By BRIAN DONOHUE
As voters head to the polls Tuesday, voters in two Red Bank districts accustomed to voting at the same place for years will find themselves heading to a new location to cast their ballot. Borough officials are hoping to get the word out, and to get buses rolling to get them to the polls.
Flier about the voter shuttle bus prepared by the Borough of Red Bank. ( Click to enlarge.)
Voters in districts six and nine, which have long voted at Calvary Baptist Church at 23 River Street and the Red Bank Housing Authority at 52 Evergreen Terrace respectively, will now both be voting at the Red Bank Senior Center at 80 Shrewsbury Avenue.
The change was made earlier this year by the Monmouth County Board of Elections, according to borough clerk Laura Reinertsen. Members of the Borough Council earlier this year said they were unhappy with the decision. An email to a spokesperson for the Monmouth County Clerk of Elections seeking the reasons behind the move instructed redbankgreen to contact the board of elections. A phone call to the board was not immediately returned.
At a meeting of the Mayor and Borough Council last month, Reinertsen said the change had prompted concern of Red Bank Housing Authority Lisa Hendricks Richardson that voteRs who live in the two government subsidized housing complexes the RBHA manages – Evergreen Terrace and Montgomery Terrace – would have trouble getting to the new polling location.
“She was very concerned about her residents being disenfranchised,” Reinertsen said.
The RBHA and the Borough then devised a plan to use borough senior bus to get voters from the two complexes to the Senior Center. (see flyer posted above for info)
“Whoever shows up we will pick them up and bring them back,” she said, then added jokingly, “no stops at Dunkin’ Donuts.”
Tuesday’s election is the first general election since the change; the new locations were also in place during the June primaries during which voter turnout is generally far lower. Borough officials also said signs will be posted at the old polling places to inform voters who may show up there out of long-held habits.
redbankgreen editor Brian Donohue may be reached via email at [email protected] or by calling or texting 848-331-8331 or yelling his name loudly as he walks by. Do you value the news coverage provided by redbankgreen? Please become a financial supporter if you haven’t already. Click here to set your own level of monthly or annual contribution.
