A new law signed by Gov. Phil Murphy last changed some upcoming New Jersey election deadlines. His motive: make it easier for vote-by-mail ballots to go out on time.
Here’s a look at some important upcoming deadlines for the November general election.
The most impactful change was to move the filing deadline for candidates running in November non-partisan municipal elections from September 5 to August 24 at 4 PM. Instead of the deadline occurring 64 days prior to Election Day, it will now be 75 days.
The deadline for the last day for political parties to fill general election ballot vacancies created when the winner of the June primary election drops out of the race. That’s not an infrequent occurrence: changing political climates and other circumstances sometimes cause parties to switch candidates. The previous deadline for a candidate to drop out was September 12 (56 days before the election); now it’s August 20 (70 days before Election Day). Parties have until August 31 to put a replacement candidate on the ballot – two weeks earlier than before.
Independent candidates have until August 18 (81 days prior to the election) to withdraw; that previous deadline was 70 days. That’s the same deadline for school board and fire commissioner candidates.
The filing deadline to run for school board and fire commissioner in the November general election is at 4 PM on July 31. This remains unchanged. It’s unclear what the legislative intent was when filing deadlines for school board candidates were set for 36 days before non-partisan municipal candidates.
Proposed amendments to the New Jersey State Constitution to be considered by voters in November 2023 election must be submitted by August 7. There were no changes to the three-month deadline, but there is zero indication that legislative leaders intend to put an initiative on the ballot.
August 11 is the new deadline for municipal governing bodies to submit non-binding public questions for the general election ballot to the county clerk, one week earlier than before.
Here’s a look at some important upcoming deadlines for the November general election.
The ballot drawing for the general election is scheduled for August 14. Some county clerks from Central Jersey may want to mark that on their calendars.