Bergen County Clerk John Hogan feels a bit rushed. Piled against a wall are 38,000 envelopes pre-stuffed with voter instructions that await extra mail-in ballots for a wholly unexpected special election for county sheriff. 

The last-minute logistical nightmare arose after former County Sheriff Michael Saudino resigned Sept. 28 over racist remarks — triggering a special election. Bergen voters had already received their regular mail-in ballots for Nov. 6.

“Those 37,000, 38,000 people that already have ballots, they’re going to get a separate ballot mailed to them with a letter of explanation saying that because of circumstances, you now have to elect a sheriff for a three-year term,” Hogan said.

Which comes as news to many voters, even those aware of the Saudino scandal.

“He resigned, but I didn’t know there was a special election,” said Hackensack resident Mitch Barnes. “Well I’ll definitely vote and take care of that.”

“We’re trying to anticipate any problem, any voter confusion, anything that can go wrong here, but I think we’ve got a good handle on everything,” Hogan said.

Candidates who made the special election ballot by Thursday’s 10 a.m. deadline were Democrat Anthony Cureton, who heads the county NAACP; Republican Jack DeLorenzo, who’s the mayor of Hasbrouck Heights; and three independents: James Ahearn, Robert Tormo and Robert Kugler.

Both major party candidates are Bergen natives and former cops who say the county Sheriff’s Department remains untainted by Saudino’s racist politics.

“I realize what the personnel provides to the community of Bergen County, and I’m sure with my leadership skills, with my education we can collectively, as a team, can go out there and combat crime and make the people of Bergen County feel safe,” Cureton said.

“You know, it was an unfortunate incident that happened, but I think the people should make a choice of who they want their sheriff to be,” said DeLorenzo. “It’s a tight timeframe, I understand that, but I think we forget that it really is the people’s choice.”

A not-unexpected opinion from a Republican given Democrat Phil Murphy would have appointed Saudino’s replacement, but for an archaic law that requires voters to select a new county sheriff, surrogate or clerk when vacancies occur more than 37 days before an upcoming election. 

Lawmakers including Sen. Paul Sarlo say they’ll draft legislation to change that to the 70-day vacancy trigger date that’s standard for other elected offices. Hogan estimates this special election could cost $100,000 — a bill he’ll send to the county executive. 

“There’s no money in the budget for an emergency like this because no one every anticipated it could occur,” Hogan said.

 It’s too late to amend any laws for this election, so here’s the timeline: the extra 38,000 ballots will probably go to the printers Monday and Tuesday. Then they’ll get stuffed into envelopes and mailed Oct. 12 and 13.