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Some elections in this list are local and do not apply for all New Jersey voters. Please click the “View all” button below to view all election dates in your state.
Vote-by-mail (absentee voting) is available in New Jersey and no excuse is required. 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.
Your mail-in ballot must be postmarked no later than 8pm on Election Day or delivered in person to your County Board of Elections or in a secure ballot drop box by 8pm on Election Day. You can track your ballot on the Department of State’s website.
WHO IS ELIGIBLE TO VOTE ABSENTEE?
In New Jersey, all registered voters can apply to vote absentee.
HOW DO I REQUEST AN ABSENTEE BALLOT?
You may apply for a vote by mail ballot by completing an vote by mail ballot application and mailing it to your county clerk. The application must be received by the County Clerk at least 7 days before the election.
You can also apply in person to the county clerk until 3 pm the day before Election Day.
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.
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.
WHAT IS THE DEADLINE TO REQUEST AN ABSENTEE BALLOT?
You may apply for a mail-in ballot by mail up to 7 days prior to the election, or you can apply in person to the County Clerk until 3pm the day before Election Day.
DO I HAVE TO REQUEST AN ABSENTEE BALLOT FOR EACH ELECTION?
You must request an absentee ballot for each election unless you check the “ALL FUTURE ELECTIONS” box on the Absentee Ballot Application indicating that you wish to receive your ballot by mail in all future elections.
WHAT IS THE DEADLINE FOR SUBMITTING AN ABSENTEE BALLOT?
Voted ballots must be postmarked on or before 8pm on Election Day or delivered in person or in a secure ballot drop box by 8pm on Election Day.
A mail-in ballot without a postmark will still be counted if it is delivered by the U.S. Postal Service within 48 hours after polls close and meets all other election rules.
WHEN ARE ABSENTEE BALLOTS MAILED OUT TO VOTERS WHO HAVE REQUESTED THEM?
Election officials begin mailing out vote-by-mail ballots starting 45 days before each election.
HOW DO I COMPLETE MY ABSENTEE BALLOT?
Vote your ballot then fill in and sign the certificate attached to the inner envelope. Place the ballot into the certificate envelope, then place the certificate envelope into the mailing envelope.
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.
HOW DO I RETURN MY ABSENTEE BALLOT?
You can return your ballot by mail, in person to your County Board of Elections, or in a secure ballot drop box.
The deadline for delivering your ballot in person or in the secure drop box is by 8pm on Election Day.
If you return your ballot by mail, it must be postmarked no later than 8pm on Election Day and received by your County Board of Elections by 6 days after Election Day.
Note: A mail-in ballot without a postmark will still be counted if it is delivered by the U.S. Postal Service within 48 hours after polls close and meets all other election rules.
Your Vote-By-Mail ballot CANNOT be returned to your In-Person Early Voting Poll Location or your Election Day Poll Location.
CAN I TRACK MY MAILED ABSENTEE BALLOT?
You can track your ballot on the Department of State’s website.
WHAT IF I REQUESTED AN ABSENTEE BALLOT BUT WANT TO VOTE IN PERSON?
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.
HOW DO I REQUEST AN ABSENTEE BALLOT AS AN OVERSEAS OR US MILITARY VOTER?
Overseas citizens and U.S. military personnel can find information on how to register to vote and request an absentee ballot at the Overseas Vote Foundation.
The deadline to cure (correct) your absentee/mail ballot is 11 days after Election Day (48 hours before the county canvass). The county board of elections will contact you within 24 hours of receiving your ballot if any errors are found. The notice will include the necessary information and instructions to correct your ballot on time. You can also track your ballot through your state’s online tool. If you voted a provisional ballot, you can find out whether it was counted or the reason it was rejected by calling 1-877-NJVOTER (1-877-658-6837) after the election.
For information on federal campaign contributions, please visit Open Secrets.
For information on state campaign contributions, please visit your state's resource.
Information on local, state and federal candidates and ballot measures may be available here.
Secure ballot drop box locations can be found here. All locations are open 24 hours a day and until 8pm on election day unless noted.
Early Voting Starts: 10 days before Election Day
Early Voting Ends: 2 days before Election Day
Early voting is allowed and no excuse is required. A list of early voting sites is available here. Voters can select any site in their county.
The next election date can be found here https://www.vote411.org/new-jersey.
Contact your local Board of Elections for more information.
Polls are open from 6:00 am to 8:00 pm.
To be eligible to vote you must be:
Incarcerated Voters & Returning Citizens:
In New Jersey, you only lose your right to vote if you are currently incarcerated for a felony conviction. If you lost your voting rights because of a conviction, you could register to vote immediately after release. Your voting rights are not restricted by pretrial detention, misdemeanors, probation, or parole.
