Sussex County Clerk Jeff Parrott announced on Thursday that Vote-By-Mail (VBM) ballots for this year’s Primary Elections are being mailed this week to all registered Democrats and Republicans in compliance with Governor Murphy’s Executive Order #144. Voters who register after the initial mailing but before June 17 will also be mailed a ballot. Also under EO#144, Unaffiliated voters will be mailed a special Vote-By-Mail application for one-time use in this election; the application requires the voter to declare a party in order to be mailed a ballot. The applications will be mailed out beginning June 12. Unaffiliated voters need to complete and return this special EO#144 Application even if they already applied for a mail-in ballot using the standard application.
Voters who regularly vote by mail will notice that their Mail-In Ballot has a new look. “The ballot materials were redesigned to help simplify voting by mail,” said Parrott. “The voter has less to fill out and instructions are clear and easy to follow.”
When voters receive the VBM ballot, they should read the instructions provided and then vote their ballot using blue or black ink, and submit it right away in one of the following ways:
- Mail it in the postage-paid return envelope provided;
- Hand-deliver it to the County Board of Elections at 83 Spring Street, Suite 305 in Newton; or
- Deposit it in one of the secure/surveilled Ballot Drop Boxes that will be located at:
a) Hardyston Township Municipal Building
b) Hopatcong Borough Municipal Building
c) Newton Town Municipal Building
d) Sparta Township Municipal Building
e) Vernon Township Municipal Building
Polling places for this year’s Primary elections are limited, so voters may be assigned a new polling place for July 7. There will be no sample ballots mailed this year. Instead of sample ballots, voters will receive a postcard in the mail from the County Clerk with the location of their designated polling location should they choose to go to the polls and vote via provisional paper ballot. The postcards will be mailed the week after the close of voter registration, which is June 16th.
The list of available polling locations in Sussex County is posted to the County Clerk’s website at www.sussexcountyclerk.org/elections.
Voters who go to a polling location on July 7 will vote a provisional paper ballot. Voters with disabilities should call the County Clerk’s Office for an accessible ballot, or may choose to vote an audio ballot on an ADA-accessible voting machine at their assigned polling location.
Election-related deadlines are as follows:
- Final day to register to vote in time for the Primary Election: June 16
- Deadline for unaffiliated voters to APPLY by Mail for Primary Election Vote By Mail ballot: June 30
- Deadline for a walk-in to obtain a vote-by-mail ballot from the County Clerk: July 7
- Primary Election Day: July 7, polls open at 6 a.m. and close at 8 p.m.
- Deadline to mail/postmark or drop off a VBM ballot – July 7 at 8 p.m.
Voters who have questions about voting by mail in the July 7, 2020 primary elections are encouraged to call the County Clerk’s Office at 973-579-0900. Voters with questions about party affiliation, voter registration status, polling place assignment or drop box locations should contact the County Board of Elections at 973-579-0950.
