To make voting even easier for displaced citizens, the Christie Administration will now permit electronic voting in the wake of Hurricane Sandy (in addition to early extended voting as reported earlier below this post’s fold).
The details:
To vote electronically, displaced voters may submit a mail-in ballot application either by e-mail or fax to their county clerk. Once an application is approved, the clerk will electronically send a ballot to the voter by either fax or e-mail in accordance to the voter’s preference. Voters must return their electronic ballot – by fax or email – no later than November 6, 2012, at 8 p.m.
Voters can download a mail-in ballot application for their county by visiting http://nj.gov/state/elections/
voting-information-vote-by- . A list of county clerk websites, phone numbers and fax numbers are available by visiting http://nj.gov/state/elections/mail.html voting-information-local- .officials.html Separate directives issued today enable displaced voters and first responders to vote by provisional ballot at a polling place in a county other than the voter’s county of registration. The deadline for county clerks to receive mail-in ballots has been extended to November 19, 2012, for any ballot
Original Post – 6:36 am:
Separate directives issued today enable displaced voters and first responders to vote by provisional ballot at a polling place in a county other than the voter’s county of registration. The deadline for county clerks to receive mail-in ballots has been extended to November 19, 2012, for any ballot
Voting might be a little different this year depending where you live, Save Jerseyans.
In the wake of Hurricane Sandy, many local Garden State polling stations (particularly in the Shore counties and Northeastern Jersey) are either inaccessible due to water damage or without electricity indefinitely. Consequently, you may show up at your regular polling place on November 6th (FYI- click here to locate it) only to find a friendly National Guardsman, in his military vehicle, handing out paper ballots and beckoning you to fill it out in a trailer. Other polling stations are being moved to alternate locations.
I recognize that’s a little spooky, kind of like we’re all acting out roles in an old Hollywood post-apocalptic flick. It’s also quite a logistical nightmare given that this is a high-turnout presidential cycle with not much time to prepare. Nature doesn’t care. You should. This stuff is important.
My humble recommendation? Get it out of the way early. Today sounds good.
How? As of yesterday (Friday 11/2), New Jersey registered voters are permitted to vote through Monday, November 5th at their respective county clerk’s offices between 8:30 am and 4:30 pm. For more detailed information including locations and contact information, you can visit the New Jersey Divisions of Elections website at www.njelections.org. Click here to find your County Clerk’s office directly (h/t Rutgers).
If you’re still determined to wait for Election Day (I know some of you are hardheaded — don’t worry, I find it cute), then you should contact your municipal clerk’s office to see if there have been any post-Sandy polling station relocations in your community.
