Middlesex Man To Fly In From Florida To Vote After Ballot Issue

EDISON, NJ — A desperate New Jersey resident is flying in from Florida on Tuesday to vote in the general election.

Elie Wildman, 42, told Patch that he was unable to get himself re-registered in Middlesex County after trying for weeks.

Wildman’s parents lived in Edison before moving out in 2018. An IT consultant by profession, Wildman is on the road most times. While he was visiting Florida earlier this year, COVID-19 struck and since then he’s had to stay put.

With elections on the horizon, Wildman and his daughter, a first-time voter decided to check on their registration and get their paperwork in order.

“I travel a lot on work, and my last known permanent address is in Edison where my parents lived. You can use a previous permanent address to get yourself registered. I had to re-register because my absentee ballot was sent back,” he told Patch.

In August Wildman and his daughter, who is currently in Israel, registered themselves via the New Jersey online voter registration system, to receive their ballots.

But six weeks later, Wildman discovered that neither of them were registered.

“I called the Board of Elections many times. I was told that since I was re-registering it shouldn’t be a problem. So on Oct. 13, I decided to fill out the paperwork and sent it via priority mail. It was received on Oct. 17,” he said.

When Wildman checked again last week, he found his name still missing from the list. For a whole week, Wildman called, sent emails and even faxed the County Clerk's office for information.

He was finally able to get a hold of someone at the office. "They were completely overwhelmed there. But I was told I can come in on voting day, cast my provisional ballot and that should activate my registration,” Wildman said.

The 42-year-old admits he’s taking a risk by coming in to vote, while his name isn’t “on the book.”

“A few years ago when I tried to vote provisionally, I was told that my name was “not on the book”. But I was still able to cast my vote. So, I’m hoping the same happens tomorrow. On Oct.28 when I spoke with the County Clerk, nice lady, she told me she had seen cases like this before. So yes, I’m flying in tomorrow to vote,” Wildman said.

Although Wildman doesn’t mind taking his chances, he wonders about all those voters who’ve had to give up due to similar issues.

“I managed to get a flight, within my means, and so I’m coming in to cast my ballot. What about those who’ve never missed an election and are facing similar issues because they are elsewhere?” he asked.

Wildman cited his own daughter as an example. “She’s in Israel and decided to just give up on it,” he said.

The New Jersey Division of Elections did not respond to Patch’s requests for comment.

This story was produced with the help of tips reported through ProPublica's Electionland project. If you experience or witness a problem voting, please let us know.

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