Monmouth County Clerk Christine Giordano Hanlon is advising residents that a new law signed by Gov. Phil Murphy in August has changed the vote by mail rules in New Jersey.
These changes are effective immediately and will impact the Nov. 6 election, according to a press release.
One change involves how a voter can apply for a mail-in ballot. Before the change in the law, a voter had three options on the application. The voter could opt for receiving a mail-in ballot for one election, all elections in one calendar year, and all future general elections.
Now, a voter has only two options for voting by mail. A voter may request a mail-in ballot for one election or for all elections every year until the voter opts out in writing, according to the press release.
Most importantly, the new law mandates that all voters who voted by mail in the 2016
general election be sent a mail-in ballot for the 2018 general election, even if they did not request one. If these voters do not want to receive a 2018 general election mail-in ballot, they must notify the county clerk in writing to opt out, according to the press release.
All of these 2016 mail-in ballot voters will be sent a letter from the county clerk’s
office advising of this change. It is important to remember that any voter who
receives a mail-in ballot will not be permitted to vote on a voting machine on
Election Day, according to the press release.
Voters can download the updated vote by mail application from the website at MonmouthCountyVotes.com and from the free Monmouth County Votes
mobile app. Individuals who have questions about the vote by mail process or questions about the new law may contact the county clerk’s Elections Division at 732-431-7790.
