Credit: (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)Tuesday is the last day to register to vote in this year’s general election and have a say in who will be the next president, as well as New Jersey’s representatives in Congress and a host of county, local and school board representatives.
New Jersey does not allow for same-day voter registration, so only those who register by tomorrow will be able to cast ballots on Nov. 5.
How to register
County election offices will be open until 9 p.m. Tuesday night to accept registrations.
Prospective voters can also register online at the state Division of Elections website. To use that option, a person needs a current, valid driver’s license or non-driver identification card or a Social Security number and be able to provide a digital signature by signing a screen or uploading a signature.
Anyone who doubts whether they can meet all these criteria should register in person.
Eligible individuals can fill out a registration form in advance and bring it to the county commissioner of registration’s office or fill out a form at that office. Addresses and websites for all the county offices are available on the state’s voter information portal.
Who is eligible
To be eligible to vote, a person must be a U.S. citizen, a resident of the county for 30 days before the election, not incarcerated for an indictable offense and at least 18 years old. Seventeen-year-olds can register in preparation for voting when they turn 18.
Those who vote infrequently, or who have moved since they last voted, should check their registration information to make sure they are still able to vote.
County election officials may put a person on the inactive voter list if they have reason to believe that person no longer lives at the address where they registered, for instance, because election-related mail is being returned to the county office, or if a person has not voted in multiple federal elections.
If you haven’t voted in two consecutive federal elections, after being flagged you can be removed from the voter rolls. It’s up to the counties to do that cleaning of the rolls, and not every county is doing that.
Anyone can check their registration online.
Voting options
Groups like the League of Women Voters encourage everyone to make a plan to vote, especially given there are several different ways people can cast ballots — by mail, in person at an early voting center and on Election Day.
This may be especially important this year for people who only vote in presidential elections. In 2020, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, more than 9 in 10 New Jersey voters used mail-in ballots and did not go to the polls in person. In recent years, counties have updated their voting machines and use electronic poll books to ensure that no one can vote more than once due to early voting.
New Jersey residents have been voting by mail for several weeks; county officials began mailing ballots in late September to those who requested them. Anyone who didn’t get a ballot can still request one by mail or by going to the county election office. Ballots will be available up to 3 p.m. Monday, Nov. 4 if requested in person.
The early in-person voting period for those who want to use a machine begins Oct. 26 and ends Nov. 4. Each county will have at least three sites open from at least 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Mondays through Saturdays, and from at least 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Sundays. A list of these locations is available through county election offices or the state’s election website.
The last chance to vote is on Election Day, Tuesday, Nov. 5, when polls statewide will be open from 6 a.m. to 8 p.m. All registered voters should receive a sample ballot in the mail at least a week before then, which will show each voter’s designated polling site. People can also find their polling location using the state’s online locator.
NJ Decides 2024 election page
Links to these resources are available via the NJ Spotlight News’ elections page. The page also contains a voter guide that can help people make informed decisions. It has information about all 12 House seats and the U.S. Senate seat on the ballot in New Jersey this year and responses from candidates to surveys about their backgrounds and views on key issues. And the page has links to discussions with many of the major-party candidates through our Election Exchange podcast series.
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