NJ GOP sounds alarm about Passaic County ballot security ahead of governor election

The New Jersey Republican Party is sounding the alarms over the Democrat-controlled Passaic County Board of Elections’ alleged refusal to allow security cameras to monitor ballot storage areas for this year’s tight gubernatorial election.

Passaic County’s Board of Elections is also accused of refusing to enforce “basic sign-in and sign-out logs” for individuals accessing mail-in ballots, according to the Garden State GOP.

The crucial county — which President Trump won in 2024 in a stunning upset — has a history alleged election irregularities.

“In recent years, Passaic County has been home to infamous voter fraud schemes and among the slowest counties to count ballots and certify elections in the entire state,” New Jersey Republican Party Chairman Glenn Paulsen said in a statement Saturday.

“Frankly, given that, the Passaic County Republican Party is justified in their suspicion about what happens outside of public view, and the NGOP stands firmly behind their legal demands for election
integrity and transparency.”

Passaic County is the state’s 10th most populous, with 527,000 residents. It is home to Paterson, the state’s third largest city, and a huge immigrant population — more than one-third of residents are foreign-born.

Republican Jack Ciattarelli has spent time stumping in parts of the county, hoping it will be part of his pathway to the governor’s mansion.

Ciattarelli shared the New Jersey GOP’s statement of concern regarding the county but refrained from putting out his own statement on the controversy.

He is currently locked in a tight race with Democratic Rep. Mikie Sherrill — with some polls earlier in the cycle showing them neck-and-neck.

In the 2021 election against Gov. Phil Murphy, Ciattarelli lost Passaic by 3.8 percentage points — the smallest margin of any county in the state.

President Trump eked out a stunning win in Passaic County last November, 49.6% to 46.8%, becoming the first Republican presidential candidate to do so since 1992.

He lost Passaic by about 16.6 percentage points in 2020.

Back in 2020, the Paterson City Council devolved into disarray after state officials unearthed mail-in ballot irregularities.

Former Paterson City Council President Alex Mendez, Councilman Michael Jackson, and other top city officials were hit with charges of election fraud, public records tampering, forgery and more.

Officials later revealed that some 3,190 out of 16,747 ballots cast — 20% — had to be tossed because they were disqualified. A judge then ordered a new election in November 2020, which Mendez won.

The case against Mendez is still ongoing, with fresh charges getting unfurled by prosecutors this past April.

“To make the change we need in Passaic County and in New Jersey, everyone must vote by November 4th,” Paulsen, the state’s GOP chair, said. “We are paying attention, we are vigilant, but the way we are going to win is to make it too big to rig.”

The New Jersey GOP later posted on X, “Bold strategy. Guess democracy dies in the dark… and apparently, Passaic just turned off the lights.”

Good mornin’, New Jersey! ☀️

Passaic County Democrats don’t want security cameras or a sign-in log for ballot storage areas.

Bold strategy. Guess democracy dies in the dark… and apparently, Passaic just turned off the lights . 🗳️🕶️ https://t.co/tAxhOKrRVJ

— New Jersey GOP (@NJGOP) October 19, 2025

Democratic comms strategist Daniel Bryan, who previously worked as a top adviser to outgoing Gov. Murphy (D), dinged the New Jersey GOP and accused the party of setting the stage for election denialism.

“Let’s be clear on what this is: the [New Jersey Republican Party] is setting the stage to deny November’s election results. They see the same polling and early vote data as the rest of us. Hope the press sees this for what it is and starts calling it out *now*,” he posted on X.

The Post pinged Ciattarelli’s campaign and officials in Passaic County for comment.