Here’s redbankgreen’s town-by-town rundown of what offices are at stake and who’s running in Tuesday’s elections.
We’ve also got some information down near the bottom on what you need to bring to a polling station in order to vote; how to operate the voting machines; and what do do when things go awry.
Click the town name to see its sample ballot.
FAIR HAVEN Democrat Shervyn von Hoerl is the lone challenger to incumbent Republicans Eric Jaeger and Bob Marchese.
Also on the ballot are five contenders for three seats on the borough board of education, and two candidates for two seats on the Rumson-Fair Haven Regional High board.
LITTLE SILVER Mayor Bob Neff and council members David Gilmour and Glenn Talavera have no challengers. The big issue here, of course, is a binding referendum on whether the town should allow the creation of its first-ever liquor licencse for on-premise consumption. Here’s the wording and interpretive statement:
MUNICIPAL PUBLIC QUESTION: Shall the retail sale of all kinds of alcoholic beverages, for consumption on the licensed premises by the glass or other open receptacle pursuant to chapter one of the Title Intoxicating Liquors of the Revised Statutes (s. 33:1-1 et seq.), be permitted in this municipality?
INTERPRETIVE STATEMENT: This binding Referendum presents the question of whether retail alcohol sales will be allowed for consumption on a licensed premises, by the glass or other open container, within the Borough of Little Silver. If a majority of the legal voters in the Borough of Little Silver shall vote “yes” then the issuance of a plenary retail consumption license by the Borough would be allowed. If the majority of the legal voters in the Borough of Little Silver shall vote “no,” then the issuance of a plenary retail consumption license would not be allowed. Further, the decision of the voters in the Borough of Little Silver on this question shall be binding on and remain effective in the Borough of Little Silver for the next five years. No further referendum on this same question shall be held in the Borough of Little Silver prior to the General Election in the fifth year hereafter.
MIDDLETOWN Two candidates are contending for a single seat on the township committee, while eight others are angling for three spots on the borough board of ed.
RED BANK Two Democrats and two Republicans are vying for two, three-year terms on the borough council, with a possible shift in the majority at stake. If the GOP wins both seats, the party will control the governing body for the first time since 1989.
There’s also a robust race for three seats on the borough board of ed, with three incumbents and three challengers.
Here’s the breakdown of districts. To see the associated locations of polling places, click the map to enlarge it:
RUMSON Incumbent Mayor John Ekdahl, a Republican, faces a challenge from Democrat Michael Steinhorn in a town where no Democrat is said to ever have been elected. Two council incumbents are also up for re-election, without challengers.
Three candidates are vying for the borough board of education.
SEA BRIGHT Mayor Dina Long, a longtime Democrat who crossed party lines to back Chris Christie’s gubernatorial bid in 2013, is running unopposed for her second term, this time without party affiliation. Incumbent councilmembers Marc Leckstein, a Democrat, and Jack Keeler, a Republican, are unopposed.
Only two candidates are on the ballot for the borough’s three seats on the Oceanport board of ed.
SHREWSBURY BOROUGH Incumbent Republican councilmembers Jeff DeSalvo and Don Eddy are up for re-election without challenge, and there’s just one name on the ballot for three seats on the borough board of ed.
More Monmouth County ballots are posted here.
GENERAL INFORMATION
WHAT TO BRING: According to the League of Women Voters of New Jersey (which has excellent voter resources on its website), you need to provide ID if you are a first-time voter who registered by mail and did not provide identification numbers or the information you provided could not be verified.
Identification may include, but is not limited to, a current and valid photo ID such as a:
Driver’s license
Student or job ID
Military or other government ID
Store membership ID
United States Passport
OR non-photo ID such as a:
Bank statement
Car registration
Government check or document
Non-photo driver’s license
Rent receipt
Sample ballot
Utility bill
or any other official document
If you can provide ID you are allowed to vote at the polls on the machine.
However, if you do not show identification, you will vote by provisional ballot and have until the close of business on the second day after the election to provide identification to the applicable county election office. You will be given a hand-out at the polling place that will tell you which county election office to contact.
HOW: Touch-screen voting machines are used. Here’s how they work.
Instead of pulling a lever to cast a vote as in the old analog machines, users make their selections on a touch-screen display, touching a button next to the name of the preferred candidate or the answer to a public question. A green X will light up to show the selection. Votes can be changed before all selections are submitted by simply touching the same button again, which turns off the green X.
For write-in votes (‘personal choice selections’ in the nomenclature of the the machines, as though other options were not personal choices), a keyboard is installed in each voting machine. Touch the ‘personal choice’ button on the same line as the office for for which you’re writing in a name. A blinking green X will appear. Then type in the name, using the arrow pointing right to make spaces, and the left arrow to make corrections. Check that you’ve spelled the name correctly, and press ‘enter’ on the keyboard.
After all selections have been made, push the red ‘cast votes’ button on the lower right of the display to submit your choices.
No, the curtain behind you doesn’t automatically open after you’ve cast your votes, as with the old lever machines. This seems to throw some people off.
TROUBLESHOOTING: Know your rights, and carry the palmcard below, prepared by the league. It includes the phone number of the League’s VOTEline (1-800-792-VOTE) available to assist voters who may encounter problems at the polls. (Click to enlarge and print)
