A young Ocean County man who moved from Morris County to Ocean County in September won’t be able to vote at all this year because he didn’t know that he was required to change his voter registration, but the real story tonight may be a deputy attorney general who vociferously fought for his disenfranchisement without the permission of her client.
Deputy Attorney General Heather Anderson stated in a hearing earlier this evening that she was representing the Ocean County Board of Elections and that their position was that the man could not participate.
But representatives from both political parties in Ocean County told the New Jersey Globe that Anderson never spoke to them about this matter, and she was not authorized to represent any position to a Superior Court Judge on their behalf.
Indeed, the commissioners didn’t know who Anderson was.
In multiple voter eligibility hearings since Saturday, deputy attorneys general have left it up to the judge, stating that the board “takes no position” on the request for equitable relief and “leaves it up to the court” to determine voter eligibility.
Anderson took a more aggressive tone, telling the judge, Valter Must, that “there’s nothing that he can show that would allow him to vote.”
“There is no law that would allow leeway to vote,” Anderson stated.
The would-be voter said his move to Ocean County was “kind of abrupt” and was unfamiliar with New Jersey voter registration laws.
“By the time I realized, ‘oh, yeah, there’s an election coming up’ and I’m somewhat invested in the outcome, I should probably make sure I’m good to vote in my new in my new county,” he said. “I looked it up, and there was a deadline that had already passed.”
