Abill allowing the date for a public referendumt o be changed if it coincides with a religious holiday was signed into law by Gov. Jon Corzine on Jan. 13.
Sen. Barbara Buono, (D-Middlesex), one of the authors of the Senate bill along with Sen. Sean Kean (R-Monmouth), praised the bill’s passage into law, saying that it will safeguard residents’ ability to participate in civic life without having to compromise their religious practices.
“Barriers must not be erected for people trying to exercise their right to vote,” Buono said. “This law will make sure that a citizen’s right to participate in the civic process is not being compromised due to circumstances out of their control.”
The bill, A-3186 in the Assembly and S-2199 in the Senate, was crafted in August as a response to a referendum proposed by the Edison (Middlesex County) Board of Education, which scheduled a vote on a $57 million bond proposal on Sept. 30, which happened to be the Jewish holiday of Rosh Hashanah.
The scheduling of a public school referendum on a Jewish high holy day sparked widespread protest from the Jewish community, as well as from other faith organizations, due to the fact that Jewish residents would not be able to vote on the matter that day. Jewish leaders compared the scheduling of the referendum to holding a vote on Christmas.
The Edison school board initially said the vote had to take place on Sept. 30 because moving the referendum to the next available date, Dec. 9, would have presented an unacceptable delay.
Eventually, under pressure, the board relented and agreed to hold the vote on Dec. 9. Voters who went to the polls that day rejected the $57 million bond proposal.
Until the passage of the Buono-Kean bill, state officials were unable to change the date of special school district election to a date other than the last Tuesday in September, the second Tuesday in December, the second Tuesday in March or the fourth Tuesday in January, even if any of those dates coincided with a religious holiday.
The legislation that created the April school district elections has such a provision in order to avoid conflict with the Jewish holiday of Passover, but the bill that was passed in 2001 which allows special school district elections did not have such a provision.
The Buono-Kean bill, which is now law, will require the state education commissioner to review on an annual basis the four referendum dates set in the statute to check for conflicts with religious holidays.
Rabbi Dr. Bernhard Rosenberg, of Edison, who led efforts in convincing the school board to change the Sept. 30 referendum date, said he was happy the legislation passed.
“Obviously I am satisfied with the passage of the bill, and hope it will alleviate future religious conflicts regarding voting on issues,” Rosenberg said.