PASCACK VALEY—Some of Pascack Valley’s 55,000-plus registered voters have started voting in the Nov. 7 General Election where statewide 40 state Senate seats, 80 state Assembly seats, and numerous seats on county, local government and school boards are in play.
As of Oct. 1, the New Jersey Department of State reported Bergen County had 670,515 registered voters, most of any county statewide. Next highest was Middlesex County with 574,218 registered voters.
Mail-in ballots were sent to registered voters requesting them in early to mid-October, and early in-person voting began Saturday, Oct. 28 and runs through Sunday, Nov. 5, at nine locations in Bergen County, including two in Pascack Valley: River Vale Community Center and Woodcliff Lake Tice Senior Center.
This is the third year New Jersey has allowed early voting, which was signed into law by Gov. Phil Murphy to promote voting participation following the pandemic.
“In New Jersey, voting is more convenient than ever before. You can vote prior to the Nov. 7 election by voting by mail or by early voting. You can also vote in-person on Election Day at your regular polling location,” reads a Remember To Vote flier from county clerk John Hogan’s office.
In November 2020, as the Covid-19 pandemic raged, Murphy ordered mandatory mail-in ballots for nearly all voters statewide, and limited in-person voting.
Registered voters can vote early in-person at any of the county’s nine early-voting locations, also including Fort Lee, Garfield, Hackensack, Paramus, Teaneck, Wood-Ridge, and Wyckoff. Early voting is Monday to Saturday, 10 a.m. to 8 p.m., and Sundays 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Check the Bergen County Clerk’s Office website for details or call your municipal clerk.
The County Clerk’s Office has issued a number of mailers to registered voters listing early voting sites and countywide ballot drop box locations. Sample ballots for all 70 Bergen County towns have been mailed and can be found on the clerk’s website.
Tuesday, Oct. 31, is the deadline for registered voters to apply for a vote-by-mail ballot.
Mail-in ballots can be sent in via U.S. mail or dropped off at any one of 32 countywide secure ballot drop boxes, including five in Pascack Valley: Emerson Borough Hall, Hillsdale Borough Hall, River Vale Town Hall, Washington Township Town Hall, and Westwood Community Center. Mail-in ballots can be dropped off 24/7 in any drop box, until 8 p.m. on Tuesday, Nov. 7.
Over the past month, Pascack Press has highlighted the council races, and regional and local school board elections. Visit thepressgroup.net.
Nnote that there are two known races where write-in candidates are mounting campaigns: for mayor in Hillsdale and for a school board seat in Park Ridge.
Incumbent Hillsdale Republican Councilman Zoltan Horvath, who was passed over to run on the Republican party line, is mounting a write-in campaign for mayor, challenging two party-line hopefuls: Republican Council President Anthony DeRosa and Democrat Michael Sheinfield.
Two-term mayor John Ruocco declined to run for the gavel again; he is competing for one of two open council seats.
Another write-in campaign is occurring in Park Ridge. Competing for one of three open seats on Park Ridge Board of Education is former educator Lori Fredrics, a write-in candidate. Fredrics is competing against incumbent Natalie Agoos, and Rachelle Browne and Robert A. Fisher.
Get out the vote on an off-year
As the Nov. 7 General Election represents an off-year election where neither a president nor governor is on the ballot, election officials have said turnout tends to be lower. However, prior Pascack Valley off-year turnouts have averaged from the low 40% range to nearly 57% of the electorate voting.
All told, the county Superintendent of Elections Office reports 55,516 total Pascack Valley voters, including 21,574 unaffiliated voters, 16,833 Republicans, and 16,690 Democrats. Plus, slightly more than 400 voters registered to parties such as the Conservative Party, Libertarian Party, Green Party, and Natural Law Party.
The office lists 10 party affiliations, including the county’s three most popular: Unaffiliated, Democratic, and Republican. County-wide, voter registration shows unaffiliated voters at 261,016, Democratic voters at 258,959 and Republican voters at 152,072.
Our towns, boroughs by the numbers
Here’s a primer on each of the eight Pascack Valley towns, including numbers of registered voters, and party affiliations, as detailed Oct. 20 by the Bergen County Superintendent of Elections Office.
Emerson has 5,451 registered voters, including 1,985 unaffiliated voters; 1,979 Republicans, and 1,455 Democrats. Other registered voters include 8 for the Libertarian Party (8); Natural Law Party (9); Conservative Party (7), and U.S. Constitution Party (5).
- Hillsdale, which ekes by with the top number of registered voters In Pascack Valley at 8,173, includes 3,301 unaffiliated voters, 2,503 Democrats, and 2,319 Republicans. It includes Green Party (7); Libertarian Party (26); Natural Law Party (1); and Socialist Party (3).
- Montvale has 6,684 registered voters, including 2,723 unaffiliated voters, 1,984 Democrats, and 1,917 Republicans. It includes the Green Party (7), Libertarian Party (24), Natural Law Party (1), Socialist Party (1), Conservative Party (14) and U.S. Constitution Party (9).
- Park Ridge has 6,829 registered voters, including 2,721 unaffiliated voters, 2,035 Republicans, and 2,023 Democrats. It includes the Green Party (6), Libertarian Party (22), Natural Law Party (2), Reform Party (1), Socialist Party (4), Conservative Party (9) and U.S. Constitution Party (6).
- River Vale has 8,168 registered voters, including 3,312 unaffiliated voters, 2,441 Republicans, and 2,370 Democrats. It ranks second in Pascack Valley in total number of registered voters. Other parties: Green Party (7), Libertarian Party (18), Socialist Party (1), Conservative Party (14), and U.S. Constitution Party (5).
- Township of Washington has 7,399 registered voters, including 2,763 unaffiliated voters, 2,683 Republicans, and 1,892 Democrats. It includes Green Party (5), Libertarian Party (32), Natural Law Party (3), Socialist Party (3), Conservative Party (11) and U.S. Constitution Party (7).
- Westwood has 8,044 registered voters, including 2,885 unaffiliated voters, 2,876 Democrats, and 2,204 Republicans. It ranks third in Pascack Valley in total number of registered voters. It includes Green Party (3), Libertarian Party (42), Natural Law Party (4), Reform Party (2), Socialist Party (5), Conservative Party (18) and U.S. Constitution Party (5).
- Woodcliff Lake has 4,768 registered voters, including 1,884 unaffiliated voters, 1,587 Democrats, and 1,255 Republicans. It includes Green Party (8), Libertarian Party (19), and Natural Law Party (1).