Some voters in a New Jersey town are being ordered to prove in court that they live in the area where they cast their ballots in a mayoral election, after the candidate who lost by just five votes took them to court.
There is growing frustration from voters in Atlantic Highlands who were called to testify in court Tuesday amid an ongoing challenge by the Republican runner-up in the 2023 mayoral election. The November race came down to less than a half-dozen votes — and now dozens who voted have been called before a judge, questioned one-by-one on the stand about where they live.
"I’m very concerned, it’s pulling the town apart. We’ve been drug down here today, we lose a day of work, for something that’s basically nonsense," said Frank Allsman. "We're sitting in the courtroom and we're all neighbors here."
Mayor Lori Hohenleitner, a Democrat, won the race and had her swearing in ceremony in January.
Get Philly local news, weather forecasts, sports and entertainment stories to your inbox. Sign up for NBC Philadelphia newsletters.
"My opponent, who is a councilmember and colleague, is challenging the election from November. There’s been a recount — in fact in the recount I gained a vote — and now we’re in court months later and he’s challenging 40 of our neighbors," said Hohenleitner.
But in a lawsuit, her challenger, James Murphy, called into question the results.
Murphy "hereby contests the certification of Ms. Hohenleitner as mayor on the grounds that illegal votes were improperly received and that legal votes were improperly rejected," the lawsuit reads.
Politics
Murphy did not offer comment when contacted by NBC New York about the allegations.
One voter had to bring a stack of documents to the courthouse for his testimony.
"My Issue is I feel like I was accused of voter fraud and now everyone knows how I voted. I thought it was supposed to be secret," said Dr. Michael Ferguson.
The judge hearing the case offered no decision on Tuesday. It is scheduled to resume Feb. 28.
"We’ve done nothing wrong. It’s upsetting that we’ve had to go through this, like our neighbors have had to go through it," said Allsman. "It’s a small town, it’s always gonna come down to a few votes. But just because you lose doesn't make the rest of us liars."
