PASCACK VALLEY AREA, N.J.—Increased public education efforts, a dozen more secure drop boxes for mail-in ballots countywide, and early counting of mail-in ballots from Bergen County’s nearly 651,000 registered voters will occur this fall for the Nov. 3 mostly vote-by-mail Presidential election.
The increased public education and drop boxes are county-driven efforts and the early counting of mail-in ballots was included in Gov. Phil Murphy’s Executive Order 177 that mandated the Nov. 3 election to be a mostly vote-by-mail election due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
All of these efforts are seen by county elections officials to engage registered voters and urge them to vote by mail and to vote as early as possible.
Board of Elections Commissioner Jamie Sheehan-Willis told Pascack Press that the county will begin early counting of vote-by mail ballots on Saturday, Oct. 24, 10 days before the Nov. 3 election. She said this early counting will enable the county to get a jump on mail-in vote counting, with ballots postmarked Nov. 3 acceptable up to 8 p.m. on Nov. 10.
Sheehan-Willis said election officials urge early return of vote-by-mail ballots. When ballots come in, she said they are date and time stamped, entered into the system, and locked away securely until Oct. 24 when officials can begin counting votes. Previously, vote-by-mail ballots could not be counted until Election Day.
18 secure drop boxes
Overall, Bergen County will offer 18 secure drop boxes, which includes the six secure drop boxes previously established for the July 7 primary election, Sheehan-Willis said.
In the Pascack Valley, a secure drop box for drop off of mail-in ballots 24/7 will be located at Hillsdale Borough Hall. It should be in place no later than Oct. 5, said election officials.
Part of the reason that county elections officials have ramped up public education efforts was likely due to higher-than-normal mail-in rejection rates, estimated at 3.5 percent of approximately 124,300 total mail-in ballots.
Moreover, municipal clerks, public officials and voters reported varying levels of misunderstanding and confusion to Pascack Press about the vote-by-mail July 7 primary, including concerns about security, potential fraud, and voters’ unfamiliarity with vote-by-mail procedures.
County elections officials told Pascack Press that the vote-by-mail process is secure with ballots facing checks including signature verification, bar codes used to identify the voter’s ballot, and voters’ ability to track mail-in ballots on the state elections website.
Njelections.org offers the option to track vote-by-mail ballots to ensure receipt by the Bergen County Board of Elections.
All 18 secure drop boxes are scheduled to be in place by Oct. 5, the date by which all active registered Bergen County voters are to receive a postage-paid vote-by-mail ballot.
“Active” voters are considered voters who have voted in at least one of the last two elections. If you did not receive a vote-by-mail ballot by mid-October, officials said those voters should contact the county clerk to request a ballot.
Beginning months before the July primary, county elections officials have been working with local officials and municipal clerks to resolve questions and concerns about vote-by-mail. One major area of concern was a need for better public information and education about New Jersey’s new vote-by-mail election requirements.
Over the last two months, county clerk John S. Hogan’s office has mailed two informational brochures countywide. The first six-page brochure focused on voter registration, including a postage-paid registration application, noting the Oct. 13 voter registration deadline.
In mid-September, a two-page county mailer with “an important message” from Hogan, Superintendent of Elections Patricia DiCostanzo, and Board of Elections Chair Jamie H. Sheehan-Willis highlights eight bullet points that voters “need to know about this unprecedented election.”
DiCostanzo stressed that while she personally favors vote-by-machine and has been involved with county elections for 30-plus years, Murphy’s executive order makes that moot, requiring officials to prepare for and implement a vote-by-mail election in light of the coronavirus pandemic, she said.
In addition to county officials’ public outreach, a statewide effort to educate voters about vote by mail and how to properly fill out, submit and track their mail-in ballot was planned.
DiCostanzo said education of voters to properly fill out the vote-by-mail ballot and return it via U.S. mail or a secure drop box as soon as possible will make the election run smoother and make sure that all vote-by-mail ballots are counted.
The county mailer spells out three options for casting a vote-by-mail ballot, including returning the ballot by mail, postmarked by Nov. 3, which will still count as long as it is received by the Board of Elections by 8 p.m. on Nov. 10.
A second option is to deposit the properly filled-out ballot in one of 18 secure drop boxes countywide. A third option is to bring your completed ballot to an open polling location on Nov. 3. Voters should receive a postcard from the county clerk’s office soon indicating which local polling station or stations will be open Nov. 3 from 6 a.m. to 8 p.m.
Recently, Hogan, DiCostanzo, and Sheehan-Willis appeared on a 30-minute elections special featured on the “My Montvale” public access show—archived on the borough website—to explain the vote by mail process and county election security and procedures.
DiCostanzo told Pascack Press that nearly 2,000 new voters have been added to county voter registration rolls recently in part due to county outreach and the national attention on the Presidential contest.
In New Jersey, voters will also vote on whether to legalize recreational marijuana, an issue previously opposed by Pascack Valley mayors and police chiefs but winning majority support in a recent statewide poll.
Voters “late” to vote by mail
A recent North Jersey newspaper analysis found the highest percentage of rejected ballots statewide were due to ballots arriving too late, followed by not having the required voter certificate, signatures that did not match those on file, failure to enclose the ballot, and “other reasons” including late arrival.
County elections officials have repeatedly urged voters to open, complete, and mail back their ballot as soon as possible after receiving it.
Or if they prefer, drop it off at one of 18 secure drop boxes countywide anytime any day up to 8 p.m. on Nov. 3. The ballots are picked up regularly and delivered to the county Board of Elections for processing, said officials.
In addition, county election officials will be sending out “cure letters” in case of signature discrepancies, which gives voters a chance to resolve such problems.
A total of 142,857 Bergen voters cast ballots July 7, with nearly 20,000 casting provisional (paper) ballots by going to limited local polling places and filling out a paper ballot. Only handicapped individuals were allowed to vote using the voting machine due to Murphy’s executive order.
All secure drop boxes should be in place by late September, Sheehan-Willis said. The drop boxes were paid for by New Jersey, under funding from CARES Act. The Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act is a $2.2 trillion economic stimulus bill passed by Congress and signed by President Donald J. Trump in March.
For information on a vote by mail ballot, call the clerk’s office at (201) 336-7020; questions about open polling places and the closest secure drop box, callthe Board of Elections at (201) 336-6230; and for questions about voter registration or to report a potential election violation, call DiCostanzo at (201) 336-6100.