Election Deadlines Loom for Senate, Governor Races

With three elections on the horizon beginning in less than a month, Middlesex County residents should keep in mind the various vote-by-mail deadlines.

There are no local races in South Brunswick, but the Democrats and Republicans will nominate their representatives in October’s U.S. Senate race in the Aug. 13 primaries. To vote in a primary, residents must belong to a party or declare a party at the polls on Election Day or when voting by mail.

The deadline to submit a vote-by-mail application is Aug. 6, but residents can submit their mail-in vote at the county clerk’s office up until Aug. 12 at 3 p.m.

The Office of the Middlesex County Clerk is located on the fourth floor of the County Administration Building, 75 Bayard Street, P.O. Box 1110, New Brunswick.

Residents should carefully review their sample ballots for polling locations. Polling locations, particularly those in school buildings, may change due to the primaries being held in the summer.

The Democratic Primary will be contested between Newark Mayor Cory Booker, Rep. Frank Pallone, Rep. Rush Holt and Assembly Speaker Sheila Oliver. The Republican Primary will be contested between conservative activist and former Bogota Mayor Steve Lonegan and physician Alieta Eck.

The winners of each primary will face off in the Oct. 16 special election to fill the U.S. Senate seat vacated by the death of Frank Lautenberg. The seat is currently occupied by Jeffrey S. Chiesa, who has not expressed interest in pursuing the seat on a permanent basis.

The Oct. 16 election will be held on a Wednesday, and the vote-by-mail deadline is Oct. 9.  Residents can submit their mail-in vote at the county clerk’s office up until Oct. 15 at 3 p.m. 

Finally, the general elections take place Nov. 5, highlighted by the gubernatorial race between incumbent Gov. Chris Christie and Democratic challenger Barbara Buono.

Lt. Gov. Kim Guadagno will run for her seat. No Democratic candidate for this seat has been named yet. There will also be various county and municipal races.

Residents who wish to vote by mail in all three elections can check the “A” box on the sample ballot to receive a vote-by-mail ballot for all three elections. 

Residents can also choose to vote by mail in just one election by writing the date for that election at the top.

Vote-by-mail applications are available at the county clerk’s web site. They are also available on the State Division of Elections web site.