Murphy, Way, Bucco urge voters to sign up for ‘Track My Ballot’

New Jerseyans who vote using mail-in ballots in the upcoming elections can take responsibility for their own votes by signing up for a free “Track My Ballot” account that will confirm that a county election official has marked it as received.

Over 965,000 New Jerseyans have signed up for Track My Ballot accounts, about 15% of the state’s total electorate.

So far, 26,009 ballots for the November election have been marked as returned by election officials, about 2.8% of the 908,713 ballots already mailed, according to an analysis by Ryan Dubicki, an Associated Press election researcher.

While it’s still early – VBMs started going out around September 23 – the number of returned ballots in the 3rd legislative district, where State Sen. Ed Durr (R-Logan) faces former Assemblyman John Burzichelli (D-Paulsboro) – is startling.  A total of 1,668 ballots have been returned – 7% of the 24,489 sent out – and 68% of the returned ballots are from Democrats.

Three top New Jersey political leaders from both parties have urged voters to use the Track My Ballot option.

“As we expand the ways for which New Jerseyans can exercise their most fundamental right, we want to give voters greater visibility into the status of their mail-in ballots through the Track My Ballot option,” said Gov. Phil Murphy.  “Giving voters access to track their ballots will provide them increased trust and confidence during the democratic process. “

Murphy said he recommends that “all voters using mail-in ballots sign up for a Track My Ballot account at Vote.NJ.Gov, which is the Division of Election’s one-stop shop for resources and information regarding the upcoming election.”

“Whether they return their ballots via mail, to a secure drobox, or directly to their County Board of Elections, voters should sign up for a Track My Ballot account at vote.nj.gov,” said Lt. Governor Tahesha Way, the New Jersey Secretary of State.  “In their voter account, voters can see when their County Clerk mailed their ballot when the county Board of Elections has received their ballot —  and after the election, that their ballot has been counted.”

If a voter finds that their ballot has not arrived at county election offices, they have the option of voting provisionally to ensure that they are not disenfranchised.

“Track My Ballot is a way for New Jersey voters to exercise responsibility over their vote-by-mail process, and I strongly recommend every voter sign up for an account,” said Way.

Republicans are also investing in vote-by-mail and early voting this year, with the Republican State Leadership Committee investing about $1 million in the state this year to assure voters the process is protected.

“We are investing a lot of resources as a party to spread the message that early voting and vote-by-mail in the upcoming legislative races are safe and secure,” said Senate Minority Leader Anthony Bucco.  “Whether voters choose to go to the polls on Election Day or vote-by-mail, we want them to know their vote is important and counts.”