Assemblyman Gary Schaer cosponsored the bill that, he says, will prevent elections on religious holidays, a circumstance he termed “an insult to the diversity of our state.”
September 25, 2008
A bill that would ensure no municipal or school election could be held on a religious holiday was unanimously passed out of committee Sept. 22 in the State Assembly.
The bill (A-3186) would permit the secretary of state to change the date of a regular municipal election and empower the commissioner of education do the same for school-related elections if the date coincides with a religious holiday.
The bill was scheduled for a Sept. 25 vote by the full Assembly.
The legislation is a direct result of a controversy in Edison, where the board of education had scheduled a vote on a $58.7 million school construction referendum on Sept. 30, the first day of Rosh Hashana.
After protests from a broad coalition of Jewish organizations and Jewish and Christian religious leaders, the board changed its mind and moved the election to Dec. 9, the next of the four dates currently allowable under state law.
Bill cosponsor Assemblyman Gary Schaer (D-Dist. 36), whose district includes parts of Bergen, Passaic, and Essex counties, told NJJN it had broad support.
He termed it “an insult to the diversity of our state” for any election to be scheduled during a religious observance.
“A number of groups, both Jewish and non-Jewish, came out strong,” said Schaer, who is also acting mayor of Passaic and the assembly’s only Orthodox Jew. “The action taken today ensures that we in New Jersey will never again experience what happened with the Edison Board of Education.”
Schaer said both the state and federal governments already have provisions ensuring elections don’t conflict with a religious holiday.
The bill’s other cosponsor is Assemblyman Patrick Diegnan (D-Dist. 18), whose district includes Edison.
“We simply cannot allow an entire segment of our society to be shut out from casting their votes,” said Diegnan. “Providing leeway to reschedule an election to ensure all voters can make it to the polls is common sense. No voter should ever have to choose between their religious and civic duties.”
The assembly bill has drawn the praise of Jewish groups, including the New Jersey State Association of Jewish Federations.
“We’re sorry it got to this point of so much controversy,” said Jacob Toporek, the association’s executive director.
“It should have never gotten to the point it did in Edison. Now there is going to be legislation that will respect the religious practices of others. I know it directly affects us, but it also affects anyone of any religion who wants to observe.”
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