Good morning, New Jersey.

Today is the third of five days of in-person early voting for the 2024 primary election, with polling places across New Jersey operating from 10 AM to 8 PM.

Early voting centers will be open today and tomorrow from 10 AM to 8 PM, and on Sunday from 10 AM to 6 PM

As long as voters are in line by the close of early voting each day, they may vote regardless of how long the lines are.  Voters should never be asked to leave and come back the next day.

In New Jersey, you may only vote in the primary of your party affiliation; the deadline to switch parties has passed. However, unaffiliated voters may declare an affiliation at the polls and vote in either the Democratic or Republican primaries.

This is New Jersey’s third election cycle to use early voting.

Voters may cast their ballots at any polling place in the county of their residence between today and Sunday:

Atlantic County Early Voting Poll Locations
Bergen County Early Voting Poll Locations
Burlington County Early Voting Poll Locations
Camden County Early Voting Poll Locations
Cape May County Early Voting Poll Locations
Cumberland County Early Voting Poll Locations
Essex County Early Voting Poll Locations
Gloucester County Early Voting Poll Locations
Hudson County Early Voting Poll Locations
Hunterdon County Early Voting Poll Locations
Mercer County Early Voting Poll Locations
Middlesex County Early Voting Poll Locations
Monmouth County Early Voting Poll Locations
Morris County Early Voting Poll Locations
Ocean County Early Voting Poll Locations
Passaic County Early Voting Poll Locations
Salem County Early Voting Poll Locations
Somerset County Early Voting Poll Locations
Sussex County Early Voting Poll Locations
Union County Early Voting Poll Locations
Warren County Early Voting Poll Locations

First-time voters who registered by mail might need to provide identification at the polls.

Anyone who has already received a vote-by-mail ballot may not vote by machine but can seek a replacement mail-in ballot from their county clerk, or request a provisional ballot on Election Day.

With less than one week to go before Election Day, voters should casting vote-by-mail-in ballots consider skipping the U.S. Postal Service and using secure ballot drop boxes in the county where they reside:

Atlantic County Secure Ballot Drop Box Locations
Bergen County Secure Ballot Drop Box Locations
Burlington County Secure Ballot Drop Box Locations
Camden County Secure Ballot Drop Box Locations
Cape May County Secure Ballot Drop Box Locations
Cumberland County Secure Ballot Drop Box Locations
Essex County Secure Ballot Drop Box Locations
Gloucester County Secure Ballot Drop Box Locations
Hudson County Secure Ballot Drop Box Locations
Hunterdon County Secure Ballot Drop Box Locations
Mercer County Secure Ballot Drop Box Locations
Middlesex County Secure Ballot Drop Box Locations
Monmouth County Secure Ballot Drop Box Locations
Morris County Secure Ballot Drop Box Locations
Ocean County Secure Ballot Drop Box Locations
Passaic County Secure Ballot Drop Box Locations
Salem County Secure Ballot Drop Box Locations
Somerset County Secure Ballot Drop Box Locations
Sussex County Secure Ballot Drop Box Locations
Union County Secure Ballot Drop Box Locations
Warren County Secure Ballot Drop Box Locations

Attorney General Matt Platkin said on Tuesday that the state’s Voter Protection Initiative will watch for voting rights and civil rights violations during early voting and on Election Day.

“We will do everything in our power to ensure that every eligible voter is able to exercise this fundamental right without facing intimidation, discrimination, or harassment,” Platkin said. “We have built the infrastructure to promptly resolve voting-related issues, and we will hold accountable anyone who attempts to disrupt our democratic process.”

The Office of Public Integrity and Accountability will monitor allegations of voter intimidation, election fraud and interference, illegal electioneering, and other criminal violations.

The OPIA has spent the last four years pursuing election fraud charges filed against Paterson Councilmen Alex Mendez and Michael Jackson; the two were re-elected earlier this month while under indictment and awaiting trial.  An investigation into racist flyers in the 2017 elections in Edison and Hoboken has turned into cold cases that the OPIA has been unable to crack.

New Jersey’s Voter Information and Assistance Hotline can be reached at 1-877-NJVOTER (1-877-658-6837).

The American Civil Liberties Union Hotline can be reached at 866-OUR-VOTE (866-687-8683).

Click HERE to check your voter registration.

Click HERE to Track Your Ballot.

Superior Court judges across the state will be available through Sunday to conduct remote hearings if New Jerseyans believe they were improperly rejected from early voting.

Voters should not leave their polling location just because an election worker says they don’t appear on their rolls.  Instead, they should contact election officials to determine the status of their registration.   A provisional ballot can be requested on Election Day,  but that won’t fix the problem; if a name does not show up on the voter list, and the issue is not addressed, election officials will likely reject the ballot.

Instead, voters who believe a mistake was made can request to appear before a judge.  This can be done remotely by video or telephone; it’s not necessary to go to the courthouse, although that is an option.

Election officials will arrange for a judge to hear election-related issues on the same day.

Early voting centers are open on Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, and Saturday from 10 AM to 8 PM and on Sunday from 10 AM to 6 PM.   Click HERE to find an early voting location.

Voters should begin with their county election officials:

Atlantic County
Bergen County
Burlington County
Camden County
Cape May County
Cumberland County
Essex County
Gloucester County
Hudson County
Hunterdon County
Mercer County
Middlesex County
Monmouth County
Morris County
Ocean County
Passaic County
Salem County
Somerset County
Sussex County
Union County
Warren County

Gov. Phil Murphy said those changes have put law enforcement in a better position to deal with disorderly teens. In an interview with News 12 New Jersey, the governor said Tuesday that ”the shore did not have a chaotic weekend.”

“The weekend was overwhelmingly a successful weekend, including even in those towns,” Murphy told the television station. “I was on a couple hours ago with the Wildwood mayor, and he said we had a fantastic weekend, we happened to have this overrunning of, it sounds like, a bunch of teenagers.”

The state attorney general’s office declined comment.

Ocean City Mayor Jay Gillian said his city has had enough of rowdy young people bent on causing trouble.

“Our officers made multiple arrests … and were able to quickly restore order to the boardwalk once the teens involved in these incidents were removed,” he wrote in a message posted on the city’s website. “We have a highly qualified team of officers on the boardwalk and throughout town, and they will enforce all laws to the fullest.

“Ocean City will always be welcoming to all guests, but I want to send a clear message to parents and to teens: If you don’t want to behave, don’t come.”

In a message on his own city’s website, Wildwood Mayor Ernest Troiano Jr. voiced similar sentiments.

“Wildwood will not tolerate unruly, undisciplined, unparented children nor will we stand by while the laws of the state tie the hands of the police,” he wrote. “We wholeheartedly support the city of Wildwood Police Department in protecting this community from these nuisance crowds on our boardwalk and in the city.”

Wildwood officials did not give details about individual incidents that led to the 6-hour overnight closure of the boardwalk but said there was “an irrepressible number” of calls for help to the police department.

The Cape May County prosecutor said Wildwood police acted correctly in closing the boardwalk to restore order.

Two Republican state senators called Wednesday on the Democrat-controlled Legislature to pass their bill expanding the definition of a riot, enabling local officials in towns that are proposing budget cuts to police to appeal to the state to restore the money, and adding imprisonment of up to six months for someone who throws something at or strikes police officers or other first responders.

“Riots and vandalism will drive visitors away and devastate the summer season,” said Sen. Robert Singer, who proposed the legislation with Sen. Joseph Pennacchio. “As a state, we cannot afford that.”