PASCACK VALLEY AREA—Saturday, Oct. 23, River Vale and Woodcliff Lake will host the first in-person early voting allowed in Bergen County under a 2021 state law that expanded early-voting opportunities.
New Jersey’s early voting continues nine consecutive days, through Sunday, Oct. 31, and is available for all residents in the Garden State’s 21 counties. Bergen County residents must vote in Bergen County.
Topping the Nov. 2 ballot is a contest between Democratic incumbent Gov. Phil Murphy, with running mate Lt. Gov. Sheila Oliver, and challenger Republican Jack Ciatarelli, a businessman, with running mate former state Sen. Diane Allen.
Voters statewide will weigh in on all 120 legislative seats, and many contested municipal council and school board races.
The Bergen County Clerk’s seat is up for reelection, contested between Democratic incumbent John Hogan and his Republican challenger, Bridget Kelly.
River Vale Senior and Community Center, at 628 Rivervale Road, and Woodcliff Lake Tice Senior Center, at 411 Chestnut Ridge Road, will be open to voters from any of Bergen County’s 70 municipalities who wish to pop in early votes for the Nov. 2 General Election.
The sites are open Monday–Saturday, Oct. 23 to Oct. 31, from 10 a.m to 8 p.m, and on Sundays from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Seven other municipalities in the county are hosting early voting sites: Fort Lee, Garfield, Hackensack, Mahwah, Paramus, Rutherford and Teaneck. For more information visit the Bergen County Clerk’s Office website under the tab “Elections & Voting” and “Early Voting Information.”
Politico explains the law will also apply to primary elections beginning in 2022, “requiring that polling sites open four days before non-presidential primaries and six days before presidential ones.”
Staff preparing for the demand
Bergen County Superintendent of Elections Debbie Francica told Pascack Press on Oct. 11 that the planning and set-up for all early voting sites in her jurisdiction was ongoing. She said poll worker training by the Board of Elections was to start Oct. 12, and that it was likely at least 12 county elections personnel, including poll workers, would be at each site starting on Oct. 23.
She said the focus was on proper poll worker training and poll security procedures that must be adhered to every day among county elections personnel on site at early voting venues.
“It’s probably going to be somewhat strange for a voter upon entering an early polling place,” she said, noting all the elections personnel on hand. She said poll workers will check voter registrations by entering a voter’s first and last name in an electronic poll book and requiring the voter to sign the poll book using an attached stylus.
She called security “a very, very involved process” but noted the actual voting procedures should be much easier for a voter.
She said early voters will vote on a touch screen and get a printout of their votes which they can then check for accuracy. That printout is then scanned in a final scanner machine to add their votes to the overall election count.
Voters seeking more information about early voting locations and frequently asked early voting questions can find information under “Elections & Voting” and “Early Voting Information.”
Other information can be found by contacting the County Clerk’s Office (201) 336-7020; Board of Elections (201) 336-6225; and Superintendent of Elections (201) 336-6109.
The county clerk’s office recently sent a flyer to all registered voters highlighting “3 Ways To Vote!” including in-person at the polls on Nov. 2; via a vote-by-mail ballot; or by voting in-person at any of nine in-county early voting locations — including River Vale and Woodcliff Lake.