NJ breaks record with 5.3 million registered voters

by: Jason Springer

Wed Oct 22, 2008 at 10:34:25 AM EDT

This is impressive:

More than a half-million New Jerseyans have registered to vote this year, setting a new state record and overwhelming elections officials who are scrambling to process the surge of applicants before Election Day.
Secretary of State Nina Mitchell Wells said Tuesday that New Jersey now has a record 5.3 million registered voters. That's due in part to the 575,145 new voters who have registered since Jan. 1.

And they're not done processing yet:

Some county clerks have been inundated with new voter requests. In Essex County, employees are working staggered shifts around the clock to get as many new voters on the books as possible. Wells said election workers in other counties are working 12- to 14-hour days, seven days a week.
Those whose names don't make the book will still be able to vote by provisional ballot, she said.

If you're a first time voter, the Division of Elections actually offers an educational video. The next step is for you to decide whether you want to vote at the polls or by absentee ballot.

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A Child's Stigma

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The Democratic advantage in New Jersey

Patrick Murray of Monmouth University has another blog post up, this one on Party ID Apples and Oranges. I've pointed to his thought before on how many registered "unaffiliated" voters think of themselves as Democrats.

This time, he's noted that the true Democratic advantage is still growing by looking at the responses to Monmouth University polls. In February 2007, Democrats led Republicans 36%-25%; by July 2008 it was 42%-25%. Or as he says:

The bottom line is that the apples of party ID as measured in polls are not the same as the oranges of party registration. If you see a poll with party ID that matches New Jersey's registration, the pollster likely gave too much weight to unaffiliateds who are unlikely to vote.

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Are you gonna be there?

by: Tandalayo Scheisskopf

Sat Aug 16, 2008 at 09:48:10 AM EDT

Sept. 6 and 7, Belvidere NJ will be hosting its annual Victorian Days. This is a Big Deal out here and is always well attended.

Who is gonna come on out to The Broccoli that weekend?

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Voting on Feb 5 - Easy As Pie

by: danpreston

Wed Jan 23, 2008 at 09:54:56 PM EST

In a previous post, I noted the needless confusion and outright misinformation about who can vote in NJ's February 5th Presidential Primary. The correct answer is that upwards of 99.95 percent of citizens who were registered to vote as of January 15, 2008 CAN vote, whether they're already members of the Democratic or Republican parties (about 40 percent of voters) - or if they are currently "unaffiliated" (not members of any party, about 60 percent of all voters). The only exceptions are registered members of the Green, Libertarian or a few other alternative parties, which combined represent a tiny fraction of a percent of the electorate.

So what will happen when you, the voter, walk into your regular polling place on February 5th? What if you're not already a Democrat or a Republican? If you are currently unaffiliated, what hoops will you have to jump through to "declare" a party affiliation? To find out, I decided to attend a poll worker training class held this evening in Hopewell Township, conducted by the Mercer County Board of Elections.

Short answer: It's pretty much like voting in any other election. You go to your usual polling location. The poll workers look in the poll book where you sign in to see if there's a "DEM" or "REP" printed above the block where you sign. If so, DEMs get to vote the Democratic ballot; REPs get to vote the Republican ballot.

If the space for your party affiliation is blank, they simply ask you: Democrat or Republican? You answer with one or the other. They fill in the blank. You vote accordingly.

That's it. No fuss. No bother. No forms to fill out. You vote. And then you leave, knowing that you've taken part in the first Presidential Primary Election ever where NJ voters had a real say in the outcome.

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NJ Unaffiliated voters CAN vote in the Feb 5 primary

by: danpreston

Tue Jan 22, 2008 at 04:03:40 PM EST

Promoted from the diaries -- Juan

I keep hearing misinformation about the eligibility of unaffiliated voters to vote in the NJ Presidential Primary on February 5. So I looked for a clear and authoritative statement on the subject.

I found this press release from the NJ Office of the Attorney General, the ultimate authority in these matters. Here's the money quote:

New Jersey?s primary election law allows unaffiliated voters ? those registered voters who never affiliated with the Republican or Democratic parties -- to choose a party on Primary Day and vote in the primary. However, voters already registered as Democrats can only vote in the Democratic primary; similarly, voters already registered as Republicans can only vote in the GOP primary. Cross-over voting is not allowed. The deadline for switching party affiliations was December 17.
There were almost 4.8 million people registered to vote before the Nov. 6, 2007 general election, including 1,164,504 Democrats, 874,457 Republicans and 2,756,759 unaffiliated voters.

So all an unaffiliated voter needs to do is - GO TO THE POLLS ON FEB 5. It's that simple.

The voter statistics underscore how major this is: Only about 24 percent of voters statewide are Dems, and about 18 percent are Repubs. The rest - about 58 percent - are "unaffiliated." So any news organization or other source that gets this wrong is doing a huge disservice to a vast majority of NJ voters.

So ... please pass the above info along to anyone who needs it - especially reporters or others in a position to [mis]inform voters!

And ... I'd really like to know if you hear/see/read inaccurate stories anywhere in the media.

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