New Jerseyans have returned 303,008 ballots so far in advance of the November 8 general election, a return rate of 31.9%. That’s a jump from 30.2% yesterday, with 16,715 new votes recorded as coming back to county election offices, according to tallies compiled by Ryan Dubicki of the Associated Press.
County clerks have sent out a total of 950,713 total ballots across the state, including 3,097 on Thursday.
In New Jersey’s 7th district, where Rep. Tom Malinowski (D-Ringoes) face Republican Thomas Kean, Jr. (R-Westfield), the former minority leader of the New Jersey State Senate, 35.8% of all mail-in ballot have been returned.
Of the 33,499 returned ballots, 56% are from Democrats, 17 from Republicans, and 14% from unaffiliated voters. Registered Democrats accounted for 51% of all ballots requested, while Republicans are 24% of the pool of ballots mailed by county clerks.
3rd district, 38% of VBM ballots sent out by Burlington, Mercer and Monmouth election officials have been returned. Of that group, 66.5% have come from Democrats, 20% from Republicans, and 13% from unaffiliated voters.
In that district, Rep. Andy Kim (D-Moorestown) faces Republican Bob Healey, a businessman and first-time candidate who also lives in Moorestown.
The rate of returned vote-by-mail ballots in the 5th district, where Rep. Josh Gottheimer (D-Wyckoff) faces a rematch with former investment banker Frank Pallotta, is 31%. Democrats make up 63% of all returned VBMs, followed by Republicans (21%) and unaffiliateds (15%).
So far, the number of VBM ballots that have come back in the 11th district is at 34%.
Rep. Mikie Sherrill (D-Montclair) faces former Assistant Passaic County Prosecutor Paul DeGroot in a race where the GOP is seeking to flip back a seat they held for 34 years prior to a Democratic win in 2018. The returned mail-in ballot pool is 65% Democratic, 20% Republican, and 15% unaffiliated.