OCEAN COUNTY – Would they still be able to vote? Some Bay Head residents brought that concern to a recent Ocean County Board of Elections meeting hours after a judge denied a request to halt the review of their voter registration status.
The review began with an August 21 letter from Dennis Shaning, then Bay Head Borough Council president and Republican Party chairman, listing 39 voters whose tax bills were mailed outside the borough. The letter questioned their domicile or residence as it related to their right to vote in Ocean County. The Board of Elections received the letter September 1 and discussed it September 8.
Two people on the list had already moved and been removed from the rolls, leaving 37 who received questionnaires September 15. The questionnaires warned their right to vote “may be challenged” if they did not respond.
Judge Denies Request To Halt Review
The ACLU of New Jersey and League of Women Voters of New Jersey asked the court to stop the review, arguing it violated the John R. Lewis Voter Empowerment Act and the state Constitution. ACLU attorney Liza Weisberg called the process “bullying through bureaucracy” and said it could become “the new playbook for voter suppression.” The lawsuit says all 39 voters were Democrats or unaffiliated, with no Republicans included.
Deputy Attorney General Mark Gulbranson, representing the Board of Elections and Chairman George Gilmore, said election law permits more intrusive investigations, including interviews with voters and neighbors. The Board instead sent letters seeking information. “No voter is being disenfranchised,” he said.
Gulbranson acknowledged Shaning’s list “may well have been partisan,” but said the Board could not ignore a complaint.
Weisberg countered that the law makes refusing to provide information a fourth-degree crime, so calling the questionnaire voluntary “defies credibility.”
Mercer County Assignment Judge Robert Lougy denied a request to halt the review of 37 voters’ registrations. At the hearing, Lougy said the new state voting law sends cases like this to Mercer County, regardless of where the dispute arose.
He issued a 37-page order later that morning. The ruling addressed only temporary restraints, so the lawsuit continues. Additionally, the Board of Election’s motion to dismiss the complaint in court remains pending.
The judge wrote the Board had a duty to investigate allegations “however spurious or partisan.” He found the voters had other legal remedies and had not shown irreparable harm. The Board cannot determine eligibility or remove voters unless they request it. It can place names on a challenge list, and voters may affirm eligibility by affidavit and ask a judge for help if denied a ballot.
The order said the Board’s letter “is susceptible to harsh or less harsh readings,” but fell short of intimidation. Lougy also cautioned that public statements suggesting the Board can rule on eligibility “are not accurate.”
A Packed Board Of Elections Meeting
Approximately 60 people filled the Board of Elections meeting within hours after the court ruling. Many had appeared at the Board’s September meeting when the Board voted against placing a ballot drop box at Ocean County College. They were joined this time by several Bay Head residents who had received domicile letters.
The four-member Board is evenly divided: Secretary Wyatt Earp and Commissioner Jeff Horn are Democrats; Gilmore and Commissioner Justin Flancbaum are Republicans. Earp and Gilmore are the leaders of their county political parties.
Earp opened by calling the Bay Head list partisan, noting every person was a Democrat or unaffiliated. He cited a Republican husband who was not listed while his Democratic wife was and said residents should not have to “jump through hoops in order to vote.”
Earp added that he did not vote on the decision to conduct the review. He attended the early part of the meeting by phone to vote on the drop box issue. He left the meeting early as he was called in for an urgent medical procedure.
Gilmore countered Earp’s statement and announced the judge’s ruling. He said Democrats had the same opportunity to request a review.
Ellyn Shannon, president of the Bay Head Democratic Club said the club had identified 21 Republicans whose tax bills also go outside Bay Head. The club chose not to send in their names.
“We are 900 voters, and we all know each other,” Shannon said. “We don’t choose to tear each other apart. We believe in the rule of law.”
When someone in the audience called out that Lougy was a “Republican judge,” Gilmore shot back. “Well, I guess we just decide Republican judges vote for Republican ways, and Democrat judges vote for theirs.”
Lougy began his career as a public defender, served briefly as acting attorney general in 2016 and was nominated to Superior Court by Republican Governor Chris Christie. His official court biography does not list a party affiliation.
Five Voters Remain Under Review
Board staff reported that 15 questionnaires had come back without raising concerns. Eleven people did not return forms, but staff found other records showing they live in Bay Head. Four requested removal because they now live out of state, and one duplicate registration was merged. After staff confirmed one person was a student, five cases remained unresolved.
Gilmore said the Board does not remove anyone from the rolls. It can only put names on a challenge list for poll workers.
“We’re not taking votes away from anyone who lives there,” Earp said.
Gilmore said letters telling cleared voters they are in good standing could go out the following day, as long as the Attorney General’s office agrees. He defended the questionnaire as the reason the list shrank so quickly. “Now you’re down to five rather than 37 or 39,” he said.
Residents Describe Worry And Confusion
Heather Robertson, an unaffiliated voter and plaintiff, said she had lived in Bay Head full time for 24 years and served on its planning board and environmental commission. She said Shaning knew her personally, yet she was included. “I could never have imagined standing here to justify my voter eligibility,” she said, describing an “emotional roller coaster.”
Ada Draesel, 84, sent a statement read by her son-in-law. She said she and her late husband bought a Bay Head home 60 years ago and she has lived there full time for about 25 years, though some mail goes to family in Massachusetts. “I never imagined that after all this time I would have to worry about whether or not I would be allowed to vote,” she wrote.
Some residents said they were unsure whether they had to attend the meeting to vote. Julie Duffy said her 26-year-old son, temporarily away at law school, received four letters while no one else in the household did. “How does a 26-year-old respond to a survey asking about tax documents?” she asked. Gilmore said being away at school did not change his home address.
Candidate Presses Gilmore On Timing
Rachel Peace, the Democratic congressional candidate challenging Republican incumbent Chris Smith asked whether Shaning’s letter had been handed to Gilmore at a Bay Head fundraiser with Smith on August 21, the same date on the letter.
Gilmore acknowledged attending the fundraiser and called Smith “a great congressman.” Asked whether the list came up there, he said, “The answer is no. Didn’t discuss it.” He dismissed her theory as “conspiracy stuff.”
Peace and others also pressed the Board on the 90-day quiet period under federal law. Gilmore noted that the argument was not raised at the court hearing that morning.
Linda Fote, president of the Ocean County chapter of the National Organization for Women criticized Shaning’s role in the challenge, saying “a middle-aged, middle-class, property-owning white man in Bay Head is attempting to remove registered voters from their rolls.”
