NJ S3508

County boards of election must have bipartisan representation from both political parties (currently Republican and Democratic) present when opening and canvassing mail-in ballots, and ballot rejections require a unanimous vote.

Mail-in ballots must be stored in secure areas with at least one security measure: dual-key locks requiring keys from officials of each party, video surveillance of the entrance, or access logs.

County boards are now required (rather than permitted) to begin opening mail-in ballots five days prior to election day to prepare for canvassing.

Accessing or attempting to access the secure ballot storage area without appropriate election officials from each party present becomes a second-degree crime, punishable by 5-10 years imprisonment and fines up to $150,000.

Several existing election crimes are upgraded from third-degree to second-degree offenses, including voting twice, changing deposited ballots, adding fraudulent ballots, and destroying ballots or interfering with election officers.