Page 10 THE VILLADOM TIMES III • March 20, 2013 Waldwick Borough council opposing early voting legislation The Waldwick Borough Council last week went on record in opposition to state legislation that would put in place a system for early voting in certain elections. The proposed legislation would require that for each primary and general election several public facilities within the county, which could be a municipal building, recreation center or library, but not a public school, be open and available to registered voters starting 15 days before an election for early polling. An earlier version of the proposal required locations in each municipality. The early polling locations would be open Monday through Saturday from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. and on Sundays from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. “It creates an unfunded mandate, and extending the time creates additional problems. Besides, the opportunity to vote by mail is already there,” said Councilman Don Sciolaro. “The system seems to work well the way it is. I see no reason to change it,” he added. The Waldwick resolution states that rather than serving the stated goal of accommodating voters in pursuit of greater participation in the democratic process, the proposed legislation would in reality increase workloads, add more costs to the election process, and ultimately serve to confuse voters more than it would accommodate their needs. Additionally, the resolution opposes the fact that the legislation would require retraining of poll workers and dramatically increased hours, as well as impose chain of custody requirements to protect the voting process, despite the fact that recruiting and training polls workers is already a difficult process. The municipalities affected would incur overtime costs for election officials and poll workers, among others. But the resolution points out that while municipalities would be able to request reimbursement for extra costs, the legislation does not outline a specific amount of dedicated funding, nor the procedure to follow for a municipality whose reimbursement request is denied. Under current state early voting provisions, voters may request and cast absentee ballots without an excuse. Voters may request an absentee ballot be sent to their home, or they may go in person to county locations and obtain a ballot there. This system has been in place and officials say has worked well for a number of years. Opposition slate (continued from page 9) for a financial consortium. Schulstad is a 10-year borough resident. He is a founder of the Committee of Concerned Saddle River Taxpayers. He holds a Ph.D. in economics from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He is the founder of STO Capital Management, LLC, an investment partnership. Prior to founding STO, he was a senior research analyst at Ramius Capital Group. Slayne is a 14-year borough resident and a former County Committee member. He grew up in Ridgewood and graduated from Bergen Catholic High School and the University of Delaware. He is a managing director and senior portfolio manager at First Republic Investment Management. Gray, a 10-year resident, is a founder of the Committee of Concerned Saddle River Taxpayers. He holds a juris doctorate and has post graduate certification from the Wharton School of Business for mergers and acquisitions. He is a legal executive with Citibank. According to a Slate for Change flyer, the group believes residents should have choices of candidates for all governing positions, including the SRRC, and the group decided to work within the club in an effort to provide choices in the elections for members of the borough’s governing body. The election of SRRC officers was originally planned for Feb. 12, but that meeting was postponed for a review of Election Law Enforcement Commission rules and regulations, according to a Feb. 10 letter from SRRC Past-President George J. Kakaty.