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N.J. bill aims to prevent future vote conflicts

By Sarah Morrison

October 24, 2008
 

In light of the fallout from the Edison Board of Education scheduling a referendum on Rosh Hashanah, the state legislature is preparing to pass a bill to prevent such a conflict in the future.

Assembly bill A-3186, co-sponsored by Assemblymen Gary Schaer (D-36) and Patrick Diegnan (D-18), states that the State Commissioner of Education has the right to change a scheduled date to vote if it conflicts with a religious holiday. Previously, the State Commissioner could not move the date.

"Clearly, the intent of the bill is to present any school board or municipal election to coincide on a significant religious holiday," said Schaer, who is also the first Orthodox Jew to be elected to New Jersey Assembly. "In Edison, a school board election was scheduled for the first day of Rosh Hashanah, which would have excluded people from voting. At least two other boards of education did [as well]. In the case of Edison, we were able to work a change of that date. It took an inordinate amount of resolve to share with the Board of Education in Edison the negative effects of scheduling an election on a Jewish holiday. We had to show school board members that it would be the equivalent of holding an election on Christmas or Easter. An election is supposed to an inclusive event. Holding an election on any holy day, Christian, Jewish, or Muslim, goes against exactly what we are trying to achieve."

Schaer had the unanimous support of the committee, and the Assembly passed the bill. Now, the bill now goes to the State Senate, where Schaer hopes for and expects it to pass, after which Gov. Jon S. Corzine is expected to sign it into law.

"There is interest in the bill from the governor," Schaer said. "The Senate has been supportive, so we are confident that we will have the passage."

During Schaer's time as an assemblymen, five bills were passed "to make New Jersey a better place for those who are personally committed religiously to whatever their faith," Schaer said. "This will be the sixth."

Diegnan, who co-sponsored the bill with Schaer, sees A-3186 as "the most common sense piece of legislation" that he has ever been involved in.

"This country needs to be respectful of religious beliefs," Diegnan said. "We have to work on issues that unite people and not divide them. This is part of the realm of bringing people together."

Diegnan called the procedure to change the date an amicable one.

"It was so nice how people approached it," Diegnan said. "They approached it in a positive way, that it is an opportunity to correct what never should have happened in the first place. It was a real pleasure to work with Gary (on the legislature)."

Rabbi Bernhard Rosenberg, who headed efforts to change the voting date, is pleased that such legislature was passed.

"It's crucial that this bill pass so that no religious or ethnic group be penalized because of their beliefs," Rosenberg said. "I fought this war four years ago when the Edison Board of Education waned to have school on both days of Rosh Hashanah. This is nothing new. This was only a continuation of the war that was started four years ago. I led it then and I led it now."

In addition to Rosenberg's efforts, he credits the "community outcry" for an additional boost in the creation of A-3186.

"The reason that the assembly will pass [the legislature] is because of the outcry here in town," Rosenberg said. "No municipality, or the state, wanted any part of this type of discrimination. It's going through because of the fight that was waged. If it had not been waged, it never would have gone through. But people are still living in an illusionary world. The Board of Education did know that it was going to be on Rosh Hashanah, and they knew that they had the explosion before (referring to school on Rosh Hashanah). We won it last time, and I warned them this time again that there would be an issue. It was because of the outcry that the legislation was passed."

Jacob Toporek, executive director of the N.J. State Association of Jewish Federations, is confident that A-3186 will pass into law.

"The bill will go through, and we definitely support the legislation," Toporek said. "We're hoping that it will go through without a problem. It seems that this will be the case, given that the committee supported it."

Senator Tom Kean (R-N.J.) introduced the bill to the State Senate, and Senator Barbara Buono (D-N.J.) has expressed interest in being a co-sponsor.

"We'll work to get the bill posted as soon as possible," Toporek aid. "I don't foresee any major problems. With Kean being a Republican and Buono being a Democrat, there will be a great deal of bi-partisan support. We'll be working as we did when the original concern arose with the Edison Board of Education."

Toporek and the N.J. State Association of Jewish Federations is working with Agudath Yisrael, the ADL, the American Jewish committee, and local federations in trying to move the bill into law.

All parties involved in the writing and passing of legislature A-3186 are confident that it will pass and prevent a conflict of dates from occurring in the future.