NJ GOP renews voter ID push

Good morning!

Republicans in New Jersey sense an opportunity to get voter ID approved here in New Jersey.

It’s long been a priority of theirs, but Democratic opposition in the Legislature meant that their bills never moved. When Gov. Mikie Sherrill said on News 12 last week that she has no problem with voter ID, the GOP leapt at the chance to call her bluff.

“Hopefully she stands by her word and we can get the Legislature on board,” state Sen. Parker Space (R-Sussex) told Sophie Nieto-Muñoz.

Republicans Sen. Mike Testa and Assemblyman Gerry Scharfenberger also told Sophie they hope Sherrill was being sincere. All three have sponsored voter ID legislation that has yet to get heard by committees in the Statehouse, let alone a full vote by the Legislature.

“We’ve done everything in this state to be able to allow individuals to vote by mail, to expand the time period for vote by mail, to give people more locations to go vote — and I don’t necessarily have a major problem with any of these modalities for people to vote — but if you’re going to vote on Election Day, you should have a photo ID,” Testa said.

This all comes as Sherrill deals with the fallout from her announcement that the state registered thousands of noncitizens to vote via the Motor Vehicle Commission.

Progressive groups opposed to voter ID, saying they could disenfranchise certain segments of the population, wasted no time urging Sherrill not to consider legislation requiring voters to show ID at the polls. The two Democrats who run the Statehouse, Senate President Nick Scutari and Assembly Speaker Craig Coughlin, did not weigh in.

Read more from Sophie.

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