Gottheimer votes to save mail-in voting as Trump re-election campaign sues NJ

New Jersey. President Donald Trump’s re-election campaign has sued New Jersey in a bid to stop the state’s plans to conduct the general election mostly by mail. The suit was recently filed in U.S. District Court by the Trump campaign, joined by the Republican National Committee and the New Jersey Republican State Committee. Similar suits have been filed in other states, with critics claiming the vote-by-mail effort will lead to more vote fraud. Gov. Phil Murphy, a Democrat, has said the state’s 6.2 million registered voters will get a ballot beginning Oct. 5 along with a prepaid return envelope. Ballots postmarked by Nov. 3 will be accepted up to a week later. The plan follows the model the state used in its July primary. On Saturday, U.S. Rep. Josh Gottheimer (NJ-5) voted to pass the bipartisan H.R. 8015, the Delivering for America Act, which requires the Postal Service to return to operations and levels of service that were in place on Jan. 1, throughout the duration of the coronavirus public health emergency and requires all election mail to be treated as first-class mail. It also provides $25 billion in critical funding for the Postal Service – the same level of funding recommended by the USPS Board of Governors, which is composed entirely of President Trump appointees. “The Postal Service is essential to the fabric of our communities, providing New Jersey families and all Americans with critical services, including the delivery of life-saving prescriptions, Social Security benefits, paychecks, tax returns, and ballots,” said Congressman Josh Gottheimer. “By tampering with the mail, the Postmaster General’s actions are tampering with the health, safety, and economic security of North Jersey residents, seniors, veterans, and our small businesses.

Editor’s note: The Associated Press contributed to the reporting of this story.