What Could Possibly Go Wrong With This ?
the staff of the Ridgewood blog
Trenton NJ, in a move that could redefine how New Jersey verifies its votes, the State Senate has passed a major legislative update to the post-election auditing process. Sponsored by Senator Andrew Zwicker (D-Middlesex/Mercer/Somerset/Hunterdon), Bill S-3853 was approved with a unanimous 37-0 vote on December 22, 2025.
The bill argues that in an era of early voting and high-volume mail-in ballots, the “old-fashioned” way of hand-counting is no longer the most efficient path to election security.
🤖 The Shift: Third-Party Machines vs. Hand-Counts
Under current New Jersey law, post-election audits are conducted exclusively via hand-to-eye counts of voter-verifiable paper records. Bill S-3853 changes the game by introducing “third-party” technology into the mix.
What the new bill permits:
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Independent Electronic Audits: Counties can now use electronic machines to conduct audits, provided they are not associated with the official ballot tabulation system used on election night.
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Certified Tech Only: Any third-party machine must be certified by an accredited laboratory or commission to ensure it hasn’t been tampered with.
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Hybrid Approach: The bill allows for these electronic audits in addition to, or in some cases instead of, traditional hand-counts.
“While necessary in the past, hand-counting ballots is simply not the most effective way to audit our elections in the modern era,” Senator Zwicker stated, arguing that the system needs to be more “flexible” to handle the influx of paper and electronic data.
📉 Removing the “99% Statistical Power” Rule
One of the most controversial aspects of the bill is the removal of strict statistical power requirements.
Previously, audit teams were required to design procedures that ensured a 99% statistical certainty that a full manual recount would not change the outcome of a statewide election. S-3853 eliminates this rigid mathematical mandate. In its place, the state will now:
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Publish audit procedures before each election.
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Open the process to public comment, allowing residents to weigh in on how the audits are designed.
Critics of the move worry that removing the 99% statistical benchmark could weaken the “teeth” of the audit, while supporters claim the change allows for more adaptable, common-sense auditing in different types of races.
🔍 Key Provisions You Should Know
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Random Selection: County boards of elections must randomly select and announce at least two percent of the audit units within 24 hours of starting the audit.
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Transparency: The results of the audit and any discrepancies must be published for the public to see.
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Audit Units: The bill codifies the use of “audit units”—which can include batches of mail-in ballots, provisional ballots, or specific early voting machines.
⚖️ Why This Matters for 2026 and Beyond
New Jersey is one of several states grappling with how to balance speed with voter confidence. By shifting toward certified third-party machines, the state hopes to provide faster results and reduce the human error often associated with fatigue during manual hand-counts.
However, as skepticism regarding “voting machines” remains a hot-button issue nationally, the success of S-3853 will depend entirely on how transparent the Secretary of State and county boards are when these new machines start rolling out.
New Jersey Election Audit: Then vs. Now
| Feature | Current Law | Under Bill S-3853 |
| Audit Method | Hand-to-eye count only | Hand-count OR certified 3rd-party machines |
| Statistical Goal | Fixed 99% power requirement | Procedures set by public comment |
| Random Draw | 2% of election districts | 2% of “audit units” |
| Security | Paper-trail verified | Paper-trail + independent tech verification |
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