Voting in
New Jersey

Upcoming Election Dates & Deadlines

Upcoming Election: Primary Election

Election Day: November 5, 2024

Registration Deadline: October 15, 2024

Vote By Mail: yes

Vote By Mail Deadline: October 15, 2024

Early Voting: October 26 - 3, 2024

How to vote in New Jersey

New Jersey's election schedule

New Jersey's Election Overview

In New Jersey, you can register to vote online, by mail, or in person. Voting can be done in person or by mail. No ID is needed for mail voting.

Important Voting Links for New Jersey

How to vote in New Jersey

Absentee Ballot Process

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.

Early Voting

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 nine-day period prior to Election Day. A list of early voting sites is available here. Voters can select any site in their county.

Eligibility Requirements

To be eligible to vote you must be:

A United States citizen
17 years old, but must be 18 in order to vote in an election
A resident of the county for 30 days before the election

Beginning March 17, 2020, if you are on parole or probation you are eligible to to vote! You are not eligible to register to vote if you are serving a jail sentence as a result of a conviction of an indictable offense under state or federal law or have been adjudged mentally incompetent. However, in New Jersey, ex-felons can register to vote. Any person who is no longer in prison, or has completed his or her term of probation or parole can register to vote.

ID Needed for Voter Registration

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:

Any current and valid photo ID
Driver’s license
Student or job ID
Military or other government ID
Store membership ID
United States passport
Bank statement
Car registration
Government check or document
Non-photo driver’s license
Rent receipt
Sample ballot
Utility bill
Any other official document

ID Needed for Voting

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

Overseas and Military Voting

You 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.

Primary Election Process

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.

Provisional Voting

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:

If your registration information is missing or is incomplete in the poll book
You moved from your registered address to another in the same county and did not notify your local election officials
You did not provide the required ID information on your registration form or you’re a first time registrant by mail in New Jersey and your ID numbers could not be verified and you did not show ID to the poll workers at the polling place.
There is a marking in the poll book that you applied for an absentee ballot but you did not apply for one, you applied for one but did not receive it, or you received it but did not return it
If you vote a provisional ballot because you did not provide the proper ID you have until the close of business on the second day after the election to provide your county commissioner of registration with the required ID information for your provisional ballot to count. You will be given instructions at your polling place on where to bring the ID.

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.

Provisions for Voters with Disabilities

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.

Voting Machines

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.