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Voting & Elections Toolkits

Voting and advocacy resources by librarians for librarians

Voter Registration in New Jersey

Eligibility

  • Citizenship: Must be a United States citizen
  • Age: At least 17 years old, though you may not vote until you have reached the age of 18
  • Residence: Must be a resident of the county in which you are voting for at least 30 days before the election
  • College students: Have the option to register from your college address or your home address
  • Incarceration: A person not serving a sentence of incarceration as the result of a conviction of any indictable offense under the laws of this or another state or of the United States may register
  • Check to see if you are already registered through the Voter Search feature.

For more information, please visit the Department of State New Jersey Division of Elections or call 1-877-NJ-VOTER (1-877-658-6837).

Deadline

  • The registration deadline to vote in the next election is 21 days prior to the election day.
  • Previously affiliated voters who want to change political party affiliation or become unaffiliated must register no later than
    55 days before the primary election in order to vote in the primary election.
  • October 15, 2024 is the registration deadline for the 2024 general election
  • To receive your ballot by mail, the application must be received by the County Clerk 7 days prior to the election. A voter may also apply in person to the County Clerk until 3:00 p.m., the day before the election.
  • See the Chronological Election Timelines.

Online registration

Voter registration application (in multiple languages).

Mail-in registration

Printable forms (in multiple languages).

Refer to the box below for information about ID requirements.

Choosing a political party: You may choose a political party affiliation when you register, but it is not required.

Updating registration      

Cancelling registration

Voter rolls are maintained at the county level. To remove someone from a voter roll, contact the County Clerk.

County Election Officials

ID Requirements for New Jersey Voters

ID Requirements for Registration

Online Registration

To register online, you will need your date of birth and one of the following forms of identification:

  • A current and valid Driver’s License or a non-driver Identification Card (ID card) issued by the New Jersey Motor Vehicle Commission (MVC). Your information will be provided to the MVC to validate identification, and to retrieve a copy of your digitized signature.

OR

  • A Social Security number
    To use your social security number, you must have the ability to sign on-screen or upload your signature to complete the registration process. If you are unable to provide a digital signature, you can not register online.

Mail-in Registration

An ID is not required for mail-in registration, but you must provide the following:

  • Driver’s license number or Motor Vehicle Commission Non-driver ID number, OR
  • Last four digits of Social Security number.

If you do not provide the information listed above, or the information cannot be verified, you will be asked to provide:

  • A COPY of a current and valid photo ID, OR
  • a document with your name and current address on it to avoid having to provide identification at the polling place.

If you cannot meet any of the above requirements, you may complete an Affirmation Statement and cast a provisional ballot on election day subject to verification of your eligibility to vote.

ID Requirements for Voting

If you did not provide identification when registering, or if the identification information could not be verified (i.e., your driver's license number or the last four digits of your social security number), YOU MAY BE ASKED TO SHOW IDENTIFICATION AT THE POLLING PLACE WHEN YOU GO TO VOTE.

Identification may include, but is not limited to, any Current and Valid Photo ID:

  • NJ driver's license,
  • Military or other Government ID,
  • Student or Job ID,
  • Store Membership Card,
  • United States Passport,

Official documents may also be presented for identification:

  • Bank statement,
  • Car registration,
  • Government check or document,
  • Non-photo NJ driver's license,
  • Rent receipt,
  • Sample Ballot,
  • Utility bill,
  • Any other official document.

Where to get an ID

Casting a Ballot in New Jersey

Important Dates

  • Primary Election: June 4, 2024
  • General Election: November 5, 2024

Absentee voting

Note: "The term “absentee ballot” was changed in July 2009 and was replaced by the Vote-By-Mail ballot law that allowed a voter to request a ballot by mail for any reason."

Application

  • Printable forms (in multiple languages).
  • You must be an active registered voter in order to apply for a Mail-In Ballot
  • To receive a ballot by mail, the application must be received by the County Clerk 7 days prior to the election.
  • A voter may also apply in person to the County Clerk until 3:00 p.m., the day before the election.

Military voters and voters who reside outside the U.S.

More information:

Polling places and hours

Rides to the polls

Help for voters with disabilities

Ballots

Referenda

Sample ballots

Elections

Primaries vs. general elections

  • Primary elections are conducted to select each party’s candidates for the general election.
  • In New Jersey, a voter must be a registered member of a political party in order to vote in that party’s primary.
  • In a general election, voters are not required to have a party affiliation.

Jurisdiction

Offices/Measures That May Appear on the Ballot
Federal

President/Vice-President (elected every four years; next election in 2024)

Senator (elected every six years for staggered terms; next election in 2024)

Representative (elected every two years)
State

Governor/Lieutenant Governor (elected every four years; next election in 2025)

State Senator (four year terms, elected in odd numbered years)

Members of the State Assembly (two year terms, elected in odd numbered years)

Statewide ballot measures
Municipal & County

Mayor

Other local officials and committee members (e.g., Council members)

Board of Education members and members of other boards and commissions

County offices (e.g., Freeholder/Commissioner, Executive, Sheriff, etc.)

Local ballot measures

Who are the candidates, and what else is on the ballot?

Important Dates

Election Day is November 5, 2024

Who conducts elections?

  • The New Jersey Secretary of State is the chief elections officer.
  • County Election Officials maintain voter rolls, prepare ballots, and distribute sample ballots.

Voter Bill of Rights

New Jersey Voter Rights and Accessibility Information.

Where to go with complaints about candidates or how elections are conducted

  • The New Jersey Election Law Enforcement Commission "ensures the integrity of the financial aspects of the State’s electoral process." "Any person may request that the Commission undertake an investigation by submitting an Investigation Request Form or a signed written statement setting forth an allegation that constitutes a potential violation of the Campaign Reporting Act, the Lobbying Act, the Personal Financial Disclosure Act, or the Uniform Recall Election Law."
  • The New Jersey Voters' Bill of Rights specifies that complaint forms regarding the conduct of the election at a polling place be made available at each polling place.
  • 1-877-NJ-VOTER (1-877-658-6837)

Campaign finance

The Campaign Finance Database provides access to candidate, committee, party, and Political Action Committee campaign finance filings

How to contact your elected officials

General Resources on Voting and Elections

General Resources on Voting and Elections

Election Protection Hotlines

1-866-OUR-VOTE (866-687-8683)

1-888-VE-Y-VOTA (888-839-8682) (en Español)

1-888-API-VOTE (888-274-8683) (Asian multilingual assistance)

1-844-YALLA-US (844-925-5287) (Arabic)

Voter Registration & Election Day Resources

Find useful voter information including:

  • Local Election Office and Contact Information
  • Address, Telephone and Email for Local Election Offices
  • Upcoming Federal Election Dates and Deadlines
  • Upcoming State Election Dates and Deadlines
  • Eligibility Requirements
  • Identification Requirements
  • Voter Materials Transmission Options
  • State Lookup Tools – Am I Registered? Where’s my Ballot?

Population-Specific information and Resources

Voting Rights: Laws, Cases, Policy

Voter Engagement

Voter Education

Campaign Finance/Funding Information

Primary Sources, Lesson Plans & Exhibits

Disclaimer

Librarians from the Government Documents Round Table (GODORT), a Round Table of the American Library Association (ALA), created these reference guides. These guides are intended for informational purposes only and are not in any way intended to be legal advice.

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These guides are designated with a Creative Commons license and re-use and modification for educational purposes is encouraged.

Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.