Voters without traditional residence:
In New Jersey, if you reside at a location that has not been assigned a street address or you are experiencing homelessness, you may complete section 8 of the voter registration form by providing a contact point or the location where you spend most of your time. This can be a description of a street corner, park, shelter, or any other place where you usually stay. The mailing address on your registration form can be a PO box, local shelter, advocacy organization, outreach center, or the home of someone who will accept mail for you.
If you registered to vote by mail in your county after January 1, 2003 and have never voted in a federal election in the county, you are required to provide your county commissioner of registration with identification. If you registered by mail before January 1, 2003, you are not required to show identification to register.
If you did not provide identification to the county commissioner of registration or if the identification information could not be verified (i.e., your drivers license number or the last four digits of your social security number), you must show ID at the polls when you go to vote.
Acceptable Identification includes:
Official results are never available on Election Day. Election officials are working around the clock to count an unprecedented number of ballots, and it’s essential that they take the time to make sure every vote is counted.
Official election results will be uploaded on New Jersey’s Division of Elections website as they become available.
Official ResultsYou are a Military or Overseas voter if you are in uniformed services, living overseas OR a spouse or dependent of a uniformed services voter. To get registered and vote, you can utilize Overseas Vote Foundation.
If you have additional questions about elections and voting overseas you can use our state specific elections official directory or contact the Overseas Vote Foundation.
You can make sure we have safe, fair, and efficient elections for all. Become a poll worker today!
In order to be a poll worker in New Jersey, you must:
Citizens of all ages, including college and high school students, are encouraged to apply. To sign up, contact your local board of elections.
You can find your polling place by utilizing your state resource.
If you have further questions on your polling place location, please contact your county clerk.
New Jersey has a hybrid primary system. If you are registered to with a particular party, you must vote in that parties primary. However, if you are unaffiliated with any political party, you can choose which party’s primary you wish to vote in.
If you have any questions about your state’s primary election, please contact your local election officials.
You may vote a provisional ballot if you meet specific conditions.
Provisional ballots are paper ballots that are used at the polling place on election day under the following circumstances:
Provisional ballots are counted before the Monday after the election.You can call 1-877-NJVOTER (1-877-658-6837) to check the status of your provisional ballot.
Most polling places in New Jersey are accessible to voters with disabilities. You may call your county board of elections to determine if your polling location will be able to meet your specific needs.
If you are permanently disabled, unable to go to the polls to vote, or wish to receive information on an absentee ballot, you may check a box in the lower left hand corner of the voter registration form and information will be forwarded to you.
For more information, you can utilize the American Association of People With Disabilities (AAPD) resource.
Time off to vote is subject to the employer, there is no requirement for employers to grant time off to vote for employees.
To verify your voter registration status
click here!Identification is not required unless you are a first time voter who registered by mail and did not provide ID verification with application. If you registered to vote by mail in your county after January 1, 2003, and never voted in a federal election in the county, you are required to provide your county commissioner of registration with identification.
If you show identification, you will vote via the voting machine. If you do not show identification, you will vote via provisional ballot and have until the close of business on the second day after the election, to provide identification to the applicable county election office. You will be given a hand-out at the polling place that will tell you which county election office to contact.
Voters can call or text 844-338-8743 at any time to reach VoteRiders Voter ID Helpline
Online registration deadline: 21 days before Election Day
Register by mail deadline: Postmarked 21 days before Election Day
In-person registration deadline: 21 days before Election Day
Not registered? Use our online registration tool to complete your application!
The voting system used in New Jersery is DRE.
Direct Recording Electronic (DRE): This is the newest kind of system in use in the U.S. All the information about who and what you are voting for is on an electronic screen like a TV or computer screen.
There are many variations of DREs because lots of companies are inventing new ones, and many cities, counties and states are trying them out. Usually, after you have signed in, the poll workers will give you a card that you slide into a device to start your voting session.
Some of these devices will show all of the candidates and ballot choices on one big screen. Often, with these big screen devices you push a button next to the name of the candidate you want to vote for (or yes or no on a ballot measure). On other DREs, the screen is set up to show pages. On each screen or page, there will probably be one thing to vote on. For example, on one screen or page, you might vote for president. Then you might move to the next page to vote for senator. Often these small-screen devices have a touch screen, where you touch the screen next to the name of the person you want to vote for. Other devices have a key pad. And some have a keyboard, so you can write in the name of someone you want to vote for.
You let the system know you are finished voting by pushing a button, touching the screen or entering something on a keypad.
You can learn more about voting systems by checking out the Elections Assistance Commission's (EAC) resource.
NJ Department of State
225 West State Street
5th Floor
Trenton 08608
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