MOUNT HOLLY – The Burlington County Commissioners announced the receipt of a report from the independent special counsel detailing its review and analysis of the 2024 election and interim recommendations for improvements. The 49-page interim report from Connell Foley LLP found the long lines and d elays that plagued many polling locations in Burlington County during the 2024 General Election were the result of multiple factors and problems involving Burlington County election offices. It also provides 14 action items that should be taken to “substantially mitigate, if not eliminate” many of the problems, along with recommended deadlines for implementation. In the interest of transparency, the Commissioners ordered the full report from Connell Foley be posted online on the Burlington County website. It can be found at https://www.co.burlington.nj.us/DocumentCenter/View/21515/2024-General-Election-Interim-Report?bidId= . “Connell Foley has done exactly what we asked. The independent special counsel’s interim report outlines preliminary factual findings and assessments about what caused the unacceptable long lines and delays on Election Day, and it makes recommendations about what actions our County should take to prevent the problems from occurring again,” said Burlington County Commissioner Director Dr. Felicia Hopson. “It does not place blame on any one office or official; there were failures all around and the report makes that clear. Our County must now work together to quickly implement the recommendations. Several of these are already in the works, and we call on the County’s elections offices to follow through and comply with the others. Whatever assistance and support is required, we will provide it.” A comprehensive review of the 2024 Election The Commissioners appointed Connell Foley as independent special counsel in January to review all aspects of the 2024 General Election, including the deployment of new voting machines, the locations and makeup of voting districts, poll worker training and management. The Roseland-based law firm is one of the largest and most respected law firms in New Jersey. Among its past and current attorneys are former New Jersey Governor and Chief Justice Richard Hughes; former U.S. District Court Chief Judge John W. Bissell; former Lt. Governor Kim Guadagno and former Essex County Superior Court Judge Eugene J. Codey Jr. In the report, the law firm specified its findings and recommendations were the result of comprehensive interviews with officials from the County elections offices, municipal officials, voting technology and support vendors and others with direct knowledge of Burlington County’s 2024 election process. Members of the law firm also met with officials from other New Jersey counties and members of the citizen-led watchdog group, Citizens for NJ Election Integrity, and they reviewed thousands of documents relevant to the election, including voter participation, voting machine deployment, check-in times by polling place, emails from municipal officials before and after the election, and feedback from voters. The review also included an in-person inspection of the County’s voting machines. Among the problems identified were a general lack of communication, coordination and collaboration among Burlington County’s election offices, the rollout of new voting machines during a busy presidential year, unbalanced election districts overdue for redistricting, inadequate poll worker training with the new machines, and voter and poll worker aversion to new technology. The interim report also identified issues with the number of voting machines, accessibility and layout of some polling locations, delays in resolving technological issues at polling places, among other problems. The interim recommendations covered numerous aspects of the election process, including poll worker recruitment and training, voter education, recalculating the number of voting machines in each polling locations and other changes. It also recommended adjusting election districts to ensure none are too large or too small, boosting the available technological support, expanding early voting locations and hours, seeking more input from local municipal clerks and increasing communication and collaboration between the different election offices. Actions already taken or underway Several of Connell Foley’s recommended actions were started before the independent special counsel’s interim report was received in anticipation that the change would be needed before the upcoming primary election. These include: The Commissioners authorized at their March 26 meeting to purchase additional voting machines and other election equipment requested by the Superintendent of Elections Office. The authorized purchase includes additional ballot marking devices, tabulators and machine storage shells. The additional equipment is expected to ensure each polling location has at least one ballot marking device for every 750 eligible voters. Funding for this purchase was part of the 2025 budget introduced by the Commissioners last month. The Burlington County Election Board, Superintendent of Elections Office and Burlington County Clerk’s Office have also started the process to redraw the boundaries of the election districts in five Burlington County towns to ensure none have more than the recommended standard of 750 voters. Effected voters in these towns will be notified of the changes before the June 10 primary. In addition, the County also expects to increase the number of IT “rovers” who will be available to quickly respond to polling locations on Election Day to help troubleshoot technological issues. “Voting is one of the most fundamental rights and our Board has made clear the failures that occurred last year were unacceptable. They demand accountability and action to ensure the problems are not repeated,” said Hopson. “This interim report provides us with a detailed plan to ensure Burlington County has a secure, efficient and transparent voting process that all voters can have confidence in. We are committed to delivering that.” Courtesy of Burlington County ...read more read less