Voting in New Jersey
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The policies governing voter participation are enacted and enforced primarily at the state level. These policies, which include voter identification requirements, early voting provisions, online voter registration systems, and more, dictate the conditions under which people cast their ballots in their respective states.
This article includes the following information about voting policies in New Jersey:
- Voter registration details, including deadlines and eligibility requirements.
- In-person voting details, including identification requirements, poll times, and early voting provisions.
- Absentee/mail-in voting deadlines and rules.
- Details about voting rules for people convicted of a felony.
- Contact information election agencies.
- Summaries of noteworthy policy-related events.
See Election administration in New Jersey for additional information about election administration in the state, including voter list maintenance policies, provisional ballot rules, and post-election auditing practices.
Do you have questions about your elections? Looking for information about your local election official? Click here to use U.S. Vote Foundation’s election official lookup tool.
Voter registration
The table below displays voter registration information specific to New Jersey's 2024 election cycle.
Eligibility and registration details
- Check your voter registration status here.
To register to vote in New Jersey, each applicant must be a citizen of the United States and a resident of the county in which they are registering for at least 30 days prior to the election. Seventeen-year-olds may register to vote, although they may not vote until they have turned 18. Individuals serving a felony sentence or on probation or parole because of a felony may not register to vote.[1] The voter registration deadline is 21 days before the next election. Registration applications can be downloaded from the state website and mailed to the county commissioner of registration or superintendent of elections.[1] Registration applications are also available at various county offices and state agencies, such as the Division of Elections and Division of Motor Vehicle offices.[2]
In-person voting
The table below displays in-person voting information specific to New Jersey's 2024 election cycle.
Poll times
- See also: State poll opening and closing times
In New Jersey, all polls are open from 6:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. Eastern Time. An individual who is in line at the time polls close must be allowed to vote.[3]
Voter identification
- See also: Voter identification laws by state
New Jersey does not require voters to present identification while voting, in most cases. However, if a voter does not provide valid identification at the time of registration, he or she must show identification at the polling place.[4]
Voters can present the following forms of identification:
- New Jersey driver's license
- Military or other government ID
- Student or job ID
- Store membership card
- United States Passport,
- Bank statement
- Car registration
- Government check or document
- Non-photo NJ driver's license
- Rent receipt
- Sample Ballot
- Utility bill
- Any other official document
Early voting
- See also: Early voting
New Jersey permits early voting. Learn more by visiting this website.
Early voting permits citizens to cast ballots in person at a polling place prior to an election. In states that permit no-excuse early voting, a voter does not have to provide an excuse for being unable to vote on Election Day. States that allow voters to cast no-excuse absentee ballots in person are counted as no-excuse early voting states.
As of February 2024, 47 states and the District of Columbia permitted no-excuse early voting.
Absentee/mail-in voting
- See also: Absentee/mail-in voting
The table below displays absentee voting information specific to New Jersey's 2024 election cycle.
All voters are eligible to vote absentee/by mail in New Jersey.[5]
To vote absentee/by mail, an application must be received by election officials at least seven days prior to the election if returned by mail. An application can also be submitted in person to county election officials until 3 p.m. on the day before the election. An application can also be submitted online via the state's online voter registration system. A completed absentee/mail-in ballot must then be received by election officials or postmarked by the time the polls close on Election Day.[5][6]
Local election officials
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Voting rules for people convicted of a felony
In New Jersey, people convicted of a felony automatically regain their voting rights and may re-register to vote once they have completed their prison sentences. On December 18, 2019, New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy (D) signed into law A5823, legislation restoring voting rights to people convicted of a felony once they have completed their prison sentences. The law was scheduled to take effect on March 17, 2020. Previously, state law barred people convicted of a felony from voting until completion of their full sentences, including prison time, probation, and parole.[7][8]
Voting rights for people convicted of a felony vary from state to state. In the majority of states, people convicted of a felony cannot vote while they are incarcerated but may regain the right to vote upon release from prison or at some point thereafter.[9]
Noteworthy events
Lawsuit challenging primary election ballot design (2024)
On February 26, 2024, three Democratic candidates for U.S. Congress sued in federal court to eliminate New Jersey's county line primary ballot design.[10] According to Politico: "The county line is New Jersey’s unique primary ballot design where party-backed candidates are placed in a single column or row from the highest office to the lowest. Candidates not endorsed by county parties are often placed less prominently on primary ballots. Candidates who are on the county line have been shown to have a significant electoral advantage."[11] Nineteen of New Jersey's 21 counties used the county line design at the time of the lawsuit.[11] Most jurisdictions in the United States use a ballot design that groups all candidates running for the same office in the same part of the ballot.
