By NANETTE LoBIONDO GALLOWAY
Expanded New Jersey Election Laws now provide voters with several options to vote early, including in-person or by mail.
IN PERSON
Anyone who previously requested vote-by-mail ballots and would like to vote in-person during New Jersey's new early in-person voting period must opt-out of receiving a vote-by-mail ballot no later than Tuesday, Aug. 31.
(NOTE: In 2020, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, NJ Gov. Phil Murphy issued an Executive Order requiring every voter in New Jersey to receive a special, one-time-only vote-by-mail ballot for the 2020 Presidential Election.)
The New Jersey Legislature approved the early in-person voting period earlier this year to allow ballots to be cast in-person using a voting machine during a nine-day period prior to Election Day, Nov. 2, when voters will cast their ballots for governor, NJ District 2 Senate and Assembly, and several Atlantic County races. There are no local races in the Downbeach area. The early voting period is Saturday, Oct. 23 through Sunday, Oct. 31.
The new law gives voters the option to vote in-person on a polling machine at any of the six Atlantic County District locations regardless of where they live. Early voting machines will be available at:
To check if you are an active vote-by-mail voter, go to vote.nj.gov and click the Am I Registered? tab.
OPT-OUT REQUIRED
Voters who previously requested vote-by-mail ballots who now wish to vote in-person for the Nov. 2 election must inform the Atlantic County Clerk to remove their name from the vote-by-mail mailing list by filling out the Opt-Out Form, which can be downloaded from the Atlantic County Clerk website at https://www.atlanticcountyclerk.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/Opt-Out-Form.pdf before Aug. 31. The form certifies that you no longer wish to receive vote-by-mail ballots for Nov. 2 and future elections.
TO VOTE BY MAIL
The form to request a vote-by-mail ballot can be downloaded from the Atlantic County Clerk website at https://nj.gov/state/elections/assets/pdf/forms-vote-by-mail/vote-by-mail-english-atlantic.pdf. The form gives voters the option to receive vote-by-mail ballots in all future elections, or for a specific election. Military or overseas voters can use the same form.
To be counted, vote-by-mail ballots must be postmarked by 8 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 2 and received by the Board of Elections on Monday, Nov. 8, or they can be deposited in drop boxes located throughout the county. A list of drop box locations can be downloaded from the Atlantic County Clerk website at https://www.atlanticcountyclerk.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/Drop-Box-2021-List-as-of-5-11-2021.pdf
Confused? To get your specific questions about voter registration answered, call the Atlantic County Superintendent of Elections at 609-645-5882.
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