Voting Early and Often In New Jersey

Vote early and often is more than a joke in New Jersey.

Due to a ruling by a state judge in Ocean County, voters who cast absentee ballots in that county for a presidential candidate who later withdrew from the race, such as Republican Rudy Giuliani or Democrat John Edwards, can get a replacement absentee ballot before the state's primary Tuesday.

The ruling is not binding in New Jersey's 20 other counties, but county clerks have the discretion to provide replacement ballots, said David Wald, a spokesman for the state Attorney General's Office. If the voter's request is denied, the voter can appeal to a state judge, he said.

At least four counties -- Bergen, population about 900,000; Essex, population nearly 800,000; Ocean, population more than 560,000; and Union, population more than 530,000 -- have arranged to accommodate voters who wanted a replacement ballot, Wald said. Bergen and Essex are the state's largest counties. New Jersey has more than 4.8 million registered voters.

This is insanity, courtesy of the courts. Much mischief can be had because someone claims that their candidate, who bowed out after their absentee ballots were cast, get a second bite of the apple.

Whatever happened to one person- one vote?