2024 General Election: Important Return Dates
In New Jersey, completed mail-in ballots sent through the mail must be postmarked by Election Day, November 5th. If you are delivering your completed ballot in person to the County Board of Elections, it must be submitted by 8:00 p.m. on Election Day.
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.
The deadline to cure (correct) your absentee/mail ballot is November 16, 2024. 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 is allowed and no excuse is required. This option allows registered voters to cast their ballot in person, using a voting machine, during a three-day period before the Primary Election and a nine-day period before the November General Election. 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.
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:
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
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.
Mail-in ballot begin being counted on Election Day. Provisional ballots are counted before the Monday following Election Day.
Official election results will be uploaded on New Jersey’s Division of Elections website, within 30 days after Election Day.
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.
Polls are open from 6:00 am to 8:00 pm.
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.
You can now register to vote online! Or you can use our registration tool to fill out your application!
The registration deadline to vote is 21 days before Election Day.
Evening registration is available please check with your in the commissioner of registration for dates and times.
Registration forms are also available in various State agencies and at Division of Motor Vehicle offices and can be obtained while transacting agency business.
You can view a quick video about the registration process here.
If you are a registered voter currently affiliated with a political party and you would like to change your party affiliation, you must file a Political Party Affiliation Declaration Form 55 days before a Primary Election.
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!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.
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