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New Jersey sees record early voting turnout

Posted on by Vanessa
New Jersey sees record early voting turnout

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The first weekend of early in-person voting in New Jersey saw record turnout.

There were 135,075 early voters across the Garden State on Saturday and 111,928 on Sunday. According to the state election officials, of the 1,098,115 ballot papers issued, around 611,535 postal ballot papers have been returned so far.

That total is already higher than the 124,197 from early in-person voting and the 421,573 from mail-in voting last year.

Gov. Phil Murphy said Monday there were no reports of machine problems, but there were reports of long lines across the state.

“I think it’s an overwhelming success,” he said. “You can vote in different ways, and if you could vote in multiple ways, the chances of you participating increase.”

Murphy noted that early in-person voting runs through Sunday and absentee voting is available through Election Day.

Bergen County led both days with 13,094 ballots on Saturday and 11,353 on Sunday. Essex County had 8,100 and 6,291, respectively. In Morris County there were 9,919 and 8,275, in Passaic County 7,157 and 5,788 and in Sussex County 2,827 and 2,419.

Voting guide: Our coverage of New Jersey's 2024 elections for federal, local and school elections

Where can I vote early in North Jersey?

Polling stations are open Monday to Saturday from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. and Sunday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m

Voting takes place at specific locations in each county, which are likely different from the local polling place on Election Day.

There are 6,659,963 registered voters in the state, representing about 71% of the population.

There are multiple early voting locations in each county. Bergen County has nine, Essex County has 10, Morris County has eight, Passaic County has 10 and Sussex County has three. Specific addresses can be found on the state's elections department website.

What about mail-in ballots?

Voters who were given a mail-in ballot in this election are expected to use that ballot. If they instead go to a polling station to cast their vote in person, they will only be able to vote using a provisional ballot instead of voting using a voting machine as usual. The electronic poll book at your polling station shows that you have already received a ballot.

Provisional ballots are used to prevent election fraud. They are cast by voters whose eligibility to vote cannot be confirmed in the election on election day or who have requested a postal vote. If it is determined after the election that the voter who cast the provisional ballot was eligible to vote, the ballot will be counted.

Katie Sobko covers the New Jersey Statehouse. Email: [email protected]

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