PASCACK VALLEY AREA, N.J.—Municipal clerks and county elections officials urge registered voters to fill out and return vote by mail ballots as soon as possible to avoid delays, with several return options available in lieu of returning a ballot via U.S. mail.
Voters likely will receive mail-in ballots in their mailboxes by Oct. 7. Bergen County Clerk John Hogan told Pascack Press his office sent out nearly 651,000 mail-in ballots and that all registered voters will receive them. If you haven’t received your ballot by Oct. 7, call the county clerk’s office at (201) 336-7020. Hogan also has a helpful video on voting.
For nonpartisan election information, voters may visit the League of Women Voters Education Fund’s VOTE411.org site, which provides details about a voter’s registration status; poll locations and times; information about federal, state, and local races and candidates; analyses of New Jersey’s three ballot issues; registration deadlines; voter eligibility requirements; and more.
Meanwhile, town clerks we contacted said that voting by mail in advance of the Nov. 3 election is easy, secure, and efficient. The clerks are in charge of all local elections operations, and county officials and local clerks speak regularly about election concerns and preparation.
Most of these officials said they feel prepared for the ongoing election thanks to extensive county and local public outreach about the state’s first mostly vote by mail presidential election.
Most said they have a range of election information posted on local websites to assist voters and have been answering residents’ questions for months, with questions beginning before the July 7 vote by mail primary.
Some clerks expressed concern about voter confusion related to vote by mail ballots and in-person voting, which on Nov. 3 means provisional paper ballots will be given to all non-disabled registered voters showing up at polling places.
Only disabled voters—defined as blind or illiterate—may use ADA-accessible voting machines Nov. 3. Moreover, face coverings and social distancing will be required at polling places Nov. 3.
Local poll workers must check with county elections officials to ensure that a disabled voter has not already voted by mail before being allowed access to an ADA-accessible voting machine.
Also, poll workers must look up a voter’s identification number in a database and write it in on any provisional ballot cast at the polls on Election Day.
Bergen County Superintendent of Elections Patricia DiCostanzo predicted up to 60,000 voters might fill out provisional ballots, almost triple the number that showed up for the primary.
The restriction on machine voting was ordered by Gov. Phil Murphy’s Executive Order 177 in August to help reduce the spread of the novel coronavirus.
Most clerks noted that voters need to be aware that if they decide to drop off their vote by mail ballot at one of the limited polling places open Nov. 3, they will be asked to sign the registration book and likely to have to wait in line.
Moreover, voters can only drop off their own ballot at a polling place Nov. 3. They cannot hand in any other voter’s ballot, officials said. Registered voters can deposit up to three other voters’ mail-in ballots in a secure drop box. To do so, the person depositing the ballot(s) becomes the bearer of the ballots and must sign the bearer portion of each outer envelope, and print their name and address. Secure drop boxes will accept mail-in ballots until 8 p.m. on Nov. 3.
Most municipal clerks we spoke with lauded county elections officials for providing detailed information on vote by mail procedures, which clerks posted on local websites, including brochures, step-by-step instructions and a seven-minute-plus video from the Board of Chosen Freeholders on how to vote by mail.
Emerson Borough Clerk Jane Dietsche said the most important thing is for people to vote and recommended people vote by mail to avoid lines. Her office will be open to 9 p.m. on Oct. 13 for last-minute voter registrations.
Dietsche said she was concerned with some voters’ lack of awareness about not being able to vote on a voting machine. She stressed local voters would receive weekly updates from the borough.
Montvale Borough Clerk Maureen Iarossi-Alwan said she believed the county and borough had provided voters thorough instructions via mailers, and election information via videos and town websites. She said she had no concerns about running the upcoming election, noting information on voting by mail was being made widely available.
Woodcliff Lake Borough Clerk Debbie Dakin said the borough is putting vote-by-mail information from the county on its website. Notifications also go out every Friday. Dakin noted that voters concerned about ballot security and not wanting to use U.S. mail or drop it off at a secure lock box may bring the ballot to a local polling place Nov. 3. However, she said, a registered voter may only drop off their ballot at a polling place.
Secure drop boxes ‘not a bad idea’
Hillsdale Mayor John Ruocco said his town having a secure drop box—there’s another in Old Tappan—“is not a bad idea” due to residents’ concerns about delayed or inadequate postal service. Ruocco, Borough Clerk Denise Kohan, and Borough Administrator Christoper Tietjen showed off the borough’s new secure drop box on Sept. 25.
Kohan explained that residents from Hillsdale and nearby towns can drop off ballots 24/7 until 8 p.m. Nov. 3 by pulling into the borough parking lot behind Borough Hall, exiting their car and walking to the box to deposit their mail-in ballot.
If a person is depositing another’s ballot, they must sign and fill out the bearer portion of the ballot’s outer envelope.