Primary Voting In Ocean County: What You Need To Know

If you are planning to vote in the 2020 Primary Election on Tuesday, here is how the voting process will work under the vote-by-mail election procedures in place due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Voters who are registered as Republicans or Democrats were sent mail-in ballots for the primary, and Ocean County officials have set up secure dropboxes at five sites for voters to turn in their ballots.

Because New Jersey holds a closed primary election, a registered voter must be affiliated with the Democrat or Republican Party and can only vote one ballot – either Democrat or Republican in a primary election.

There are a limited number of polling places that will be open on Tuesday, but voting at the polling places will be conducted by paper provisional ballots. There will be assistance available for voters with disabilities.

Registered voters who received a vote-by-mail ballot should not bring it to the polls as they cannot be accepted at any polling place.

"Do not expect to vote on a voting machine at the polling place," said Freeholder Virginia Haines, liaison to the Board of Elections.

The Board of Elections, which mailed out more than 234,000 ballots to registered voters, will have special extended hours through Tuesday.

Board staff will be in the Mancini Room at the Ocean County Library, 101 Washington St., Toms River, from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Thursday, Friday, Monday and Tuesday to assist voters. If you did not receive a vote-by-mail ballot, if you lost your ballot, made a mistake on the ballot, tore, defaced it or incorrectly marked the ballot, you can fill out an affidavit in person and obtain a replacement ballot.

If you are an unaffiliated voter who wants to choose a party and vote in the primary, you can do that in person with the Board of Elections, receive your ballot, vote and turn it in right as well.

Related: NJ 3rd District Primary Election: Who's Running, How You Can Vote

If you have filled out your vote-by-mail ballot, you can return it in the following ways:

Mail it. It must be postmarked by 8 p.m. on Tuesday, July 7, 2020, to be counted in the election.

Drop it off at the Board of Elections. The office is at 129 Hooper Ave., Toms River. It will be staffed from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday (July 4 and 5) to accept vote-by-mail ballots.

Drop it off at one of the secure dropboxes. They are video-monitored around the clock seven days a week:

• Northern Ocean County Resource Center, 225 4th S., Lakewood
• Ocean County Southern Service Center, 179 South Main St., Manahawkin
• Ocean County Parking Garage, Madison Avenue, Toms River
• Brick Township Municipal Building, 401 Chambers Bridge Road, Brick;
• Manchester Branch of the Ocean County Library, 21 Colonial Dr., Manchester

Nearly 53,000 mail-in ballots had been submitted as of June 24, Haines said. That's nearly 10 times the number of mail-in ballots cast in the 2016 presidential primary, and about three-quarters of the 83,000 votes cast at the polls in that primary, she said.

Ocean County voters received a notice with their ballot outlining the steps that need to be taken along with websites and phone numbers for further assistance if needed.

Ballots returned by mail must be postmarked no later than 8 p.m. July 7. The deadline for delivering your ballot in person to the Ocean County Board of Elections or placing it in one of the secure drop boxes is also 8 p.m., July 7.

Additional information is on the Ocean County Clerk website. You can also call the Ocean County Clerk's office at 732-929-2018 or the Ocean County Board of Elections at 732-929-2167.