New Jersey

Welcome to the New Jersey state page! Here, New Jersey organizers can access and document ongoing projects, current leadership positions, upcoming races, and other important information. This list is non-exhaustive, and state teams are encouraged to expand and adapt these pages to their organizing needs.

New Jersey Voting

To register in New Jersey, you must be:

• A United States citizen
• At least 17 years old, though you may not vote until you have reached the age of 18
• A resident of the county for 30 days before the election
• A person not serving a sentence of incarceration as the result of a conviction of any indictable offense under the laws of this or another state or of the United States.

The Voter Registration Deadline is 21 days before the election.

To register online, you will need your date of birth and one of the following forms of identification:

• A current and valid Driver’s License or a non-driver Identification Card (ID card) issued by the New Jersey Motor Vehicle Commission (MVC) Your information will be provided to the MVC to validate identification, and to retrieve a copy of your digitized signature.
• -or-A Social Security number To use your social security number, you must have the ability to sign on-screen or upload your signature to complete the registration process. If you are unable to provide a digital signature, you can not register online. Click here to download the voter registration application for your county.

ID Requirements:

Acceptable Identification includes:

• Any current and valid photo ID
• Driver’s license
• Student or job ID
• Military or other government ID
• Store membership ID
• United States passport
• Bank statement
• Car registration
• Government check or document
• Non-photo driver’s license
• Rent receipt
• Sample ballot
• Utility bill
• Any other official document

Ways to Vote:

Mail:

Your vote-by-mail ballot MUST be postmarked on or before 8:00 p.m. on Election Day and be received by your county’s Board of Elections on or before the sixth day after the close of the polls. Secure Ballot Drop Box: Place your vote-by-mail ballot in one of your county’s secure ballot drop boxes by 8:00 p.m. on Election Day. Deliver your vote-by-mail ballot in person to your county’s Board of Elections Office by 8:00 p.m. on Election Day.

Requesting an absentee ballot.

Absentee voting is available and no excuse is required. In New Jersey, absentee ballots are called mail-in or vote-by-mail ballots. The last day to request a mail-in ballot through the mail is 7 days before the election. The last day to request a mail-in ballot in-person is 3 pm the day before the election.  If returning your Mail-In Ballot in person it must be received by your County Board of Elections before close of polls on Election Day. If returning your Mail-In Ballot by mail, it must be postmarked no later than Election Day and received by your County Board of Elections no later than 144 hours (6 days) after the time of the closing of the polls for the election. You can track your ballot on the NJ DOS website!

Requesting and Returning your Mail-in Ballot

You may apply for a vote by mail ballot by completing an vote by mail ballot application and mailing the application to your county clerk. The application must be received by the County Clerk seven days before the election.

You may also apply in person to the county clerk until 3:00 p.m. the day before the election.

The County Clerk cannot accept faxed copies of a vote by mail ballot application unless you are a Military or Overseas voter, since an original signature is required.

Voters do not need to provide a copy of their ID in order to cast a vote- by-mail ballot except under certain circumstances for first time voters. These voters will receive a notice with their vote-by-mail ballot.

If returning your Mail-In Ballot in person it must be received by your County Board of Elections or placed in a secure ballot drop-box before close of polls on Election Day. If returning your Mail-In Ballot by mail, it must be postmarked no later than Election Day and received by your County Board of Elections no later than 144 hours (6 days) after the time of the closing of the polls for the election.

Permanent Mail-in Ballot List

To become a Permanent Mail-in Ballot Voter, simply check the appropriate box on the Absentee Ballot Application indicating that you wish to receive your ballot by mail in all future elections.

Voting in Person after Requesting an Absentee Ballot

If you requested a Mail-In Ballot but wish to vote at the polls on Election Day you may request an Opt-Out Form from your county clerk. If mail-in ballots have already been mailed for the election, you will not be able to vote on a machine at the polls.

Additional Information

If you have any questions, you can call 1-877-NJ-VOTER (1-877-658-6837).

Overseas citizens and U.S. military personnel can find information on how to register to vote and request a vote by mail ballot at the Overseas Vote Foundation.

Early Voting:

In-Person Early Voting for both the Primary Election and the General Election. Early voting locations will be open from at least 10 am to 8 pm on Mondays through Saturdays, and from at least 10 am to 6 pm on Sundays. No appointment is necessary. Accommodations will be made for voters with disabilities.

Election Day:

Vote in person at your polling place, from 6:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. on Election Day.

Accommodations will be made for voters with disabilities.

Miscellaneous:

Inactive Voters:

The main way the counties receive this information is via the sample ballots that are sent prior to each election. If a sample ballot is returned as undeliverable or indicates the voter has moved out of county/state, that voter is put into an “Inactive” status and is sent a confirmation notice informing them that they have until the second federal general election after the date of the notice to update their voting record or appear to vote and complete the necessary form or they will be removed from the voting rolls.

Inactive voters do not get sample ballots and are not eligible to receive a vote by mail ballot until they are put back into an Active status. To update your record to active status through the online voter registration or using a paper registration form.

Bearers:

A person who transports (completed) vote by mail ballot for someone else is considered a "Bearer". Bearers are limited to three (3) non-household ballots per election, except that an authorized bearer may transport up to five (5) ballots in an election if those voters are immediate family members residing in the same household as the bearer.

• Not to exceed (5) ballots in total for any election
• The Bearer MUST SIGN the "Bearer Portion" of the outer envelope of the ballot in the presence of the voter when taking custody of the ballot.

Any Bearer Ballots that exceed the limit must be REJECTED. If the Bearer is hand-delivering the ballot to the county Board of Elections, then he/she MUST SHOW ID AND SIGN the Bearer Book. It is against the law for anyone except you, the voter, to mail or transport your ballot unless the outer envelope is sealed and the “Bearer Portion” is completed.