Calling Gov. Chris Christie’s decision to hold a special election to fill the U.S. Senate seat left vacant after the recent death of Frank Lautenberg just weeks before an already scheduled election fiscally irresponsible, the Union County Freeholders on Thursday night declined to allocate the roughly $850,000 to fund the special balloting day, scheduled for October. Freeholder Mohamed Jalloh said holding two elections within weeks at such a cost was an unnecessary burden on taxpayers. “To have a special general election three weeks before (the scheduled election), that doesn’t make any sense,” Jalloh said this morning. “I haven’t been given an good reason as to why we would fund this twice.”
Jalloh said the county had not received assurances from state officials that the county would be reimbursed for at least a portion of the cost of the special election. “For us, this is a financial hardship,” he said, noting that the county budget is already strained.
… The state’s Office of Legislative Services estimated that the special primary and general elections will cost $24 million combined. The freeholders did pass a pass a resolution to finance the special primary on Aug. 13. The nine-member board also passed a resolution that asks Christie to reconsider his decision to schedule the October election.
Full Article: Union County Freeholders decline to fund special U.S. Senate election | NJ.com.