---
type: "Bill"
title: "Ensures boards of elections have discretion to make initial determination of validity of cast ballots; requires Secretary of State to establish uniform guidelines for assessing validity of ballots.*"
description: "Ensures boards of elections have discretion to make initial determination of validity of cast ballots; requires Secretary of State to establish uniform guidelines for assessing validity of ballots.*"
jurisdiction: "us/states/nj"
legislature: "New Jersey Legislature"
session: "221"
identifier: "A 4969"
citation: "New Jersey A 4969 (221)"
classification: ["bill"]
subjects: ["ELECTIONS"]
status: "enacted"
primary_sponsors: ["Coughlin, Craig J.", "Donlon, Margie", "Gopal, Vin", "Peterpaul, Luanne M.", "Turner, Shirley K."]
version_count: 2
action_count: 8
vote_count: 3
first_action: "2024-10-21T04:00:00+00:00"
last_action: "2025-10-01T04:00:00+00:00"
source: "openstates"
source_identifier: "ocd-bill/cbb54b83-de47-494a-8917-7710bfaf334c"
source_url: "https://pub.njleg.state.nj.us/leg-databases/"
source_hash: "a3679782e83d7d9396b9cb9807a7c7e3bcb2588aa9abb1ccd833545a84ca3ae7"
vintage: "2026-07-01"
source_snapshot: "https://data.openstates.org/daily/2026-07-01/public.pgdump"
retrieved_at: "2026-07-06"
confidence: "reported"
tags: ["legislation", "bill", "us-nj"]
---

# New Jersey A 4969 (221) — Ensures boards of elections have discretion to make initial determination of validity of cast ballots; requires Secretary of State to establish uniform guidelines for assessing validity of ballots.*

## Version chain

The bill's text revisions, in order — the diff chain from filing to enrollment.

1. **Introduced Version** (committee substitute) — [source](https://pub.njleg.state.nj.us/Bills/2024/A5000/4969_I1.HTM)
2. **Reprint Assembly 12/19/24 1R** (committee substitute) — [source](https://pub.njleg.state.nj.us/Bills/2024/A5000/4969_R1.HTM)

## Votes

- Reported favorably out of committee — **7–0** (pass) · lower
- 3RDG FINAL PASSAGE — **37–0** (pass) · upper
- 3RDG FINAL PASSAGE — **76–2** (pass) · lower

## Sponsors

- Coughlin, Craig J. — primary (person)
- Donlon, Margie — primary (person)
- Gopal, Vin — primary (person)
- Peterpaul, Luanne M. — primary (person)
- Turner, Shirley K. — primary (person)
- Carter, Linda S. — cosponsor (person)
- Drulis, Mitchelle — cosponsor (person)
- Freiman, Roy — cosponsor (person)
- Greenstein, Linda R. — cosponsor (person)
- Reynolds-Jackson, Verlina — cosponsor (person)
- Scharfenberger, Gerry — cosponsor (person)

## Timeline

The legislative action history — every referral, reading, and vote.

- **2024-10-21T04:00:00+00:00** Introduced in the Assembly, Referred to Assembly State and Local Government Committee `introduction, referral-committee`
- **2024-12-12T05:00:00+00:00** Reported out of Assembly Committee, 2nd Reading `committee-passage`
- **2024-12-19T05:00:00+00:00** Assembly Floor Amendment Passed (Wimberly) `amendment-passage`
- **2025-05-22T04:00:00+00:00** Passed Assembly (76-2-0) `passage`
- **2025-05-29T04:00:00+00:00** Received in the Senate without Reference, 2nd Reading
- **2025-06-30T04:00:00+00:00** Substituted for S3816 (1R)
- **2025-06-30T04:00:00+00:00** Passed Senate (Passed Both Houses) (37-0) `passage`
- **2025-10-01T04:00:00+00:00** Approved P.L.2025, c.150. `executive-signature`

## Source

OpenStates / OpenCivicData bulk snapshot [2026-07-01](https://data.openstates.org/daily/2026-07-01/public.pgdump); origin `ocd-bill/cbb54b83-de47-494a-8917-7710bfaf334c`. Confidence: reported (aggregated from official New Jersey legislature records).