Among the plaintiffs in the challenge was Rep. Andy Kim (D) of New Jersey's 3rd Congressional District. At the time of the lawsuit, Kim was a candidate for the U.S. Senate seat held by Bob Menendez (D). Sarah Schoengood (D) and Carolyn Rush (D), each a candidate for a U.S. House seat in New Jersey, joined Kim in the challenge. The filing named the election clerk in all 19 counties that used the county line system as defendants.[12]
The suit alleged that the county line ballot design violated the First and 14th amendments of the U.S. Constitution, and said: "The system provides preferential ballot position for such candidates and displays them in a manner that nudges voters to select them, even when they otherwise might not."[12] A campaign spokesperson for Tammy Murphy (D), who was a candidate for U.S. Senate but later dropped out of the race, criticized the lawsuit, saying "Andy Kim doesn't have a problem with the county line system, he has a problem with the idea of losing county lines — as he is perfectly happy to participate in the process when he wins, and he has benefited from the lines in every other election he's run."[10] Defendants in the case argued that there was not time to modify and print ballots before the April 20 deadline to send mail ballots for the upcoming primary, and that the system helped voters identify party supported candidates.[13]
On March 29, U.S. District Judge Zahid Quraishi issued a preliminary injunction blocking the use of the county line in the June 4th Democratic Primary.[14] In the opinion, Quraishi wrote, "Mandatory injunctive relief is reserved only for the most unusual cases. Plaintiffs’ burden on this Motion is therefore particularly heavy. Nevertheless, the Court finds, based on this record, that Plaintiffs have met their burden and that this is the rare instance when mandatory relief is warranted.”[15] In a statement released on his campaign website, Kim said of the ruling that "(t)oday's decision is a victory for a fairer, more democratic politics in New Jersey. It's a victory built from the incredible grassroots work of activists across our state who saw an undemocratic system marginalizing the voices of voters, and worked tirelessly to fix it."[16] After the decision, clerks from three counties said they would not appeal the decision.[11]
Although the ruling did not apply to the Republican primary, the New Jersey County Republican Chairs Association submitted a brief defending the constitutionality of the county line ballot design.[11]
On April 3, the U.S. Third Circuit Court of Appeals denied the remaining defendants' request to block the lower court's decision.[11] By the next day, clerks in all but two counties included in the lawsuit said they would not appeal the ruling, however the Camden County Democratic Committee (CCDC) and several other party committees continued their appeal.[13][17]
On April 15, New Jersey Vicinage 3 Superior Court Judge John E. Harrington denied a request for an injunction to block the use of county line ballots in the state's June 2024 Republican primaries. Four Republican congressional candidates brought the challenge after the March 29 ruling by Judge Quraishi that barred the use of the ballot design for state's June Democratic primaries. Judge Harrington reasoned that there was not enough time between the challenge and the scheduled primaries to grant the injunction, saying "It’s too comprehensive a change for this court do this now."[18][19]
On April 17, the Third Circuit issued a unanimous ruling upholding the lower court's decision to bar the use of the county line ballot design in the June Democratic primaries. According to reporting from the New Jersey Globe, in oral arguments "CCDC lawyer Bill Tambussi contended that the county line allows parties to exercise their constitutionally protected rights to associate with their preferred candidates and assist voters in finding those candidates."[17] In the ruling, judge Kent Jordan wrote "Nothing in the preliminary injunction prohibits the CCDC from including county parties’ slogans on the ballot, endorsing candidates, communicating those endorsements, or associating by any other constitutional means. The injunction simply means that the CCDC does not get to bracket its preferred candidates together on the ballot... Any harm to the state’s or the CCDC’s interests is outweighed by the burdens on the Plaintiffs’ associational rights.”[20]
2022
On July 28, 2022, Governor Phil Murphy (D) signed into law seven separate bills making modifications to New Jersey's election administration laws:
- A1969: Allows minors between the ages of 16 and 18 to serve as election workers from 5:30 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. on Election Day.[21]
- Final state Senate vote (June 29, 2022): 37-0.
- Final state House vote (June 16, 2022): 73-3 (45 Democrats and 28 Republicans in favor; three Republicans opposed).
