All active registered New Jersey voters will automatically receive a vote-by-mail ballot for this year’s Presidential Election.

All ballots will be mailed from your County Clerk’s office by Monday, October 5th.
Voters can choose how to return their voted ballot. The following options are available:
1) By mail
2) By depositing it in one of 11 secure drop boxes
3) By handing it directly to a poll worker at your designated polling place on Election Day
4) By delivering it in person to the County Board of Elections

All ballots being returned through the U.S. Postal Service must:
– Carry a postmark no later than November 3rd
– Be received by the Board of Elections no later than 8:00 p.m. on November 10th
– Ballots which lack postmarks due to postal error received by 8:00 p.m. on November 5th will be considered valid.

Each municipality will be required to open at least one in-person polling site; Sussex County will have 37 polling locations available. Voters who prefer to vote in person on Election Day can bring their mail-in ballot to their assigned polling place and hand it directly to a poll-worker. However, only voters with a disability will be permitted to use an in-person accessible voting machine on Election Day. If you go to the polls to vote in person but do not bring your mail-in ballot you will be given a Paper Provisional Ballot. Provisional ballots are counted only after the deadline to accept and count mail-in ballots. Voters will receive a postcard in the mail by October 23rd advising them of their designated polling location.

KNOW BEFORE YOU GO!  If you have questions about how the 2020 Presidential Election is going to be conducted, call our Election Office at 973-579-0900, ext. 1507.

On or about October 5th, secure ballot drop boxes will be available in the following locations for the Nov. 3 2020 Presidential Election:
1. Andover Borough Municipal Building
2. Frankford Township Municipal Building
3. Franklin Borough Municipal Building
4. Fredon Township Civic Center
5. Hardyston Township Municipal Building
6. Hopatcong Borough Municipal Building
7. Newton Municipal Building
8. Sandyston Township Municipal Building
9. Sparta Township Municipal Building
10. Vernon Township Municipal Building
11. Wantage Township Municipal Building

NOTE: Additional drop boxes are planned for Andover Township and Montague Township (locations TBD); expected to be set up by mid-October. Check back here for installation updates.

Each active registered voter will receive a post card in the mail, no later than October 23rd, informing them of their designated polling place for the Nov. 3rd Presidential Election. (There will be a limited number of polling places due to COVID-19, so voters may not be assigned to their “usual” polling place.)

The polling locations for the Nov. 3 2020 Presidential Election will be as follows:

Andover Borough	Andover Borough Senior Citizen Center
Andover Township	Hillside Park Barn Andover Twp Municipal Building
Branchville	Branchville Firehouse
Byram	Byram Municipal Building Cranberry Lakes Firehouse
Frankford	Frankford Firehouse #1
Franklin	Franklin Senior Center
Fredon	Fredon Municipal Building
Green	Green Twp Firehouse
Hamburg	Fire Department Meeting Room
Hampton	Hampton Senior Center
Hardyston	Hardyston #1 Firehouse Hardyston Municipal Building
Hopatcong	Hopatcong #2 Firehouse Hopatcong #3 Firehouse Hopatcong Middle School Gym
Lafayette	Lafayette Municipal Building
Montague	Montague Municipal Building
Newton	Newton Firehouse Newton Municipal Building
Ogdensburg	Ogdensburg Firehouse
Sandyston	Sandyston Municipal Building
Sparta	Sparta Fire Headquarters Alpine Middle School Gym TBD
Stanhope	Stanhope American Legion
Stillwater	Stillwater Municipal Building
Sussex	Sussex Firehouse
Vernon	Pochuck Valley Firehouse Vernon Municipal Building (downstairs) St. Francis DeSales Church Highland Lakes Clubhouse
Walpack	Sandyston Municipal Building
Wantage	Wantage Library Beemerville Firehouse Colesville Firehouse

All active NJ voters will receive a mail-in ballot for the 2020 Presidential Election. Ballots will be mailed by October 5th. If you do not receive your ballot by October 13, or you misplaced or incorrectly marked your ballot, you can request a replacement ballot from your County Clerk.

Instructions for requesting a replacement ballot will be available after ballots have been mailed.

All active NJ voters will receive a mail-in ballot for the 2020 Presidential Election. The process of voting by mail will be new to many voters.

COMING SOON! A video demonstrating how to vote your mail-in ballot.

