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A 4369

Relates to the next generation 911 system, an emergency services internet protocol network

2025 Regular Session Introduced by Maritza Davila and 8 co-sponsors

Allows 16- and 17-year-olds in NJ to vote only in local school board elections, with state rulemaking and no action required by districts.

REPORTED REFERRED TO WAYS AND MEANS
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Bill Summary · A 4369

Summary of Assembly Bill A 4369 (Introduced May 16, 2024)

Note: The bill text provided for A 4369 centers on allowing 16- and 17-year-olds to vote in local school board elections. The header’s reference to “Relates to the next generation 911 system” appears to be unrelated to the introduced content. This summary focuses on the introduced provisions regarding youth voting in school elections.

Purpose and intent

  • Extend the right to vote to 16- and 17-year-old United States citizens who are residents of New Jersey, but only in local school district elections for school board members.
  • Clarify that 18+ voting eligibility remains unchanged for other elections.

Key provisions

1) Eligibility to vote in school board elections
- Any person who is at least 16 years old, a U.S. citizen, and has resided in the school district for at least 30 days preceding the school election may vote for school board members in their district.
- Under no circumstances would 16- or 17-year-olds be permitted to vote in elections other than the local school board election in their district.

2) Secretary of State rulemaking (Administrative Procedure Act)
- The Secretary of State must promulgate rules to implement the new voting framework, including:
- (a) Creating a registration form and process for registering 16- and 17-year-olds to vote in school board elections, aligning as closely as possible with the form/process used for other voters under Title 19, Chapter 31.
- (b) Establishing a method to verify the identity of registered 16- and 17-year-old voters, aligned as closely as possible with the methods used for other voters.
- (c) Designing paper ballots on which 16- and 17-year-olds may vote for school board members.
- (d) Ensuring the provisions are implemented effectively and are compatible with the administration of all other elections in the state.

3) Implementation notes
- The bill explicitly states that its provisions do not require any action by a school board or municipality to implement them.

4) Effective date
- The act would take effect on January 1 of the year following enactment.

Who is affected

  • 16- and 17-year-old U.S. citizens who reside in a New Jersey school district (and have lived there at least 30 days prior to the school election).
  • School districts and local election administrators would implement the new process only for school board elections, not other elections.

Procedural and timeline aspects

  • Status: REPORTED REFERRED TO WAYS AND MEANS (as of 2025-04-30); previously referred to Local Governments and introduced in May 2024.
  • The Secretary of State is tasked with rulemaking under the Administrative Procedure Act; no specific regulatory deadline is provided in the text.
  • No mandatory action by school districts or municipalities is required to implement the act.

Legislative context

  • Sponsor: Jenifer Rajkumar (primary); multiple cosponsors.
  • Related bills/companions: S 3240 (companion), S 192 (companions), A 5942 (prior-session).

This bill, if enacted, would create a targeted pathway for younger residents to participate in local school governance, potentially expanding youth civic engagement while maintaining strict limits to school elections only.

Compiled from official sources — confirm details with the bill’s official record.

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