NJ voter claims mail-in ballots missing - here's how to check yours
This year, Tony Giovannitti, his wife and daughter all submitted mail-in ballots, but only his wife's was received.
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One Bedminster family is concerned their mail-in ballots were never received.
“I’m not saying that there’s anything nefarious going on, but these ballots are somewhere," said Tony Giovannitti, of Bedminster. "Somebody knows where they are.”
Giovannitti has voted by mail before with no issue. This year, he, his wife and daughter all submitted mail-in ballots, but only his wife's was received.
The NJ Division of Elections shows his wife’s ballot issued Sept. 15 and received Oct. 16. Giovannitti's and his daughter’s profiles say “not applicable" two weeks later.
Those voting by mail can submit ballots three ways - at the county Board of Elections, via a secure ballot drop box, or the postal service - it just has to be postmarked by Election Day. Giovannitti chose the blue mailbox in town for one reason: it’s the closest to his home.
He says the county is sending two replacement ballots, but so far, only one has arrived.
“The first person that I spoke to at the elections bureau told me that if I were to vote again, I could be arrested if the other ballot did come through," said Giovannitti.
The county clerk’s office says there are safeguards to prevent more than one ballot from being counted.
The United States Postal Service tells News 12 there have been no delays at the processing center in Kearny, and that nationwide, USPS is committed to extra collections and localized handling for election mail.
New Jersey has an acting Secretary of State overseeing elections this year after former Lt. Gov. Dale Caldwell’s resignation. The situation is leaving Giovannitti - a voter in the hotly contested seventh district - uncertain.
“Something could be going on, and that just cheats me out of having my piece of democracy," Giovannitti said.
Voters can check the status of their mail-in ballots here.
