State of emergency won’t affect today’s School Board votes

Lt. Gov. Sheila Oliver said the state of emergency Gov. Phil Murphy called in response to the growing threat New Jersey faces from COVID-19 won’t impact four Special School Board elections being held Tuesday.

“There are four school board elections today ran in small districts. You should know that all of those polling places have been provided with sanitizer and poll workers have been advised to take precautions,” she said.

Residents in South Harrison, Edison, Belmar and Woodbridge will vote on school construction bond issues that will incur additional debt for their towns if passed.

An election official in one of the counties said they did not receive any sanitizer special instructions from the state on how to mitigate the threat posed by the virus.

These elections tend to draw few voters — the lowest of all elections absent controversy to push turnout.

The races closely follow the announcement of New Jersey’s first coronavirus-related death.

Earlier Tuesday, Oliver announced a 69-year-old man from Bergen County died of a heart attack shortly after a test found his presumptively positive for the virus. He had a series of health problems, including emphysema, diabetes and hypertension, among others.

He was one of 15 who have so far tested positive for COVID-19. Twenty tests are in progress, and the state is investigating 31 persons who may have contracted the illness.