In response to your below OPRA request for "Per NJSA 12:31-16, copies of the monthly decedent residence reports compiled for the Ocean County Board of Elections for January 2017-December 2019".:

You request is denied under Executive Order 18, N.J.S.A 26:8-62(a) and N.J.A.C 8:2A-2.1(a). As shown in Fenton v. NJ Department of Health, GRC Complaint No. 2013-359 (Final Decision dated July 29, 2014) which is shown below:

Fenton v. NJ Department of Health, GRC Complaint No. 2013-359

"Unlawful Denial of Access:
OPRA provides that government records made, maintained, kept on file, or received by a public agency in the course of its official business are subject to public access unless otherwise exempt. N.J.S.A. 47:1A-1.1. A custodian must release all records responsive to an OPRA request "with certain exceptions." N.J.S.A. 47:1A-1. Additionally, OPRA places the burden on a custodian to prove that a denial of access to records is lawful pursuant to N.J.S.A. 47:1A-6.

OPRA also provides:

[t]he provisions of [OPRA] shall not abrogate any exemption of a public record or government record from public access heretofore made pursuant to [OPRA]; any
other statute; resolution of either or both Houses of the Legislature; regulation promulgated under the authority of any statute or Executive Order of the Governor; Executive Order of the Governor; Rules of Court; any federal law; federal regulation; or federal order."
N.J.S.A. 47:1A-9(a).

N.J.S.A. 26:8-1 defines a vital record as, inter alia, death records from which vital statistics are provided. Further, N.J.S.A. 26:8-62(a) provides that "[t]he State registrar or local registrar shall, upon request, supply [to certain persons]...a certified copy, or release of the data and information of that record registered under the provisions of N.J.S.A. 26:8-1 et seq.
(Emphasis added.) N.J.S.A. 26:8-62(d) provides that the Commissioner shall designate specifications for forms for the issuance of vital records as well as issue regulations for the enforcement of N.J.S.A. 26:8-1 et seq.

One such regulation, N.J.A.C. 8:2A-2.1(a), provides in relevant part: [t]he State Registrar
or a local registrar may only issue a certified copy of a death record to a person who satisfies the
following requirements:
1. The person is able to identify the record;
2. The person provides, at a minimum, all of the information requested on the Vital Statistics and Registration form entitled "Application for a Certification or a Certified Copy of a Vital Record," available from the Department...
3. The person produces documentation verifying that he or she is : i. [t]he parent of the subject of the death record; ii. [t]he subject's legal guardian or legal
representative; iii. [t]he subject's spouse or domestic partner; iv. [t]he subject's child, grandchild or sibling, if of legal age; v. [t]he a State or Federal agency requesting the record for official purposes; vi. [a] person requesting the record pursuant to a court order; or vii [a] person requesting the record under emergent circumstances, as determined on a case-by-case basis by the Commissioner...

N.J.A.C. 8:2A-2.1(a).

Further, N.J.A.C. 8:2A-2.2(a) provides that "...certifications containing information obtained from the death record to requestors not identified in N.J.A.C. 8:2A-2.1(a) [may be provided] so long as those requestors are first able to identify the record sought." Identifying the record sought requires the requestor to provide, at a minimum, all of the information requested on the "Application for a Certification or a Certified Copy of a Vital Record." N.J.A.C. 8:2A2.1(a)(1).

Here, the Custodian certified that the Complainant did not demonstrate that he was authorized to receive the requested records because he failed to establish that he is an eligible person as listed in N.J.S.A. 26:8-62(a), and the regulation promulgated thereunder, N.J.A.C. 8:2A-2.1(a). Conversely, the Complainant asserts that the provisions of N.J.S.A. 26:8-62 only apply to copies of death certificates and not the records he is seeking.

The Complainant misinterprets N.J.S.A. 26:8-62. This statute is not limited to copies of death certificates, but rather encompasses vital records which include death records from which vital statistics are provided. N.J.S.A. 26:8-1. Moreover, N.J.S.A. 26:8-62(a) provides for release of the data and information from death records. As such, N.J.S.A. 26:8-1 et seq. is applicable to the class of records the Complainant has requested, and the Complainant is not eligible to receive the requested records under this statute because he failed to establish that he is an eligible person as identified within the statute.

The Complainant also contends, however, that the records he has requested are public records subject to disclosure pursuant to N.J.A.C. 8:2A-2.2(a). The Complainant is correct that, pursuant to the provisions of this regulation, information obtained from death records may be disclosed to requestors not identified in N.J.A.C. 8:2A-2.1(a). The Complainant is required though to identify the records sought. Here, the Complainant merely requested death records for every deceased Passaic County resident 18 years of age or older. The Commissioner, as required under N.J.S.A. 26:8-62(d) designated specifications for forms for the issuance of vital records. These forms, which the Custodian identified as REG-27 forms, contain prompts for certain specific information. Identifying the record sought requires the Complainant to provide, at a minimum, all of the information requested on the form; however, the Complainant failed to provide the required information, thus he failed to identify the records sought with the degree of specificity required by the agency.

Accordingly, the Complainant failed to demonstrate that he was authorized to receive the requested records because he failed to establish that he is an eligible person as listed in N.J.S.A. 26:8-62(a), N.J.A.C. 8:2A-2.1(a). Further, the Complainant failed to identify the records sought with the degree of specificity required by the agency; therefore, he was not eligible to receive the records for informational purposes pursuant to N.J.A.C. 8:2A-2.2. As such, the Custodian lawfully denied the Complainant access to the requested records pursuant to N.J.S.A. 26:8-62(a) and N.J.A.C. 8:2A-2.2, applicable to OPRA by operation of N.J.S.A. 47:1A-9(a).

Finally, the Complainant did copy the Custodian's Counsel with the May 22, 2014 letter citing the United States Code provision which he asserted supported his argument for disclosure
of the requested records. The United States Code provision the Complainant cited provides as follows:

Each State shall maintain for at least 2 years and shall make available for public inspection and, where available, photocopying at a reasonable cost, all records concerning the implementation of programs and activities conducted for the purpose of ensuring the accuracy and currency of official lists of eligible voters, except to the extent that such records relate to a declination to register to vote or to the identity of a voter registration agency through which any particular voter is registered.

42 USC 1973gg-6(i)(1).

The Custodian's Counsel did not respond to the Complainant's submission; however, the GRC will not consider the federal provision in the adjudication of this complaint because the Complainant failed to demonstrate any nexus between "records concerning the implementation of programs and activities conducted for the purpose of ensuring the accuracy and currency of official lists of eligible voters" and the records he requested."

Sincerely,

Jessica L. Larney, RMC/CMR
Assistant Municipal Clerk
Deputy Registrar of Vital Statistics

Office of the Township Clerk/Vital Statistics
401 Chambers Bridge Road
Brick, New Jersey 08723
732-262-1003

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