It’s Election Day in New Jersey, with all 120 seats in the state Legislature on the ballot, along with county, municipal and school board seats and some local ballot questions.

Polls are open statewide from 6 a.m. to 8 p.m.

About 530,000 people have already voted early, either by mail or in person, but maybe a million more are expected to go to the polls today to help decide hundreds of state, county and local races.

Those voting today can find their polling locations on the sample ballots sent by counties over the past few weeks or by using the locator on the state Division of Elections’ website.

Tuesday’s voting will mark the end of a contentious election season in many legislative districts, as well as  some local and school board races.

At stake is control of the state Legislature, which has been under Democratic leadership for two decades. Democrats currently hold 25 of 40 seats in the Senate and 46 of 80 in the Assembly, and Republicans are hoping to capture one or both houses or at least chip away at the Democrats’ margins.

Up for grabs

Most of the races are likely already decided because most districts lean either heavily Democratic or Republican, yet a handful of districts are expected to be tightly contested:

• the 3rd in Salem and parts of Cumberland and Gloucester counties;
• the 4th covering parts of Atlantic, Camden and Gloucester counties;
• the 11th in Monmouth County; and
• the 16th stretching from Princeton through South Brunswick and Somerset County into Hunterdon County.

Other races that could also be close include the 2nd and 8th in South Jersey, the 14th in Central Jersey and the 25th, 36th and 38th in the north, analysts say.

It is possible that some of these races will not be decided Tuesday night and will have to wait until all the mail-in ballots and provisional ballots are counted, possibly not until next week. Ballots postmarked or placed into a drop box by 8 p.m. can still be counted if received by county election officials as late as Nov. 13.

In these and other districts, the major issues — primarily argued in mailers and internet ads — have included “parental rights” in schools, the Murphy administration’s climate policies, abortion rights, recently enacted property-tax rebates and cuts and even the indictment of U.S. Sen. Robert Menendez (D-NJ).

Last-minute pushes in some districts centered on crime and land use and development as well.

What many voters say they really care about

While Republican candidates focused on culture-war issues and offshore wind and electric vehicles, a new Rutgers-Eagleton Poll says that voters were most concerned about taxes and the economy, issues that were more prominent in Democrats’ campaign literature.

The poll, published today, says that when asked what is the most important issue they will consider when voting, 40% of voters said the economy, taxes or the cost of living and affordability. Other issues mentioned were a candidate’s partisanship or ideology (11%), a candidate’s character or honesty and integrity (9%), abortion and reproductive health (6%), immigration (4%), education and human rights (3% each), and gun rights or gun control (2%).

When asked directly about specific issues, the poll shows fiscal issues to be of greatest concern to voters, with more than 8 in 10 saying the cost of living and affordability, the economy and taxes are all major factors shaping their votes.

Turnout tends to be lowest in years when the state Legislature tops the ticket; the last time that happened, in 2019, just 27% of registered voters cast ballots.

“At the end of the day, New Jersey voters will always be concerned with pocketbook issues first and foremost,” said Ashley Koning, director of the Eagleton Center for Public Interest Polling at Rutgers University. “Let’s not forget that these fiscal issues almost cost Governor Murphy reelection in 2021, and they will no doubt be near the top of voters’ minds as they cast their ballots on Election Day.”

While abortion and parental rights also rated high among voter concerns, Koning said the poll found these are not as important to voters as fiscal concerns.

“The culture wars redux we have seen this election cycle may sound nice in soundbites and mailers and may galvanize some in each party’s base and persuade some in the middle,” she said. “But Democrats, Republicans and independents alike say they are most concerned about the economy, cost of living and taxes — and plan to vote with these issues in mind … Voters in these kinds of low-turnout, low-interest elections grasp at the few pieces of information they know — like their own finances, partisanship, and ideology — when voting, especially when they may not be familiar with the candidates themselves or their platforms.”

Legislative ho-hum

Turnout tends to be lowest in years when the state Legislature tops the ticket; the last time that happened, in 2019, just 27% of registered voters cast ballots.

New Jersey has close to 6.5 million people registered to vote. Of those, 39% are Democrats, 24% Republicans and 37% not affiliated. Although Democrats outnumber Republicans in 29 of the 40 legislative districts, unaffiliated voters have helped Republicans win in several of those.

Regardless of who wins today, there will be a big turnover in the Legislature next year. Out of the 120 seats overall, 33 incumbents are not running for their current seats, most of them either retiring or eliminated in their party primary. Several are also running for a different seat, with some Assembly members seeking Senate seats and some moved by redistricting into new districts.

That’s one-quarter of all lawmakers’ seats in flux; it could be even higher if any incumbents lose reelection.

NJ Spotlight News’ elections page has answers to all the questions voters might have, including how to find their legislative district and polling place. It also includes a voter guide to the legislative races that includes candidate responses to some key questions — about 40% of the 246 candidates for Senate and Assembly answered the guide.

NJ Spotlight News will post the results online of all legislative races after the polls close. Online and on-air coverage will begin at 8 p.m. when senior correspondent David Cruz hosts a special hourlong edition of Reporters Roundtable.

Coverage will continue at 9 p.m. when Briana Vannozzi hosts a special edition of NJ Spotlight News. All coverage will be streamed live on MyNJPBS.org and on New Jersey PBS stations.