- A3817: Requires ballot privacy sleeves and privacy equipment at each polling place; fixes the mail-in ballot curing deadline nine days after Election Day; allows voters to request mail-in ballots using the existing online voter registration system; allows voters to change their party affiliation using the existing online voter registration system; requires the creation of an online form by which voters can update their names and residences.[6]
- Final state Senate vote (June 29, 2022): 22-17 (22 Democrats in favor; one Democrat and 16 Republicans opposed).
- Final state House vote (June 29, 2022): 58-19 (46 Democrats and 12 Republicans in favor; 19 Republicans opposed).
- A3819: Provides for the removal of a voter's name from the permanent vote-by-mail list if the voter does not vote by mail for four consecutive elections, starting with the 2020 election cycle.[22]
- Final state Senate vote (June 29, 2022): 40-0.
- Final state House vote (June 29, 2022): 78-0.
- A3820: Prohibits an unaffiliated voter from receiving a mail-in ballot for a primary election; requires election officials to provide unaffiliated voters with political party affiliation forms and information about voting in partisan primaries.[23]
- Final state Senate vote (June 29, 2022): 40-0.
- Final state House vote (June 16, 2022): 75-2 (46 Democrats and 29 Republicans in favor; two Republicans opposed).
- A3822: Provides that mail-in ballots will be sent to voters starting on the 45th day before an election; requires that all petitions addressed to state or local election officials be filed by 4:00 p.m. on the 71st day preceding a primary election; allows election officials to begin processing mail-in ballots no earlier than five days before an election.[24]
- Final state Senate vote (June 29, 2022): 23-15 (23 Democrats in favor; one Democrat and 14 Republicans opposed).
- Final state House vote (June 29, 2022): 78-0.
- A3823: Requires that the municipal officers charged with maintaining death records file biweekly reports with voter registration officials in the two months immediately preceding a primary or general election; requires registration officials to remove the names of deceased voters from the voter rolls within 10 days of receiving the aforementioned biweekly report; exempts compensation received by election workers from gross income taxation.[25]
- Final state Senate vote (June 29, 2022): 40-0.
- Final state House vote (June 16, 2022): 78-0.
- A3929: Amends definitions related to military and overseas voting "to more closely mirror the selection categories voters must choose from on the Federal Postcard Application (FPCA), which determine the types of elections – local, state, federal, or all – in which the U.S. citizen living outside of the country is permitted to participate."[26]
- Final state Senate vote (June 29, 2022): 24-15 (24 Democrats in favor; 15 Republicans opposed).
- Final state House vote (June 29, 2022): 47-30 (46 Democrats and one Republican in favor; 30 Republicans opposed).
2021
On March 30, 2021, Governor Phil Murphy (D) signed S3203 into law, establishing in-person early voting as follows for certain primary and general elections:[27]
- Non-presidential primary election: Beginning on the fourth calendar day before the primary and ending on the second calendar day before the primary.
- Presidential primary election: Beginning on the sixth calendar day before the primary and ending on the second calendar day before the primary.
- General election: Beginning on the tenth calendar day before the election and ending on the second calendar day before the election.
S3203, which took immediate effect, established that early voting polling places must be open on Monday through Saturday from at least 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. and on Sunday from at least 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. [28]
2018
On April 12, 2018, the New Jersey General Assembly adopted A2014, a bill providing for automatic voter registration of eligible residents who apply for driver's licenses, examination permits, probationary licenses, or non-driver identification cards. The Assembly voted 50 to 23 to approve the legislation. The New Jersey State Senate followed suit the same day, approving the bill by a vote of 24 to 13. On April 17, 2018, Governor Phil Murphy (D) signed the bill into law, making New Jersey the 12th state to enact an automatic voter registration policy.[29][30]
Assembly Speaker Craig Coughlin (D), one of the bill's sponsors, said, "This bill is designed to encourage participation in the democratic process by integrating voter registration with the process of driver registration. This simple move will hopefully encourage more young people to register to vote and make it easier for residents to fulfill their civic duty." Senator Kristin Corrado (R), a former Passaic County Clerk who voted against A2014, said, "I am very concerned that mandating automatic voter registration without safeguards or penalties for the bad actors will compromise the integrity of future elections. We cannot allow that to happen."[31][32][33]
