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Campaign workers and volunteers have been requesting messenger ballots in record numbers this election season. But now that an affidavit is required for a person to act as messenger, the requests have dropped off almost completely.

In addition, the Monmouth County Prosecutor’s Office is now investigating the messenger ballot applications in the city, County Clerk M. Claire French [pictured] said today.

To vote by messenger ballot, a voter must complete an application designating a messenger and, if desired, an assistor. The messenger then obtains the ballot from county election offices, and delivers it to the voter. The voter may mail the completed ballot or have the messenger or another individual carry the ballot to county election offices.

The system was created for people who are unable to vote by mail due to disability or old age, Monmouth County Clerk M. Claire French said, although anyone is legally able to vote by messenger ballot.

In signing the newly required affidavits, messengers certify that they have met the voters they are assisting; they are related to the voters or are themselves registered voters in Monmouth County; they will not act as messenger for more than 10 voters; they will deliver the ballots directly to the voters and not to any other individuals; and they are not candidates in the election.

Messengers also certify that they are aware that violating the Voting by Mail statute, which governs messenger ballots, is a crime in the third degree.

Since the new affidavit requirement was passed down by French on April 17, only five of 42 messengers have signed affidavits, according to information from the election offices of the Monmouth County Clerk. “Almost no new messengers” have made requests for ballots since the affidavit requirement was put in place, French said.

French sent the affidavits to messengers through certified mail on April 17.

If a messenger does not return his or her affidavit, the Monmouth County Prosecutor’s Office will receive a list of voters that messenger collected ballots for, French said.

“If we don’t get [the affidavits] back, the Prosecutor’s Office is going to be following up with those voters,” French said.

In the 2009 municipal election, no messenger ballots were requested whereas for this election, 336 messenger ballots have been requested, according to records from the election offices of the Monmouth County Clerk. Of those 336 ballots, 19 completed ballots have been returned by voters, according to records in the county election offices.

According to information from the election offices of the Monmouth County Clerk, the 42 people who have collected ballots as messengers are Heriberto Acevedo, Tyson Burrus, Tera Carpenter, Mia Carrington of Neptune, Larry Clifton of Eatontown, Stan Daniels, Louis DiLieto Jr., Linda Fitzpatrick, Derrick Foster, Janie Garlington, Derrick Ghee, Pamela Gideon, Latosha Gilbert of Long Branch, Sharmane Gilliam of Neptune, Byron Hall, Alisha Hammary of Cliffwood, Diteko Hammary, Donald Hammary, Knowryl Hammary, Emily Harris, Nicolle Harris, Shequelle Harris, Ernest Jones, Jaisun Rahfik Lewinski of Neptune, Jennifer Lewinski of Neptune, Shatina Riller, Tracie Royster, Tyron Sanders, Richard Scott, Curtis Showers II of Neptune, Derrick Spears, Cakiyyah Steward, Latosa Suit, Stephon Watt of Neptune, Timothy Wesley of Neptune, Alexis Wheeler, Janelle Whitman, Ki Airah Whitman, Larry Wilson of Neptune, Tanay Wilson of Neptune, Joseph World and Pamela World. All listed are from Asbury Park unless otherwise noted.

Of those messengers, Janie Garlington, Diteko Hammary, Tyron Sanders, Cakiyyah Steward and Alexis Wheeler have signed the required affidavits, according to records from the election offices.

The A-Team ticket listed 10 campaign workers in campaign finance reports who were paid $100 per person for Get Out The Vote [GOTV] efforts. Those workers were Shattina Riller, Tyson Burrus, Tracie Royster, Larry Wilson, Tanay Wilson, Stephon Watt, Linda Fitzpatrick, Latrosa M. Suit, Derrick Spears and Ernest Jones, according to campaign finance reports.

All of those 10 are currently listed as ballot messengers.

For the A-Team’s individual candidate campaign accounts, Byron Hall is the chair person and Knowryl Hammary is the treasurer. Both are listed as messengers. The A-Team candidates are Duanne Small, Remond Palmer, Nora Hyland, Daniel Harris and James Keady.

The AP Out Front ticket has not yet submitted any of its required finance reports to the state Election Law Enforcement Commission [ELEC], so it could not be determined if any individuals listed as messengers appear on their finance reports.

The incumbent-led Forward Asbury Park ticket also missed the deadline to file a report about its expenditures, so it is unknown if any listed messengers are paid workers for that ticket, as well.

The One Asbury ticket’s campaign finance reports do not include any of the messengers as paid campaign workers or campaign account officials.

Recently, the campaign manager for the AP Out Front ticket, Stephania Warren, wrote two letters, dated April 11 and 17, to French alleging that members of the A-Team ticket were handling the messenger ballots incorrectly. A-Team candidate Duanne Small has repeatedly denied the allegations.

“They are untrue, baseless and they have no merit,” he said yesterday. “We don’t see their candidates out in the street doing anything. The only thing we see them doing is trying to attack the A-Team.”

An AP Out Front volunteer, Patricia Gill, also ran into issues when she submitted “almost 400” applications for vote-by-mail ballots to be sent to her home, Gill confirmed yesterday. Gill intended to assist voters with completing their ballots at a gathering at her home, she said.

Following Gill’s request, French decided to send the ballots to voters’ home addresses rather than Gill’s home to avoid confusion, French said today.

AP Out Front’s candidates are Clevette Hill, Rosetta Johnson, Shonna Famularo, Stephen Williams and Dorvil Gilles.

Completed messenger ballots are delivered or sent to the Monmouth County Board of Elections, a separate body from the Clerk’s Office, French said. Workers at the Board of Elections are flagging the messenger ballots and separating them from vote-by-mail ballots, French said.

“[The Board of Elections is] not going to open the ballots until they know that the voter signed it, the signature is verified, and they’ve looked at every single bit of proof that the voter themselves did this,” French said.

The election is on May 14. All five council seats are up for grabs for four year terms with 22 candidates on the ballot in this non-partisan election.

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