Good morning, New Jersey.
It’s 6 AM, and the polls are now open and will remain so until 8 PM for a special primary election in New Jersey’s 10th district, where both parties will nominate a candidate to fill the unexpired term of Rep. Donald M. Payne, Jr. (D-Newark), a six-term congressman who died in office on April 24 at age 65.
Eleven Democrats want to succeed Payne: Newark Council President LaMonica McIver; Hudson County Commissioner Jerry Walker; Linden Mayor Derek Armstead; former East Orange Councilwoman Brittany Claybrooks; New Jersey Redevelopment Authority CEO Darryl Godfrey; former Payne congressional staffer Shana Melius; law professor Eugene Mazo; Democratic County Committeewoman Alberta Gordon; John Flora; Sheila Montague; and Debra Salters.
Click HERE to read Joey Fox’s analysis of the Democratic primary.
Republican Carmen Bucco is unopposed in his party’s primary and will face the Democratic nominee in a September 18 special election.
Click HERE to read the New Jersey Globe 10th District Democratic candidate questionnaires: Brittany Claybrooks | John Flora | Darryl Godfrey | Alberta Gordon | LaMonica McIver | Shana Melius | Sheila Montague | Jerry Walker
Since Payne died after the filing deadline, he remained on the ballot for the June 4 primary election and won posthumously. Democrats have scheduled a special convention for Thursday to pick their nominee for a full two-year term in the November general election.
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.
Voters casting vote-by-mail ballots should skip the U.S. Postal Service and instead use secure ballot drop boxes in the county where they reside:
Essex County has secured 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.
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 show up on the voter list, and the issue is not addressed, election officials will likely reject the ballot.
Superior Court judges across the state will be available through the closing of the polls to conduct hearings if voters believe they were improperly rejected from early voting.
Voters who believe a mistake was made can request to appear before a judge. This can be done remotely by video or telephone; it’s not necessary to go to the courthouse, 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.