by Nikita Biryukov, New Jersey Monitor
New Jerseyans must register to vote by tomorrow, Tuesday, Oct. 17, if they wish to cast ballots in this year’s legislative races.
Eligible voters can register online or by filing a paper form and returning it to their county’s superintendent of elections or their commissioner of registration.
State law allows voters to register by mailing their paper application to county election officials, but officials must receive registration forms by Tuesday to maintain eligibility for this year’s elections. Mailed forms are no longer likely to reach officials before the deadline.
More than 6.4 million New Jerseyans were registered to vote as of Oct. 1, according to the New Jersey Department of State. New Jersey Democrats have a registration advantage of a little less than 1 million voters over the GOP.
Residents can check whether they’re registered to vote online. The state purged about 100,000 inactive and duplicate voter registrations from the rolls in August.
Voters have until Oct. 31 to apply for a mail-in ballot, which they can return by mail or by using a secure ballot drop box. Election officials will accept mail-in ballots received by Nov. 13 as long as they are postmarked by Election Day.
Residents can cast early in-person votes between Oct. 28 and Nov. 5 at a limited number of polling stations.
Election Day is on Nov. 7. All 120 seats of the Legislature are up for a vote this year.