Governor Murphy announced that New Jersey voters have cast 3,006,541 ballots already in the upcoming election, which represents nearly 50% of the state’s registered electorate and is 76% of the total turnout in 2016.
With 5 days to go before Election Day and many more New Jersey voters sending in their ballots, it is possible that up to 90% of the voter turnout in 2016 will have submitted their votes before the election even arrives.
Governor Murphy announced in August that the state would be conducting this election almost exclusively by mail, with Election Day votes being provisional and voting machines only being made available to those with handicaps.
President Trump’s administration sued Governor Murphy over the move, arguing that holding an election by mail-in ballots invites fraud into the election, in a lawsuit that was recently thrown out by a federal judge.
If you want your vote to count the best thing to do is to drop your carefully prepared ballot off at a drop box or in person BEFORE election day. It’s much better than waiting for election day to vote in person in NJ this year as it will be counted only as provisional. I wouldn’t trust sending it in by mail either.