Until our video is available, keep reading to acquaint yourself with the vote-by-mail process:

STEP 1: When your mail-in ballot arrives, open it right away to make sure your packet is complete

STEP 2: Locate the ballot; read the “Instructions to the Voter”

These appear on your ballot (top left box). Failing to follow the instructions can result in your vote not being counted.

STEP 3: Mark your ballot

STEP 4: Fold your ballot and place it in the pocket of your “certificate” envelope

STEP 5: Complete the “Certificate of Mail-In Voter”

You must sign the certificate where indicated. The signature should match how you signed your name at the time of voter registration. If there is an issue with your signature, the Board of Elections will contact you and give you instructions on how to “cure” your signature issue.

(If you are voting a primary ballot you must also declare a party affiliation; you do this by checking the box of the party ballot you voted.)

FACT: Signing the “Certificate of Mail-In Voter” is necessary to prevent someone else from voting your mail-in ballot. When your ballot is received by the Board of Elections, board workers will verify that your signature matches their record and then they will detach the certificate from the envelope that contains your ballot. When the envelope is opened and your ballot revealed, there is nothing connecting you to the ballot; your votes remain anonymous.

STEP 6: Place the “Certificate of Mail-In Voter” envelope into the blue return envelope

STEP 7: Return your ballot; you have 4 options

1. Mail your ballot.
2. Deposit it in one of 11 secure Ballot Drop Boxes located in the county.
3. Hand-deliver your ballot to the County Board of Elections (if you designate someone to deliver it for you, that person would be your “bearer” and must complete the boxed bearer section on the front of the blue envelope).
4. Hand-deliver your ballot to a poll-worker at your designated polling location on Election Day. (Note: You cannot deliver someone else’s ballot to a polling place, you can only bring the one you personally voted.)

Call our office if you require assistance 973-579-0900, ext. 1507.

Voters cannot “opt out” of voting a paper ballot for the upcoming Nov. 3rd General Election. Only voters with disabilities will have access to voting machines at the polls. Voters who received a mail-in ballot who appear at their designated polling place on Election Day and do not return their voted mail-in ballot shall vote via a provisional paper ballot.

Voters who want to vote at the polls on Election Day can choose to mark their mail-in ballot in the comfort of their home and then cast/deposit their voted ballot at their designated polling place on Election Day. All voters will receive a postcard no later than October 23rd advising them of their designated polling place.

NOTE! Voters can only bring their personally voted ballot to their polling place; no one can be the bearer for someone else’s ballot at the polls on Election Day.

Voters who were placed on the “All Future Elections” list but who no longer want to automatically receive ballots by mail for every future election may opt out at any time by submitting a request in writing to our office. For your convenience, COMPLETE & RETURN THIS FORM TO OPT-OUT if you no longer want to receive mail-in ballots for all future elections (excluding the 2020 November 3 General Election, which is mostly mail-in under law).  

NOTE! Voters who voted by mail in the 2020 elections will NOT be placed on a list to automatically receive mail-in ballots for all future elections.

Ballots must be mailed no later than October 5th for the November election. If you are not going to be home between October 5th and Election Day, you need to inform your County Clerk where you will be. There are many reasons why voters may find themselves out of town this fall. COVID-19 restrictions have stranded some voters in other states, while the new school year may find college students on campus and far from home.

Voters who will not be at their registered home address should notify their County Clerk’s Office as soon as possible where they want their November ballot to be mailed. Unless instructed otherwise, ballots will be mailed to the voter’s home address.

Overseas voters are permitted to vote via regular mail, fax, or e-mail. This service is available to Sussex County residents (or former residents) who are living or working out of the United States, including military personnel and their dependents. 

Types of “Overseas” voters
U.S. citizens living permanently overseas may vote a Federal Overseas Ballot, which allows them to vote for Federal offices only, including President, U.S. Senate, and Congress; whereas U.S. citizens visiting or residing temporarily overseas are eligible to vote the complete ballot of their permanent address in the U.S.

Visit fvap.gov for more complete information on overseas voting.

Military servicemen and women and their dependents, and civilians attached to or serving in the military are permitted to vote electronically. For more information on registering to vote or voting absentee while in or attached to the military visit fvap.gov. 

Note that voted ballots must be received by the County Board of Elections before the close of polls on Election Day.