Good morning, New Jersey.
The fourth of nine days of early voting in a special election for the U.S. House of Representatives in New Jersey’s 10th district continues today, with polls open from 10 AM to 8 PM.
Democrat LaMonica McIver and Republican Carmen Bucco are seeking the unexpired term of Rep. Donald Payne, Jr. (D-Newark), who died on April 24. There are two independent candidates: Russell Jenkins and Rayfield Morton. Early voting began on Sunday.
Once the results are certified, the winner could take office this month and will serve until the next Congress is seated on January 3. McIver and Bucco will face off again in November in a contest for a full two-year term.
Early voting centers will be open today through Saturday from 10 AM to 8 PM today and on Sunday and from 10 AM to 8 PM.
Essex County will have seven early voting locations: East Orange, Irvington, Verona, West Orange, and three in Newark.
Union County has five early voting locations: Cranford, Roselle, Roselle Park, Kenilworth, and Union; in Hudson County, Jersey City has three early voting locations.
Click HERE to view the list of early voting locations.
As long as voters are in line by the close of early voting each day, they may vote regardless of how long the lines are. Voters should never be asked to leave and come back the next day.
First-time voters who registered by mail might need to provide identification at the polls.
Anyone who has already received a vote-by-mail ballot may not vote by machine but can seek a replacement mail-in ballot from their county clerk or request a provisional ballot on Election Day.
Considering the closeness of Election Day, voters should cast vote-by-mail-in ballots, skipping the U.S. Postal Service and using secure ballot drop boxes in the county where they reside.
Essex County has secure ballot drop box locations in Caldwell, East Orange, Essex Fells, Irvington, Orange, and Verona, along with two each in Montclair and West Orange and four in Newark. In Union County, secure ballot drop box locations are in Elizabeth, Garwood, Hillside, Kenilworth, Linde, Roselle, Roselle Park, and Westfield, as well as two in Cranford and two in Union. There are five in Jersey City.
Click HERE to view the list of secure ballot drop box locations.
Superior Court judges across the state will be available through Sunday to conduct remote hearings if New Jerseyans believe they were improperly rejected from early voting.
Voters should not leave their polling location just because an election worker says they don’t appear on their rolls. Instead, they should contact election officials to determine their registration status. A provisional ballot can be requested on Election Day, but that won’t fix the problem; if a name does not appear on the voter list and the issue is not addressed, election officials will likely reject the ballot.
Instead, voters who believe a mistake was made can request to appear before a judge. This can be done remotely by video or telephone; going to the courthouse is unnecessary, although that is an option.
Election officials will arrange for a judge to hear election-related issues on the same day.
The state’s Voter Protection Initiative will watch for voting rights and civil rights violations during early voting and on Election Day. The Office of Public Integrity and Accountability will monitor allegations of voter intimidation, election fraud and interference, illegal electioneering, and other criminal violations.
The OPIA has spent more than four years pursuing election fraud charges filed against Paterson Councilmen Alex Mendez and Michael Jackson; the two were re-elected earlier in May while under indictment and awaiting trial. An investigation into racist flyers in the 2017 elections in Edison and Hoboken has turned into cold cases that the OPIA has been unable to crack.
New Jersey’s Voter Information and Assistance Hotline can be reached at 1-877-NJVOTER (1-877-658-6837).
The American Civil Liberties Union Hotline can be reached at 866-OUR-VOTE (866-687-8683).
Click HERE to check your voter registration.
Click HERE to Track Your Ballot.