HACKENSACK—A majority of Bergen County’s 670,522 registered voters were expected to vote by mail in advance of the Nov. 3 election, the state’s first mostly vote by mail election in history.
Nearly half of all registered voters in Bergen County—including the Pascack Valley—had already voted by mail by late October and county election officials urged last-minute voters and those planning to vote at one of limited polling places open Nov. 3 to either drop their ballot in a secure drop box, mail it, or prepare for a wait on line at a polling place.
As of Oct. 22, 260,256 mail-in ballots were received by the Board of Elections out of 670,552 registered Bergen County voters, the highest number of registered voters of any county. In New Jersey. By Oct. 24, nearly 300,000 mail-in ballots had been received, or about 45 percent of registered voters.
In eight Pascack Valley towns covered by Pascack Press, county officials reported 58,182 total registered voters, about nine percent of Bergen’s registered voters.
Over the eight towns, registered Democrats outnumber registered Republicans by slightly more than 1 percent, with 18,132 registered Democrats and 17,363 registered Republicans. Other parties, including the Conservative Party, Green Party, Socialist Party, and Natural Law Party, comprise less than 1 percent of all voters.
Most notable, however, unaffiliated voters—those not declaring a party affiliation—outnumber members of each major party, and comprise 40 percent of the electorate.
County election officials stressed, as they have been doing for the past two months, that voters preferring to cast a vote “in-person” at a local polling place will be offered only a provisional (paper) ballot to fill out, similar to the vote-by-mail ballot they received in the mail.
Several municipal clerks surveyed by Pascack Press said they were concerned some voters were not aware of their voting options and still mistakenly believed that they could cast a vote as usual on a voting machine. All able-bodied voters showing up at one of limited local polling sites Nov. 3 will only be able to fill out a provisional (paper) ballot.
Most told us that phone calls were coming in from confused voters who somehow believed that any physically handicapped person could use a voting machine. This is incorrect, the clerks stressed, noting that only individuals who are blind, illiterate, or physically unable to fill out a paper ballot will be permitted to vote on an ADA-compliant voting machine.
Moreover, the poll workers must verify with county officials that the eligible disabled individual has not previously cast a vote-by-mail ballot In addition, voters approved to use the voting machine must complete a Disability Certificate for Assistance at the polling site.
Voters who prefer to vote in person Nov. 3 will need to sign a voter registration book, likely wait in line, and be in close quarters with other poll workers and voters, which may expose voters with underlying conditions to others potentially carrying the coronavirus.
All poll workers will wear face coverings and follow social distancing, officials said, and voters are requested to do the same. Poll workers follow a handbook from Bergen County spelling out guidelines for polling place procedures and troubleshooting.
Also, poll workers must view a two-hour training video produced by the New Jersey Department of State before the Nov. 3 election.
Bergen County Supt. of Elections Patricia DiCostanzo told Pascack Press that the Nov. 3 election “has generated the most participation I’ve seen in an election in 32 years” since DiCostanzo has been handling election duties.
She said people have repeatedly called to check on their ballots, which can be tracked by registering under “track your ballot” at njelections.org. Many wanted to know when the vote-by-mail ballots will be counted, DiCostanzo said.
County Elections Commissioner Jamie Sheehan-Willis said mail-in votes can begin to be counted Sat., Oct. 24 under state law, and that the county began counting on Oct. 26
“People are just very interested and making sure their ballots were received and that their ballots are being counted,” Di Costanzo said. She said mail-in ballots could be dropped in a secure ballot drop box, in U.S. mail, or dropped off at a polling site Nov. 3. To expedite secure delivery, officials recommended using a drop box.
DiCostanzo said that she hoped not too many voters were waiting until Nov. 3 to cast a provisional (paper) ballot, although previously she estimated there may be up to 60,000 provisional votes cast Nov.3, nearly three times the amount in July’s primary election.
According to Murphy’s executive order mandating a vote-by mail ballot Nov. 3, election workers in county Board of Elections offices could begin counting mail-in ballots on Sat., Oct. 24. Also, DiCostanzo noted her elections office will begin vetting provisional ballots for possible errors or issues after polls close on Election night.
However, they will not be counting provisional votes until counting of all vote-by-mail ballots is completed, she said.
Provisional ballots cannot be counted until after Nov. 10, which is the last day that mail-in votes postmarked by Nov. 3 can be accepted.
Sheehan-Willis said her office must provide final vote totals to the County Clerk’s Office, which must certify election results by Nov. 20 to the state.
On Oct. 23, Bergen County Clerk John Hogan notified all 70 towns that the county clerk would stop sending out replacement ballots 10 days before Election, or Oct. 24, on recommendation of the U.S. Postal Service to allow voters enough time to return their ballots via USPS.
The clerk’s notice said they had already sent out “over 15,300” duplicate ballots and were experiencing a “high call volume” at their offices. Based on 670,552 registered Bergen County voters, the 15,300 duplicate ballots sent out totaled slightly over two percent of registered voters.
Individuals requesting a duplicate ballot after Oct. 24 were advised to either go to the polls on Election Day to cast a provisional ballot or to visit the County Clerk’s Office in-person in Hackensack to pick up a duplicate ballot. Voters were encouraged to call or email the office at (201) 336-7021 or electionsclerk@co.bergen.nj.us before showing up.
Generally, voters can only pick up their own ballot unless they were designated as an “authorized messenger” by another voter. Please call the clerk for details.
The county clerk’s office is sending all registered voters a final reminder flyer to arrive via U.S. mail listing the local polling site or sites open Nov. 3 and location of 18 secure ballot drop boxes.