Separate Ballots Confused Some, But Likely Had No Impact on Tuesday's Votes

When the Galloway Township School District decided it would hold a referendum on improvements to schools, it knew its vote would take place the same day as the Greater Egg Harbor Regional School District’s referendum, and the township Board of Education didn’t want any confusion when it came time to vote.

So, on Tuesday, Dec. 13, when voters went to the polls across Galloway Township, they were met with two ballots in separate booths.

As mandated by the Board of Elections, all five polling locations were set up with two booths for voting on the Galloway School District’s referendum, and two booths for the Greater Egg Harbor Regional School District’s referendum. The Galloway booths had a bright yellow label with the word “Local” written on it, and the Greater Egg booths had a pink label with the word “Regional” written on it.

Poll workers directed voters to each booth. In three locations, there was some confusion about there being two booths and two separate ballots. Some questioned the purpose behind it, and others were simply unaware there would be two booths.

“You should vote for everything all at once,” said Sal Cusenza, who voted at the Pomona School, who said he was aware there were two questions but not that he would have to go into two booths in order to vote.

“I didn’t know, but it was fine,” said William Cook, who voted at . “I got the sample ballot in the mail, and there was plenty of information out there.”

In Galloway, both proposals were defeated, and not everyone voted on both.

The local question had the higher number of votes, with 1,639 total people voting on a referendum that was decided by three votes, 821-818.

The regional proposal was split into two questions, and even those numbers didn’t match up. The first question was decided by 1,624 voters in an 823-801 defeat. The second question was decided by just 1,599 voters in an 811-728 defeat.

All results were unofficial as of Tuesday night.

Some voters thought they received two ballots by mistake, and speculated others might have felt they got the same piece of mail twice.

“I got two pieces in the mail, but I didn’t really associate them,” said Mosheh Math, who voted at Arthur Rann. “I saw both, but I thought it was one school vote.”

“You had to read carefully,” said Joseph Dellanoce, who voted at the . “It was the first time I ever went into two booths. It was different, but it was easy to vote, as long as you prepared yourself.”

Many people Galloway Patch spoke to on Tuesday were prepared to vote, and thought both districts effectively communicated what each question was asking.

“They made everything clear,” said Shibani Patel, of Smithville. “They made it very clear what they were doing for the schools. It’s all for the kids.”

Others, including Cusenza, felt differently, and were tired of both school districts “wasting money.”

“This is not the proper time to do this,” said one voter at Germania Fire House, who wished to remain anonymous. “We’re in a recession and unemployment is high. It’s the hardest time for everyone right now, including those who are retired.”