Month: September 2019

New Voter Group Scheduled To Receive Automatic Mail-In Ballots!

On August 28, 2019 Governor Murphy signed into law a bill that amended the 2018 Vote By Mail law and mandates that our office send a Vote By Mail* Ballot for the upcoming November 5 General Election to any voter who requested and received a Vote By Mail Ballot in any election held in 2017 or 2018. (S4069/A5759 P.L. 2019 c. 265)

*Vote By Mail Ballot includes paper ballots voted in person at the County Clerk’s Office.

This same law also mandates that our office automatically issue this group of voters a Vote By Mail Ballot in ALL FUTURE ELECTIONS — unless the voter informs our office in writing that they do not wish to receive Vote By Mail Ballots for all future elections.

Approximately 3,000 Sussex County voters are affected by this change in law. IF YOU ARE AFFECTED by the law, you should have received a notice from our office in mid-September advising you of your new “vote-by-mail status.” Our notice also included a form for you to “opt out” of remaining on this automatic vote-by-mail list. If you prefer to vote at the polls on Election Day, you should complete the “Opt Out” form and return it to the County Clerk’s Office by Sept. 25th. If you cannot meet that deadline, simply call our office ASAP to explain you want to opt off the list, but that your form will be arriving after the 25th. We will do our best to accommodate you. You should know that if you are mailed a Vote By Mail Ballot, you will not be permitted to vote on the voting machines at your polling place (because the poll book will show that you already received a mail-in ballot). The poll worker can only issue you a provisional ballot, which is essentially the same paper ballot that was mailed to you.

The Clerk’s Office is here to serve you. If you want to remain on the list to automatically receive mail-in ballots for all future elections, then you don’t need to do anything except sit back and wait for your ballot to arrive in the mail. However, if you prefer to vote at the polls, you must complete the Opt Out form and mail it back to our office ASAP so that we can remove your name from the automatic mailing list. Voters who “opt out” of receiving automatic ballots for every election, still reserve the right to request a mail-in ballot for any singular election of their choosing.

NOTE: If you are scheduled to receive a mail-in ballot automatically, but for some reason you do not receive your ballot in the mail, please call our office so we can look into your situation. We begin mailing ballots 45 days prior to Election Day. Please allow 5-7 days for delivery. Call 973-579-0900, ext. 1507 for more information.

Attention Military & Overseas Voters!

Update: Overseas mail will continue without issue.

You should return your voted November 5, 2019 General Election ballot before October 16.

Here’s why returning your ballot before October 16 is important for this election: The Universal Postal Union (UPU) is a worldwide body that establishes and agrees on international postal rates. The U.S. has announced it may pull out of the UPU. If we do, there will be no agreement for mail to be delivered to or from our country to any other country after October 16, 2019.

Although the U.S. Postal Service and others have been working on contingency plans, those plans are unlikely to be in place in time for military and overseas citizen (UOCAVA) voters to return their ballots in time for the November 2019 elections.

County Clerk Staff Donate to Nonprofits

Sussex County Clerk, Jeff Parrott is proud of his staff for their donation to three extremely worthwhile nonprofit organizations.  On Fridays the employees at the clerk’s office are given the option of wearing jeans for the small price of $2.00. That money added up to approximately $975.00 over the course of the year.  We chose to donate three checks in the amount of $325.00 each to Ginnie’s House, The Veteran’s Relief Fund in Hopatcong and the Sussex County Food Pantry.  Ms. Virginia Littell accepted the donation on behalf of Ginnie’s House. Mr. Mitch Ellicott accepted the donation on behalf of The Veteran’s Fund, and Mrs. Rita Oroho along with Mrs. Lisa Parrott accepted the donation on behalf of the Sussex County Food Pantry. All three of these organizations work diligently to provide support and hope to numerous Sussex County residents.

County Clerk staff with Ginnie Littell
County Clerk staff with Mitch Ellicott