Good morning, New Jersey.
It’s 6 AM, and the polls are now open in a special election for Congress in New Jersey’s 10th district, where voters will fill the unexpired term of Rep. Donald M. Payne, Jr. (D-Newark), who died in April. Polls close at 8 PM.
Democrats nominated LaMonica R. McIver, a two-term Newark city councilwoman, in a special primary election on July 16. She faces Republican Carmen Bucco, a Kenilworth businessman, and two independent candidates, Rayfield Morton and Russell Jenkins.
The 10th district, which includes parts of Essex, Hudson, and Union counties, has six times as many Democrats as Republicans. Joe Biden won the district with 81% in 2020, and Payne was re-elected for a sixth time in 2022 with 78%.
The winner could be sworn in as early as this month for a term ending at noon on January 3, 2025. McIver would become the third woman in the New Jersey delegation – the first time in history that the state sent more than two women to Washington. She would also become the second Black woman to represent New Jersey in Congress.
McIver and Bucco will face off again for a full two-year term on November 5. That race includes four independent candidates.
The 38-year-old McIver has been involved in local politics since she was a teenager, and won a Central Ward city council seat – the same one 29-year-old Cory Booker captured in 1998 – in a 2018 runoff. She was re-elected in 2022 and served as council president until stepping down yesterday.
McIver won the Democratic primary for Payne’s unexpired term by a 47%-14% margin against Linden Mayor Derek Armstead, followed by Hudson County Commissioner Jerry Walker (10%), state economic development official Darryl Godrey (7%), former East Orange Councilwoman Brittany Claybrooks (5%), former Payne staffer Shana Melius (5%), and five others.
Two days later, a special Democratic convention nominated McIver to replace Payne on the November ballot with 79% of the vote.
Bucco, who grew up in the foster care system, lost races for Union County Commissioner in 2021 and 2022, and for State Senate in 2023.
Republicans have not won the 10th district seat since 1946, when Rep. Fred Hartley, Jr. (R-Kearny) won his tenth term by a 52%-46% margin against Democrat Peter Rodino, Jr. (D-Newark). Hartley retired in 1948, and Rodino won the open seat with 51%; Rodino went on to hold the seat for 40 years and became one of the most consequential House members in New Jersey history.
Republicans currently hold a 220-211 majority in the House, with four vacancies. Payne will bring Democrats to 212 seats, and two safe seats in November special elections in Texas and Wisconsin will likely get the House to 221-213. The seat of the late Rep. Bill Pascrell, Jr. (D-Paterson), who died in August, will remain vacant until the new Congress takes office on January 3.
New Jersey is holding a rare Wednesday election to accommodate an archaic state law requiring the general election be held no less than 64 days after the primary.
The last free-standing special congressional election in New Jersey was on February 6, 1950.
Rep. J. Parnell Thomas (R-Allendale), a seven-term incumbent, resigned on January 2 after being convicted of putting his secretary’s niece and her maid on his staff payroll and having them kick back their entire salaries to him.
In an era when elections moved more swiftly, both parties nominated candidates – Assemblyman William Widnall (R-Saddle River) for the Republicans and East Paterson (now Elmwood Park) Mayor John English for the Democrats. Widnall won the seat by a 2-1 margin. Turnout was about 58% less than in the 1950 general election when Widnall won a full two-year term with 70% against former Hackensack Democratic Municipal Chairman Emil Wulster.
As of Tuesday morning, 16,689 voters cast advance votes – a turnout of about 3%. Roughly 81% of those votes have come from registered Democrats and 9% from registered Democrats.
The 10th district includes parts of Newark and Montclair, Caldwell, East Orange, Essex Fells, Irvington, Orange, Verona, and West Orange in Essex County, part of Jersey City in Hudson County, and Cranford, Garwood, Hillside, Kenilworth, Linden, Roselle, Roselle Park and Union Township in Union County.
Anyone who believes their vote has been interfered with, or seeks to report voting-related issues, can call the New Jersey Voter Information and Assistance line toll-free at 1-877-NJVOTER.
Vote-by-mail ballots may be dropped in secure drop boxes or returned by the U.S. Postal Service at the peril of a voter; ballots must be postmarked by 8 PM on September 18 and delivered to the county Board of Elections no later than close of business on Monday, September 24.
Click HERE to find your polling location.
Click HERE for a list of secure ballot drop box locations across the state. If you cast a mail-in vote, track your ballot HERE to make sure it has arrived at your county election office.
Superior Court judges will hear same-day challenges for issues involving early voting and on Election Day. Voters turned away from the polls but believe they are correctly registered should arrange to appear before a judge virtually or by telephone. Click HERE for more information.
Voters can also call the Voter Protection Hotline at 866-OUR-VOTE (866-687-8683) for help from the American Civil Liberties Union and the New Jersey Institute for Social Justice hotline or the New Jersey Republican State Committee Election Integrity hotline at 609-288-2925.
Attorney General Matt Platkin has a Voting Rights Resources page to answer questions about your rights under state law. Click HERE.
Voters who feel they have faced discrimination or harassment in pursuit of their right to vote can also file a report with the Division on Civil Rights through the NJ BIAS online portal — https://bias.njcivilrights.gov — or may call 1-800-277-BIAS (1-800-277-2427). Urgent complaints concerning allegations of discrimination or harassment filed with the Division on Civil Rights may be addressed during the election or after the election.
Possible violations of federal voting rights laws can be reported to the U.S. Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division at civilrights.justice.gov/ or by telephone toll-free at 800-253-3931.
Click HERE to check your voter registration status.