The coronavirus has upended just about all of our routines, not the least of which is exercising our right to vote.
That’s why it can’t be emphasized often enough this season that voting in New Jersey is different this time in an effort to keep residents away from crowds.
All registered voters should have received an actual ballot – not a sample – in the mail late last month or early this month. If you haven’t already sent yours back either through the mail or a ballot drop box, we urge you to do so now rather than wait.
Ballots picked up from drop boxes through end of voting at 8 p.m. Tuesday will be processed as will ballots postmarked by the same time Election Day and received by your county board of elections by Nov. 10.
Ballots can also be dropped off by 8 p.m. Tuesday at your county Board of Elections, which, for Hudson County residents is at Hudson County Plaza, 257 Cornelison Ave., Jersey City. The office has extended hours this weekend -- until 8 tonight, from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. tomorrow, and from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. Sunday.
The most common complaint the Hudson County office is seeing this election cycle involves registered voters who didn’t get or have misplaced their ballots, Hudson County Clerk E. Junior Maldonado told us yesterday.
If you’re one of those voters, he says you can go to Hudson County Plaza to sign an affidavit and get a new ballot. You can also go to the polls on Election Day, he said.
For anyone who chooses to vote in person, be aware that it might not be at your usual polling place and, unless you are disabled, you won’t be voting by machine. Rather, you can bring the ballot you received in the mail or you will be given a provisional, paper ballot to fill out onsite. Because these ballots will have to be cross-referenced against ballots that were mailed in or dropped off, they won’t be counted until Nov. 10.
Whether you’re one of those voters who never, ever misses an election or someone who is more selective about which races to weigh in on, we urge you to make a plan for the best way for you to vote.
As you’ve heard repeatedly, the stakes are high.
At the top of the ballot is what is being called the most consequential contest for president in American history. There are Congressional races of varying intensity as well as a referendum on whether New Jersey should legalize marijuana, other statewide questions, county commissioner (freeholder) races, school board races and, in Jersey City, a special election to fill the Heights council seat and a referendum on whether to create an Arts and Culture Trust Fund.
If you have questions, go to the Hudson County Clerk’s Office website, hudsoncountyclerk.org, or call the Voter Information and Assistance Line at 1-877-NJ-VOTER (1-877-658-6837).
Send letters to the editor and guest columns for The Jersey Journal to jjletters@jjournal.com. Be sure to include the writer’s full name and town/city of residence.
"wait" - Google News
October 30, 2020 at 05:30PM
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Don’t wait to vote | Jersey Journal editorial - NJ.com
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