Permits county board of elections to begin canvassing early votes before election day under certain conditions; permits county board of elections to begin counting mail-in ballots as mail-in ballots are received by county board.

This bill allows New Jersey county election boards to begin counting early voting ballots 24 hours after the early voting period ends and to count mail-in ballots as they are received, rather than waiting until election day. It requires election boards to follow security and secrecy measures during this process and keeps all early vote and mail-in ballot results confidential until polls close on election day. The bill also extends existing criminal penalties for prematurely disclosing ballot results to cover both early votes and mail-in ballots. These changes apply directly to county election boards and the voters whose ballots are processed under these new timelines.