2015
On November 9, 2015, Governor Chris Christie (R) vetoed AB 4613, which, according to Bloomberg, "would have expanded early voting, created online registration and automatically enrolled people applying for a driver's license unless they opted out." Chris said, "New Jersey taxpayers deserve better than to have their hard-earned tax dollars spent on thinly-veiled political gamesmanship and the state must ensure that every eligible citizen’s vote counts and is not stolen by fraud." New Jersey State Assembly Speaker Vincent Prieto (D), one of the bill's sponsors, said, "The governor never ceases to disappoint. I will confer with my fellow legislative leaders and sponsors to decide the next step, even if that means taking these reforms directly to the voters for approval."[34][35]
Template loop detected: Election administration in New Jersey
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Elections in New Jersey
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External links
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 New Jersey Division of Elections, “Register to Vote!” accessed April 18, 2023
- ↑ New Jersey Division of Elections, “Where to Register in Person,” accessed April 18, 2023
- ↑ New Jersey Department of State, “Election laws - NJSA - 19:2-1,” accessed April 18, 2023
- ↑ New Jersey Department of State, "Frequently Asked Questions," accessed April 18, 2023
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 New Jersey Department of State, "Vote by Mail Applications," accessed April 18, 2023
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 New Jersey Legislature, "Bill A3817," accessed August 2, 2022
- ↑ Brennan Center for Justice, "New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy Signs Bill to Restore Voting Rights to People on Probation and Parole," December 18, 2019
- ↑ NJ.gov, "Voter Restoration Handbook," accessed October 20, 2019
- ↑ National Conference of State Legislatures, "Felon Voting Rights," April 6, 2023
- ↑ 10.0 10.1 northjersey.com, "Andy Kim sues to block NJ's line — the ballot positions for preferred candidates," February 26, 2024
- ↑ 11.0 11.1 11.2 11.3 11.4 Politico, "Appeals panel denies NJ clerks’ request to block new ballot design, another win for Andy Kim," April 3, 2024
- ↑ 12.0 12.1 northjersey.com, "Judge establishes timeline for Andy Kim's lawsuit over the NJ line. Here's what comes next," March 3, 2024
- ↑ 13.0 13.1 The Philadelphia Inquirer, "A judge’s decision to block New Jersey ballot design that favors endorsed candidates is likely to stand — at least for now," April 4, 2024
- ↑ Associated Press, "Federal judge blocks New Jersey ballot design, saying it favors party-backed candidates," March 29, 2024
- ↑ Roll Call, "Judge blocks ballot design in New Jersey primary," March 29, 2024
- ↑ Andy Kim for New Jersey, "Congressman Andy Kim Statement on Granting of Emergency Injunctive Relief Ending the County Line System in New Jersey," March 29, 2024
- ↑ 17.0 17.1 New Jersey Globe, "Third Circuit upholds Quraishi’s county line ruling," April 17, 2024
- ↑ New Jersey Globe, "State court judge says Republicans can keep their lines for ’24 primary," April 15, 2024
- ↑ Democracy Docket, "New Jersey Judge Upholds County Line for 2024 GOP Primaries," April 16, 2024
- ↑ United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit, "Andy Kim v. Christine Hanlon No. 24-1594," April 17, 2024
- ↑ New Jersey Legislature, "Bill A1969," accessed August 2, 2022
- ↑ New Jersey Legislature, "Bill A3819," accessed August 2, 2022
- ↑ New Jersey Legislature, "Bill A3820," accessed August 2, 2022
- ↑ New Jersey Legislature, "Bill A3822," accessed August 2, 2022
- ↑ New Jersey Legislature, "Bill A3823," accessed August 2, 2022
- ↑ New Jersey Legislature, "Bill A3929," accessed August 2, 2022
- ↑ New Jersey Legislature, "Senate, No. 3203," accessed April 7, 2021
- ↑ New Jersey Legislature, "Senate, No. 3203," accessed April 7, 2021
- ↑ New Jersey Legislature, "A2014," accessed April 16, 2018
- ↑ The Hill, "New Jersey governor signs automatic voter registration bill," April 17, 2018
- ↑ NJ.com, "N.J. Democrats just took a big step to vastly increase voter rolls," April 13, 2018
- ↑ WBGO.org, "NJ Legislature Approves Automatic Voter Registration Bill," April 12, 2018
- ↑ Brennan Center for Justice, "A Chorus of Voices Supporting New Jersey's AVR Bill," April 12, 2018
- ↑ Bloomberg, "Christie Vetoes Measure to Expand Early Voting in New Jersey," November 9, 2015
- ↑ Ballot Access News, "New Jersey Governor Vetoes Bill for Automatic Voter Registration," November 9, 2015
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