New Jerseyans have cast almost 97,000 primary votes so far

Four weeks before the June 6 primary election, 96,803 New Jersey voters have already cast their votes, according to an analysis by Ryan Dubicki, an elections researcher for the Associated Press.

Election officials have already received 13.3% of the 725,984 vote-by-mail ballots sent out by county clerks last month.

Statewide, Democrats have returned 72,935 VBM ballots (13.7%), while Republicans have sent back 23,766 (13.8%) of their mail-in ballots.  Democrats have returned more VBMs than Republicans in each of the state’s 40 legislative districts.

So far, 2.8% of Democrats and 1.5% of Republicans in the state have voted.

Here’s the tally of returned vote-by-mail ballots in the legislative districts with hotly contested primary elections:

3rd District
Republican VBMs mailed: 4,844; 1,148 returned (24%)
Turnout so far: 2.3%

4th District
Republican VBMs mailed: 7,029; 1,208 returned (17%)
Turnout so far: 2.7%

24th District
Republican VBMs mailed: 5,877; 996 returned (17%)
Turnout so far: 1.2%

27th District
Democratic VBMs mailed: 17,438; 2,065 returned (12%)
Turnout so far: 2.4%

28th District
Democratic VBMs mailed: 11,723; 2,065 returned (18%)
Turnout so far: 2.3%