At issue is Article II, Section I, regarding elections and voting. Paragraph six of the section states that, "No idiot or insane person shall enjoy the right of suffrage." The same phrase appears in Title 19:4-1 of the State Statute.

In response, Senate President Richard J. Codey (D-Essex) introduced a concurrent resolution (SCR 134) that would amend the constitution and a bill (S 2476) which would change the language in the State Statute. The amendment would change the wording to: "The offensive language would be replaced by the phrase "person who has been adjudicated by a court of competent jurisdiction to lack the capacity to understand the act of voting."

The legislation was drafted by Monday Morning in conjunction with the Department of the Public Advocate, the Office of Legislative services and Sen. Codey’s office. The legislation was referred to the Senate State Government Committee, which held two public hearings. The measures were unanimously approved by the committee, after hearing testimony from many advocates with disabilities. All members of the committee signed on as co-sponsors.

On February 22, SCR-134 was passed, 36-0, by the full senate. S-2476 still needs to go before the full senate for a vote.

On the same day, the General Assembly introduced companion legislation, ACR-240 and A-4030. The bills are sponsored by Assemblyman Joseph Cryan (D-Union) and Assemblyman James Whelan (D-Atlantic).

The Assembly State Government Committee, chaired by Assemblyman Mims Hackett. held a public hearing on March 12th to hear testimony from advocates. The committee unanimously moved ACR-240, A-430 and SCR-134.

On June 21, the measure was passed by the General Assembly by a vote of 79-0. It now awaits  Governor Corzine's signature and will then be placed on the November statewide ballot as a public question.

Below is a chronology of the proposed amendment.
1/9/2007   Introduced in the Senate, Referred to Senate State Government Committee
1/29/2007 Reported from Senate Committee, 2nd Reading
1/29/2007 Constitutional Amendments Placed on Desk in Senate
1/29/2007 Concurrent Resolutions Placed on desk in Assembly
2/8/2007   Public Hearing Held SSG COMMITTEE
2/22/2007 Passed by the Senate (36-0)
2/22/2007 Received in the Assembly, Referred to Assembly State Government Committee
3/12/2007 Reported out of Assembly Committee, 2nd Reading
6/21/2007 Substituted for ACR240
6/21/2007 Passed by the Assembly (79-0-0)

BACKGROUND
As he introduced his bill, Sen. Codey said" "This is yet another big step towards removing the stigma of mental illness. We must bring mental health into the new century. The fact that this language has remained in our constitution for so long is a disgrace. Not only is it insensitive, but it does not take into account the individual circumstances of people with varying degrees of disabilities."

In 1976, the Appellate Division of the Superior Court of New Jersey declared that the words "idiot" and "insane" were outdated and offensive and no longer had any legal meaning. Instead, the court declared that an individual’s constitutional right to vote may only be denied by an individualized and specific decision by a court.