Certified Results For 2022 New Brunswick School Election
Charlie Kratovil made this OPRA request to Middlesex County This request has been closed to new correspondence. Contact us if you think it should be reopened.
Dear Middlesex County,
Under OPRA and the common law right of access, please provide copies of the complete certified election results for the April 19, 2022 New Brunswick school election. Thank you.
Yours faithfully,
Charlie Kratovil
Attachments:
[1]Official_Election_Summary.pdf
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Dear Mr. Kratovil,
As per your request, please see attached the Official Results for the 2022
April Annual School Election.
Best regards,
Office of the County Clerk
References
Visible links
1. https://u8387795.ct.sendgrid.net/ls/clic...
Dear Middlesex County OPRA Center,
These results are not complete, nor are they certified. Please provide complete certified results, including the breakdown for each ward and district. Thank you.
Yours sincerely,
Charlie Kratovil
Hello,
I'm following up on my request for the complete, certified election results from the April 2022 School Election. The record provided was insufficient, as I indicated in my most recent message. Please confirm you've received this and provide the requested record immediately. Thank youl
Yours sincerely,
Charlie Kratovil
Dear Middlesex County,
I'm following up for the third time on my request for complete, certified election results from the 2022 New Brunswick School Election. It is unacceptable that this record has not yet been provided. Please confirm you've received this message and immediately provide the requested record under OPRA and the common law.
Yours faithfully,
Charlie Kratovil
Mr. Kratovil,
I forwarded your request to the Office of the County Clerk-Elections Division. I see they fulfilled your original request (Reference # W014383) on June 2nd.
Please let me know if I can be of any further assistance.
Thank you,
Amy Petrocelli, RMC
Clerk of the Board
Office of the Clerk of the Board
Administration
75 Bayard Street
New Brunswick, NJ 08901
732-745-3080 (p)
732-745-3110 (f)
http://www.middlesexcountynj.gov/
NOTICE OF CONFIDENTIALITY
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Dear Ms. Petrocelli,
I've made it clear in my responses to the "Middlesex County OPRA Center" that the record provided on June 2 was insufficient. My request was for complete, certified results. The results provided were not certified, and was not complete. Please provide the CERTIFIED results, including the breakdown for each ward and district.
You can see my previous messages here in case they were not shared with you: https://opramachine.com/request/certifie...
I also had a conversation with the Deputy County Clerk about this on June 3, and was assured that I would receive some follow-up. To date, nothing further has been provided. As I stated earlier, this is unacceptable.
Yours sincerely,
Charlie Kratovil
Attachments:
[1]Canvass_Statement.pdf
[2]OFFICIAL_PUBLIC_ANNUAL_SCHOOL_ELECTION_RESULTS_2022.pdf
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Dear Mr. Kratovil,
I apologize for the delayed response. As per our previous conversation,
our office wanted to review the results of the election and check base
with County Counsel to ensure the proper procedures were being followed.
The Office of the County Clerk maintains that a basic tenant of all
elections is the right of a voter to cast a secret ballot, something which
is supported by both Title 19 and case law.
While I understand that you may already know the district results, it’s
our positions that the right to privacy of a voter should not be
compromised by the Office of the County Clerk.
I attached here are the redacted district results as well as the
certification of the Board of County Canvassers.
Please let me know if you have any further questions.
Best regards,
References
Visible links
1. https://u8387795.ct.sendgrid.net/ls/clic...
2. https://u8387795.ct.sendgrid.net/ls/clic...
Dear Middlesex County OPRA Center,
Thank you for the response. I must ask for further information about your position, as I believe my request still has not been fulfilled under OPRA and the common law right of access.
1) What part(s) of Title 19 are you referring to?
2) What caselaw are you referring to? Please be specific.
3) Has the Middlesex County Clerk's Office ever previously declined to release complete election results?
4) What criteria did you use to decide which numbers are redacted and which ones are not?
5) Which OPRA exemption(s), if any, do you believe justifies the redactions you've made?
Yours sincerely,
Charlie Kratovil
Dear Middlesex County,
On June 16, I received an unsigned response to my May 24 OPRA request regarding the April 19 school election. I responded the same day with the following message, but never got a reply...
Dear Middlesex County OPRA Center,
Thank you for the response. I must ask for further information about your position, as I believe my request still has not been fulfilled under OPRA and the common law right of access.
1) What part(s) of Title 19 are you referring to?
2) What caselaw are you referring to? Please be specific.
3) Has the Middlesex County Clerk's Office ever previously declined to release complete election results?
4) What criteria did you use to decide which numbers are redacted and which ones are not?
5) Which OPRA exemption(s), if any, do you believe justifies the redactions you've made?
Yours sincerely,
Charlie Kratovil
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Dear Mr. Kratovil:
By way of follow up, we redacted election results by precinct as, due to
the unique voter turnout levels in this particular election, it would be
possible to ascertain how an individual voted in certain precincts thereby
violating those voters’ right to a secret ballot.
As the New Jersey Supreme Court has recognized, a basic tenet of all
elections is the right of a voter to cast a secret ballot. In re Att'y
Gen.'s "Directive on Exit Polling: Media & Non-Partisan Pub. Int. Groups,"
issued July 18, 2007, 200 N.J. 283, 312 (2009). This tenet is reflected
throughout Title 19 as numerous statutory provisions are designed to
separate or shield that voter’s identity from that voter’s ballot.
N.J.S.A. 19:53C-10; N.J.S.A. 19:53B-10; N.J.S.A. 19:63-7. Redacting
information that would violate a voter’s right to a secret ballot is
consistent with this tenet and is permissible under OPRA. N.J.S.A.
47:1A-9