NEW JERSEY (1010 WINS) — A judge has denied a request from the American Civil Liberties Union and the League of Women Voters to extend voting hours in New Jersey.
The organizations had announced a lawsuit to expand operations at poll sites by 1.5 hours, until 9:30 p.m. Tuesday over reported internet connectivity issues that have caused long lines at in some areas of the state.
“We’re hearing reports of some polling locations turning away voters due to technical issues and delays,” the ACLU wrote on Twitter. “Delays caused by technical issues aren’t an excuse to deny voters their right to vote.”
Several counties appeared to have issues connecting the state’s new electronic poll books to the internet, causing delays in voting. Connectivity issues led to late openings at poll sites — and in some instances, voters were turned away, according to a report on NJ.com.
The outlet reported connectivity issues in Bernardsville, Raritan Township, Hillsborough and in Paterson.
The organizations filed their suit in Superior Court in Mercer against Tahesha Way, New Jersey’s secretary of state, and Robert Giles, the director of the division of elections.
“Operational & technical issues this morning at polling locations around the state made voters leave without casting a ballot,” the LWV said. “We are seeking an extension of polling hours so voters have an opportunity to return and vote.”
Officials said the glitches appeared to be isolated and resolved in the morning.
“Apparently in some places there was confusion,” Gov. Phil Murphy reportedly told the New York Times while out voting Tuesday. “I don’t think it was widespread. And by the way, we got 207,000 people to vote early in person, which is far more than I thought we would on Year 1.”
A spokeswoman for Way, Alicia D’Alessandro, said most sites were operating without issue.
“Most of the state’s approximately 3,400 polling locations have been operating since 6 a.m. without reported incident,” she said. “The affected sites have been or are being addressed. If any voters were unable to vote due to these issues, we encourage them to return to their polling location and cast a ballot.”
The Associated Press has contributed to this report.
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