Important Changes to July 7th Primary Election! Please Review

On Friday, May 15, 2020,  Governor Murphy issued Executive Order 144 detailing the manner in which July 7, 2020, Primary Election will be conducted.

• All actively registered Republican and Democratic voters will automatically be issued a ballot by mail by the County Clerk. 
• All actively registered Unaffiliated voters AND voters who are Republican, Democratic or Unaffiliated and are on ‘’Inactive Confirmation’’ Status will automatically be issued a Vote By Mail Application which they must complete and return to the County Clerk in order to receive a ballot by mail. 
• The State will be providing a special ballot application for this election on which any Unaffiliated voter will be required to declare Republican or Democrat before being issued that party’s Primary Election ballot. 
• All ballots and ballot applications will be postage-paid, however, five secure ballot drop-boxes will also be placed strategically throughout the County.
• Sample Ballots will not be mailed.  Electronic .pdf versions of Sample Ballots will be available on the County Clerk’s website and as the election approaches, we are asking for your help in public outreach to make voters aware of the special circumstances surrounding this particular election and availability of ballots and sample ballots.  Your websites, town newsletters, Social Media, etc.  (We are still getting calls from people who are not aware that the date of the election has even been moved to July.  Any and all public outreach and advertising is critical.  We advertise in the Hunterdon County Democrat and on our website, but it is not reaching everyone.)

While the majority of voting will be conducted by Vote By Mail Ballot, we are required to have one polling location available in each municipality in order to facilitate the following:

1. Audio voting by machine for any voter who is unable to complete a paper ballot without assistance due to disability.  Voters will be required to sign an ADA certification prior to voting on the machine on which the voter is declaring that they need audio voting due to disability.
2. A paper Provisional Ballot system for any voters who were issued a ballot by mail and either did not receive their ballot or did not return their ballot.  This is the same procedure we currently use during regular elections.  The machine IS NOT to be used in lieu of a Vote By Mail or Provisional Ballot.  The machine is for ADA accessibility only.

.

Last modified: April 3, 2022