Commentary: Confidence in the count — why Morris County’s elections are secure

by Chris Larlee, Trink Prinz and Richard Schwartz, MorristownGreen.com

The furious race for New Jersey governor nears its end. Election Day is Tuesday, Nov. 4, 2025. Whether you’re For Mikie or for Jack—or are still undecided—two questions may be in your mind: Should I vote? And will my vote be accurately counted?

SHOULD I VOTE?

Here’s Republican Assemblywoman Aura Dunn, from Randolph: “I want to encourage and empower every citizen to exercise their right to vote. This is the American way.”

We all know of the struggles of Americans to attain the right to vote. We know that voting is essential to American democracy. And we’re proud of ourselves when voter turnout is high.

New Jersey’s is a much more democratic system than the one we use in presidential elections. Votes for governor, for state legislative and for local offices are all direct votes. Unlike the presidential electoral college, the votes you cast in our New Jersey elections directly determine whether your preferred candidate wins office. No confusing formulas, no voting for electors, no murky procedures. The popular vote winner assumes office. So if you want state and local government responsive to your interests, voting in this election is a no-brainer.

BUT WILL MY VOTE COUNT?

“Our elections are safe and secure,” says Dale Kramer, administrator of Morris County’s Board of Elections. The Board’s most important job is to count and report the vote.

Running an election in a county with some 380,000 registered voters is no easy task. The Morris County Clerk’s Office designs and prints 396 different varieties of ballots, one design for each of the 396 election districts in the County. (Anyone can see these ballots for themselves on Morris County’s website.)

Despite the increasing popularity of mail-in ballots, most Morris County voters will vote in person on Election Day at their designated polling place. But another option exists. As of Oct. 25 and until Nov. 2, Morris County residents who have not requested a mail-in ballot have the option of voting early at one of eight locations in the County.

County Clerk Ann Grossi explains that a tight security system keeps the 700 voting machines safe before, during, and after the election, and that local election workers are each sworn to uphold the U.S. and New Jersey constitutions.

The use of digital voting machines allows for rapid reporting of results. Each machine creates a printed paper ballot. These ballots are collected and kept in the event that a result is challenged. This is critical to accuracy.

Assemblywoman Dunn says, “I will accept the results of New Jersey’s election once they are certified under state law. . . New Jersey’s process includes paper records, signature verification, chain-of-custody rules, bipartisan oversight, and post-election audits.”

Likewise Steve Pylypchuk and Marisa Sweeney, the Democratic candidates for NJ-25, said jointly in a statement that “we have absolute confidence in the integrity of Morris County’s elections and in the people who make them work. Our clerks and poll workers take their responsibility seriously. We’ll accept the certified results because that’s what public trust requires. Democracy isn’t fragile when we treat it like shared infrastructure, something we all maintain, protect, and build together.”

MONITORING OF POLLING PLACES IN NEW JERSEY

On Oct. 24th, the United States Department of Justice announced that it would monitor unspecified polling sites in Passaic County as well as five counties in California. The announcement did not explain how the counties were chosen. It also encouraged members of the public to suggest jurisdictions for monitoring.

Democratic candidates Pylypchuk and Sweeney, from Morristown, had this to say about the announcement:

“This move by the DOJ is unnecessary and risks intimidating voters. New Jersey’s elections are secure and professional. Our local officials already ensure transparency and fairness. Our focus should be on protecting participation, not politicizing it.”

When asked for comment on the DOJ announcement Dunn sent the following statement:

“Accountability does not belong to one agency. It belongs to anyone who cares about free and fair elections. Whether it is the Justice Department, state officials, or independent observers, all are welcome to ensure transparency. What matters most is that every New Jersey voter has faith in a process run fairly, locally, and without bias.”

Also on Oct. 24, New Jersey Attorney General Matthew J. Platkin reviewed election security measures as part of the state’s 2022 Voter Protection Initiative. Platkin summarized the roles played by personnel from the Division of Law, the Office of Public Integrity and Accountability, and the New Jersey Cybersecurity and Communications Integration Cell.

The Attorney General also recently issued an updated guide to law enforcement officials and county prosecutors across New Jersey. These guidelines include discussion of county boards of elections’ power to extend the “protected zone”–the zone in which politicking and vote soliciting may not take place-from the customary 100 to 200 feet.

Platkin stated that his office is “prepared to ensure that all eligible New Jerseyans are able to cast their ballots without harassment, discrimination, or intimidation.” Procedures for reporting any voting problems are outlined here.

MAIL IN BALLOTS

This year Morris County mailed out about 53,000 ballots. Election workers at the Clerk’s office respond to every mail-in ballot request by double checking the voter registration of the requester and sending the appropriate ballot for their district. This system makes no use of the internet. So it cannot be hacked.

People voting with an absentee ballot can mail them back to the Board of Elections or deliver them in person to any one of 31 drop boxes around the county. And each of these boxes are under 24-hour video surveillance, the footage of which is kept by the Board of Elections for no less than 45 days after Election Day, as required by state law.

WHAT ABOUT CLOSE RACES?

New Jersey does not have an automatic recount law if the result is within a certain margin. But any candidate can request a recount regardless of the margin. The requester bears the costs of the recount, but is refunded if the recount changes the margin by a significant amount. In a recount, the Board of Elections recounts every ballot cast in that race, regardless of how it was cast. Many elections, particularly local elections, are decided by a small number of votes so every vote matters.

In the words of Democratic Morris Township Committeeman Siva S. Jonnada, “people gave their lives for the right. . . our vote is our voice.”

Chris Larlee is a lifelong resident of Sussex County and an employee of the Morristown & Morris Township Library. Trink Prinz has lived and worked in Morristown for 35 years, and she is the leader of FRAY* (Freedom, Rights, Advocacy), a local advocacy group founded in 2025. Richard Schwartz is a retired Whippany Park High School social studies teacher.

Opinions expressed in commentaries are the authors’, and do not necessarily reflect those of this publication.

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