NJ governor: ‘We’ve got checks and balances’ to ensure votes are counted properly in November

New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy (D) on Sunday reassured voters of the work his administration is doing to ensure votes are counted accurately in November.

Speaking with “Fox News Sunday” host Chris Wallace, Murphy said that New Jersey officials are working to expand access to secure mailing sites and other precautions to ensure that voters who opt to use mail-in ballots this fall would see their ballots counted on time amid warnings from the U.S. Postal Service indicating that it may miss some mail-in ballot deadlines.

“Our hope is to expand democracy, and we believe this is the right way to do it,” Murphy said.

“We’ve got checks and balances to ensure” that every person votes once and every vote is counted, he added.

The governor also said that New Jersey’s polling places would be open for those voters who decided to vote in person despite ongoing concerns brought on by the coronavirus pandemic.

Murphy previously moved to order that mail-in ballots be sent to every eligible voter in New Jersey ahead of the state’s primary earlier this year, and said on Sunday that his administration would extend the deadline for mail-in votes to be counted provided they are postmarked by Election Day.

New Jersey’s efforts come in the face of attacks on mail-in voting from President Trump and his allies, who have argued without evidence that voter fraud is widespread when mail-in voting is utilized.

Murphy and other Democrats have defended the expansion of mail-in and absentee voting, which they say is necessary to keep Americans most at risk from COVID-19 safe in the fall.