Speaker 1: Bloomberg Audio Studios, podcasts, radio news.
Speaker 2: The Cross, New Jersey. Bomb threats at multiple polling locations
Speaker 2: have prompted closures relocations today. We are very happy that
Speaker 2: he's making some time for us. We have with US
Speaker 2: now Attorney General Matt Platkin, the new Jersey Attorney General.
Speaker 2: So tell us law enforcement responded to these email threats
Speaker 2: at polling places. Where do things stand right now and
Speaker 2: what are you telling voters today?
Speaker 1: Well, first off, I want to reassure every voter that
Speaker 1: we are not going to tolerate anyone trying to interfere
Speaker 1: with our elections. Voters should have full confidence at today's
Speaker 1: elections will be free, fair, and they should be able
Speaker 1: to cast their votes safely. We received by email early
Speaker 1: this morning a number of threats to polling places across
Speaker 1: about eight counties. Law enforcement responded immediately at each polling place.
Speaker 1: They've secured the polling places and voters can vote safely.
Speaker 1: At this time, there is no indication that any of
Speaker 1: those threats were credible, and almost all of them have
Speaker 1: been reopened. And we direct you to vote dot NJ
Speaker 1: dot gov if you have questions about your particular polling site.
Speaker 2: How many polling sites. Did these threats actually impact this morning?
Speaker 1: It's around two dozen polling sites across the state, and
Speaker 1: I should note there's no clear pattern of where they
Speaker 1: went to. They were statewide. But again I want to
Speaker 1: thank law enforcement for their incredible response quickly securing these sites. Again,
Speaker 1: no indication that any of these threats were credible. We've
Speaker 1: secured all the polling sites and almost all of them
Speaker 1: have reopened.
Speaker 3: Matt, talk to us about turnout here. What are the
Speaker 3: expectations for voter turnout across my home state of New Jersey.
Speaker 1: Well, over the past eight years, under Governor Murphy's leadership,
Speaker 1: the state has dramatically expanded access to voting. So we've
Speaker 1: seen significant increases in early voting in person and vote
Speaker 1: by mail, and we hope that everyone who wants to
Speaker 1: do so will cast their vote today. It's an exciting
Speaker 1: day in the state. This is a fundamental right, people's
Speaker 1: right to vote, and my job, principally is to make
Speaker 1: sure that people can do so safely, freely, and fairly,
Speaker 1: and that is exactly what I'm focused on.
Speaker 2: And we are joined by New Jersey Attorney General Matt Platkin.
Speaker 2: Tell us, Matt, your thoughts on President Trump threatening to
Speaker 2: withhold or reduce federal funding to New York City. If
Speaker 2: the socialist Zoron Mom Donnie wins in our mayor's race today,
Speaker 2: that's going to impact if that were to happen New
Speaker 2: Jersey as well, our friends just over the river, how
Speaker 2: might that impact what's happening in your state?
Speaker 1: Well, look again, I wish New York City is just
Speaker 1: like New Jersey of free and fair and safe election today,
Speaker 1: and I wish everyone well who's participating in that. The
Speaker 1: President has routinely and the administration has routinely unlawfully withheld
Speaker 1: funds against places that he've used as perceived political opponents.
Speaker 1: New Jersey has not been immune to those risks and
Speaker 1: those threats. We have gone to court dozens of times
Speaker 1: and been successful dozens of times and restoring billions and
Speaker 1: billions of dollars of federal funding that have been unlawfully held,
Speaker 1: funding for things like as we're dealing with right now,
Speaker 1: for eight hundred and fifty thousand New Jerseyans who rely
Speaker 1: on Snap for their food, for themselves, for their kids,
Speaker 1: for their seniors, things like funding for education, funding for
Speaker 1: kids with special needs, healthcare funding for housing for our seniors.
Speaker 1: All of these have been unlawfully cut or threatened to
Speaker 1: be cut by this administration. So my response is very simple.
Speaker 1: If this administration violates the law and hurts the people
Speaker 1: in our state, I've been very clear we will go
Speaker 1: to court to protect them.
Speaker 3: Matt, I think I speak for most, if not all,
Speaker 3: New Jersey transit writers, which I've been a New Jersey
Speaker 3: transit commuter for forty years nearly. What's the state of
Speaker 3: some of the gateway projects that we're moving along so quickly,
Speaker 3: but now under threat from this federal administration. What's the
Speaker 3: status there?
Speaker 1: Yeah, and I thank Governor Murphy who has been a
Speaker 1: champion of the gateway project and deferred to him in
Speaker 1: his office on the transportation infrastructure in the state. Ble Look,
Speaker 1: the President made some comments. It is our understanding that
Speaker 1: the project has not been affected, but we are going
Speaker 1: to continue to monitor very closely. Just like I was
Speaker 1: just saying, any unlawful threat to or cut to funding
Speaker 1: that affects the state of New Jersey is something we
Speaker 1: take very seriously, and we've been very clear that we're
Speaker 1: prepared to stand up for our residents should we need
Speaker 1: to do so.
Speaker 3: All right man. Thank you so much. We really appreciate it.
Speaker 3: Matt Plankin. He is the New Jersey Attorney General, Democrat,
Speaker 3: and he is a proud graduate of Madison High School,
Speaker 3: home of the Dodgers,