The signs were removed after the Board of Elections was made aware of them, officials said.
METUCHEN -- At least one polling location in this Middlesex County borough posted signs requiring all voters to show identification, a violation of voter identification laws in New Jersey.
Edward Barocas, legal director for the American Civil Liberties Union of New Jersey, said the group received a complaint about the signs around 9 a.m. Polling locations in New Jersey opened at 6 a.m.
A sign posted at a polling location in Metuchen urged voters to have identification ready to show poll workers. (Courtesy of the ACLU).The signs were posted at the Metuchen Moss School voting precinct and appear to have been taped on the tables. The signs said: "Please Have ID Ready For Poll Worker."
Shortly before 11 a.m., several voters leaving that location said they were not asked to show identification before entering the voting booth.
Cassandra Achille, the supervisor of elections in Middlesex County, said the issue was resolved as soon as they were made aware of the signs.
"Once we found out about the situation, we told them it was inappropriate, and the signs had to come down, and they came down," Achille said.
It's unclear, however, who created the signs or who instructed the poll workers to post them.
Achille said she had "no idea" how the signs got there. Middlesex County Clerk Elaine Flynn refused to meet with a reporter who went to her office. The reporter was instructed to call Jim Vokral of the Board of Elections, who handled the matter. Vokral did not immediately return a phone call seeking more information.
Over the years, the fight over voter identification laws has become a hot-button political issue in many states. Critics contend that requiring voters to show identification at the polls is a violation of civil rights and singles out low-income individuals, minorities, students, senior citizens and voters with disabilities.
Voter laws vary from state to state. Currently, 31 states enforce voter identification requirements, including 16 that require voters show a photo ID.
In New Jersey, voters can be asked to show identification in certain cases. According to the New Jersey Voters' Bill of Rights, the following voters must show identification:
* You were a mail-in registrant and did provide your driver's license number or the last four digits of your social security number, but the numbers could not be verified, you must show the board workers identification today."
The Metuchen signs, however, indicated that all voters must present identification.
Metuchen is not the only location in New Jersey to reportedly ask people to show an ID before voting.
Hoboken Mayor Dawn Zimmer said in a tweet shortly after 3 p.m. that she ran into the same issue.
I just got asked for ID to vote in my polling location at Boys & Girls Club. This is not ok Hudson County Board of Elections!
-- Dawn Zimmer (@dawnzimmernj) November 8, 2016
Alex Napoliello may be reached at anapoliello@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @alexnapoNJ. Find NJ.com on Facebook.