Gov. Murphy signs bill to make November election mostly mail-only

Gov. Phil Murphy has signed into law legislation to conduct November’s presidential election nearly entirely by mail.

The governor signed the bills just a day after the Democrat-led Legislature sent them to his desk. They come in the face of a lawsuit from Republican President Donald Trump’s campaign to halt an executive order Murphy signed earlier this month requiring a mostly mail-in election.

The GOP lawsuit argued that the governor’s order amounted to a “usurpation” of the Legislature’s powers.

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The November election will be conducted mostly by mail, but New Jersey residents will be able to vote in person, but will have to do so by provisional ballot, which will only be counted once election officials verify that the voter did not previously mail in a ballot.

Murphy says that each municipality in the state will be required to have at least one polling location on Nov. 3.

The Associated Press wire services contributed to this report.