2024 New Jersey voter registration and mail-in ballot information guide

Oct. 14 (ZFJ) — The deadline to register to vote for the general election in New Jersey is Tuesday, Oct. 15 (21 days before election day on Tuesday, Nov. 5).

As of press time, that’s tomorrow, so don’t delay any longer if you haven’t registered yet!

Anyone who is a U.S. citizen, at least 17 years old, a resident of their county for 30 days before the election, and not convicted of a crime is eligible to register to vote. Citizens must be 18 years old by election day to vote.

Students from N.J. who are attending college out-of-state can choose to register to vote in their home county in N.J. or in the county where their college is situated. The following information is for anyone wishing to register in N.J.

Voter registration can be done online with either a driver’s license or non-driver identification card issued by the N.J. Motor Vehicle Commission or with a social security number, which requires a digital signature. The online application is available in English, Spanish, Korean, and Gujarati.

If online registration doesn’t work (as in my case), then registration must be done on a paper form and mailed to the county agency responsible for voter registration. Paper forms are available to print on the N.J. Division of Elections website and can be mailed at no charge to the voter. The paper registration must be postmarked by Tuesday, Oct. 15, to be on time.

Voter registration will also be available in the evening of Tuesday, Oct. 15, for the general election in-person at the offices of county commissioners of registration. A worker at the Middlesex County Board of Elections told me on the phone that they’ll be open until 9:00 p.m. for registrations. This evening registration is mandated by the state.

Voters can check their registration status online at the N.J. Division of Elections website. If you have any questions, call your local county commissioner of registration.

Applications for a mail-in ballot must be completed on a paper form and returned to your respective county clerk’s office by Tuesday, Oct. 29, if mailed. Forms are available in English and Spanish and will require a stamp to be mailed.

If you mail your mail-in ballot application at the same time you mail your voter registration form, write “newly-registered voter” on the ballot application. The county clerk’s office can’t process mail-in ballot applications until you’re registered.

If you would like to check whether your mail-in ballot application has been processed, call your local county clerk’s office.

N.J. will offer early voting from Saturday, Oct. 26, to Sunday, Nov. 3, to registered voters in order to accommodate for varied schedules. Each county, depending on its size, will designate a minimum of three to ten in-person early voting locations that will be open from 10:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. from Monday to Saturday and from 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. on Sunday. Appointments are not necessary.

The deadline for in-person mail-in ballot applications for the general election is Monday, Nov. 4, by 3:00 p.m.

The general election will be on Tuesday, Nov. 5, which is also the deadline for post office receipt and in-person submissions of mail-in ballots.

Thursday, Nov. 7, is the deadline for county boards of elections to receive mail-in ballots, delivered by the United States Postal Service, that don’t have a postmark of delivery.

Monday, Nov. 11, is the deadline for the receipt of timely mailed postmarked mail-in ballots to county boards of elections.

N.J. Voter Information Portal: https://www.nj.gov/state/elections/vote.shtml

N.J. Voter Information Portal - Register to Vote: https://www.nj.gov/state/elections/voter-registration.shtml

N.J. Online Voter Registration Application: https://voter.svrs.nj.gov/register

N.J. Voter Search (Registration Check): https://voter.svrs.nj.gov/registration-check

N.J. Vote-By-Mail Ballot Applications: https://www.nj.gov/state/elections/vote-by-mail.shtml#applications

N.J. In-Person Early Voting Information and Poll Locations: https://nj.gov/state/elections/vote-early-voting.shtml

Update 2024-10-14, 19:19 - Added information about early voting in N.J.