Photo By 1st Sgt. Wayne Woolley | Col. Robert Hughes talks New Jersey National Guard members mobilizing to support the...... read more read more
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By Sgt. 1st Class Wayne Woolley
The New Jersey National Guard is ready to make Garden State election history. Again.
After mobilizing more than 150 Airmen and Soldiers in June for its first ever mission in support of a primary election, the National Guard is poised to expand its efforts by backing up election officials across the state for the Nov. 3 general election.
“You are going to be a part of history,” Col. Robert Hughes, commander of the 44th Infantry Brigade Combat Team told Soldiers and Airmen preparing for the new mission, which will run from Oct. 26 to Nov. 20. “This is your opportunity to demonstrate to your communities the professionalism of the National Guard.”
Just as during the primary, the mobilized troops will wear civilian clothes and work under the direction of county election officials to perform a range of duties to include manning and sanitizing polling places on election day to processing ballots in the days that follow.
The National Guard’s election mission is an extension of its response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Since the outbreak began, hundreds of Airmen and Soldiers have manned testing centers, built and staffed field hospitals and assisted at senior residential care facilities – all under the direction of civil authorities. The election missions arose at the request of county election officials who were contending with shortages of poll workers due to the virus.
The Airmen and Soldiers mobilized for the primary election worked in seven counties and processed nearly 375,000 ballots. For the general election, a force of nearly 250 will report to election officials in 18 of the state’s 21 counties.
Sgt. 1st Class Christopher Mahoney is among the Soldiers who have been mobilized for both missions. He sees both as a logical extension of the National Guard’s role as the state’s military first responders.
“We’re part of an all-volunteer military and we volunteer to do these things because it helps the community,” he said.
| Date Taken: | 10.25.2020 |
| Date Posted: | 10.27.2020 11:18 |
| Story ID: | 381704 |
| Location: | SEA GIRT, NJ, US |
| Web Views: | 93 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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