PASCACK VALLEY — Bergen County voters had returned mail-in ballots or voted early in person a combined 75,490 times by Wednesday afternoon, Oct. 28, county election officials said, with several days remaining before the Nov. 3 general election.
Bergen County Board of Elections Chair Richard Miller told Pascack Press that, as of 2 p.m. Oct. 28, officials had received 44,546 mail-in ballots and recorded 30,944 votes at the county’s 10 early voting locations.
Miller described turnout as “a little bit better” than in the last midterm election and projected that the county would receive about 52,000 mail-in ballots.
In-person early voting continues through Sunday, Nov. 1. Hours are 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday through Saturday and 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Sunday. Pascack Valley locations are the River Vale Community Center, 48 Greenhalgh Lane, and the Tice Senior Center, 411 Chestnut Ridge Road, Woodcliff Lake, according to the Bergen County Board of Elections.
By Oct. 28, the River Vale location had recorded 3,511 early votes, and Woodcliff Lake had recorded 3,200. Those are totals for the voting sites, which serve voters from across Bergen County.
The other early voting locations had recorded 3,379 votes in Fort Lee; 1,959 in Garfield; 2,138 in Hackensack; 1,331 in Mahwah, a new location; 3,655 in Paramus; 5,249 in Teaneck; 2,852 in Wood-Ridge; and 3,670 in Wyckoff, Miller said.
Registered voters may use any early voting location in their county. On Election Day, Tuesday, Nov. 3, voters casting ballots in person should use their assigned polling places. Polls will be open from 6 a.m. to 8 p.m., according to the New Jersey Division of Elections.
Miller urged voters returning mail-in ballots to use one of Bergen County’s 35 secure drop boxes before the 8 p.m. Election Day deadline.
Voters returning ballots through the U.S. Postal Service must have them postmarked by 8 p.m. Nov. 3 and received by the county Board of Elections no later than Nov. 9. The state advises voters mailing ballots close to the deadline to request a manual postmark at a post office counter. Mail-in ballots cannot be returned at early voting sites or Election Day polling places, according to the state’s voting guidance.
Pascack Valley’s eight towns had 56,648 registered voters as of Oct. 28, according to figures supplied by the Bergen County Superintendent of Elections Office.
Unaffiliated voters made up the largest group, with 21,492 registrations, followed by 17,666 Republicans and 17,086 Democrats.
Another 404 voters were registered with minor parties: 196 Libertarians, 76 Conservatives, 44 Greens, 42 with the U.S. Constitution Party, 34 Socialists and 12 with the Natural Law Party.
Among the eight towns, Westwood had the most registered Democrats, at 2,848; Washington Township had the most Republicans, at 2,708; and River Vale had the most unaffiliated voters, at 3,314.
Turnout is generally lower in midterm elections, and this year’s voting comes as President Donald Trump nears the end of the second year of his second, nonconsecutive term. His unproven allegations of fraud in mail-in voting, federal efforts to tighten voter ID requirements, and the seizure of ballots from the 2020 presidential election—which he lost to Joe Biden—have heightened tensions surrounding the Nov. 3 elections in New Jersey and nationwide.
The town-by-town breakdown follows. Each town’s total includes voters registered with minor parties, so the Democratic, Republican and unaffiliated figures do not add up to the full total.
- Emerson: 5,516 registered voters—1,522 Democrats; 1,970 Republicans; 2,001 unaffiliated.
- Hillsdale: 8,306 registered voters—2,558 Democrats; 2,474 Republicans; 3,221 unaffiliated.
- Montvale: 7,140 registered voters—2,127 Democrats; 2,108 Republicans; 2,845 unaffiliated.
- Park Ridge: 6,839 registered voters—2,036 Democrats; 2,150 Republicans; 2,607 unaffiliated.
- River Vale: 8,495 registered voters—2,499 Democrats; 2,639 Republicans; 3,314 unaffiliated.
- Washington Township: 7,421 registered voters—1,917 Democrats; 2,708 Republicans; 2,734 unaffiliated.
- Westwood: 8,134 registered voters—2,848 Democrats; 2,254 Republicans; 2,959 unaffiliated.
- Woodcliff Lake: 4,797 registered voters—1,579 Democrats; 1,363 Republicans; 1,811 unaffiliated.