HAMILTON, NJ - Atlantic County Clerk Joe Giralo succeeded in an effort to count 24 mail ballot votes that missed the receipt deadline after the USPS held the ballots over an unrelated billing issue from 2020.
In a social media post, the Atlantic County Republican said he “want[ed] to thank all involved in getting all the votes counted.”
The NJ Attorney General’s office, which is filled by a partisan appointment process by Democrat Governor Mikie Sherrill, had urged the Board of Elections to ignore the ballots, effectively disenfranchising the two dozen voters. New Jersey is facing an unrelated enfranchisement scandal after it was revealed this week that 6,600 noncitizens had been registered to vote, with many casting ballots over the last three years.
Municipal elections in New Jersey, which has over 500 municipalities, are frequently decided by razor-thin margins as small as one vote.
The votes, which did not change the results of any primary election on either the Republican or Democrat side, were held by the USPS over a past-due bill of $66,000. As the New Jersey Globe reports, that decision is contrary to standard USPS practices to “not impede the mailing and return of ballots, even if there is an outstanding balance due.”
The delinquent bill occurred under Democrat Ed McGettigan in 2020. Giralo flipped the clerk’s office after McGettigan declined to run in 2021 after he spoiled a county commissioner race, forcing a do-over.