If the $133.2 million budget proposed for the Bridgewater-Raritan School District is so worthy of passage, why is it that there is such reluctance by groups advocating voter acceptance to identify themselves?
Several weeks ago, “Vote Yes” road signs bore the source of an out-of-town group. Those signs have since disappeared. The latest incarnations are very visible white-and-blue signs along the district’s roadways which read, “Vote ‘Yes’ For the School Budget - - April 21st.” Those signs bear no source identification.
I wanted to check out the legality of such an omission, as well as to be fair to the unknown group or individuals who are planting these signs in Bridgewater and Raritan: I called the New Jersey Election Law Enforcement Commission, the entity which has oversight responsibility over election behavior.
In a discussion with a compliance officer at the Commission, I was advised that all political signs are required to be labeled with their source, and was directed to the sections of the Compliance Manual which explain this mandate.
The regulations specify that “political communications” such as roadside signs must be labeled “with a political identification statement” that is, “(‘paid for by’ language).” The blue/white “Vote Yes” signs sprouting up on Bridgewater and Raritan byways bear no such labeling.
. . . Which brings me to my first point: Just which persons or organizations are lobbying for the budget’s endorsement, and why are they so reluctant to publicly disclose themselves? This, after all, is not the Kremlin.
Note: Alleged election law violations are subject to investigation by the New Jersey Election Law Enforcement Commission.
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