independent special counsel. The firm was the only respondent to a request for proposal issued earlier this month. The term for the contract runs through December 31, 2025. Levinsky said a resolution passed this month said the cost for the special counsel service should not exceed $250,000.
Staff writers Karin Price Mueller and Matthew Enuco contributed to this report.
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Bill Duhart may be reached at bduhart@njadvancemedia.com.