Matawan-Aberdeen Voter Guide 2020: What You Need To Know

ABERDEEN, NJ — This fall, there are elections for Matawan town council and the Matawan-Aberdeen Regional Board of Education.

Matawan-Aberdeen Regional BOE (two seats open):

From Aberdeen:

• Allison Friedman, currently Board president, running to keep her seat
• Radmila Grinberg
• John P. Delaney

From Matawan:

For Matawan, the BOE candidates are Kevin Ahearn (currently on BOE) and he is being challenged by Rachel Schienvar.

Matawan borough: Two seats open, four candidates

Current council members Deana Gunn and Stephanie Buckel, both Democrats, seek to retain their seats. They will be challenged by Republicans Anissa Esposito and Joe Saggese.

This is in addition to statewide questions such as whether New Jersey voters want to legalize marijuana and whether to make peacetime veterans eligible to receive the veterans' property tax deduction.

Presidential race: Residents can either cast a write-in vote or choose, among the major parties, between Republican President Donald Trump and Vice President Mike Pence, or Democratic former Vice President Joe Biden and US Sen. Kamala Harris. Also running are: Don Blankenship/William Mohr (Constitution Party); Howie Hawkins/Angela Nicole Walker (Green); Jo Jorgensen/Spike Cohen (Libertarian); Gloria La Riva/Sunil Freeman (Party for Socialism and Liberation); Roque De La Fuente/Darcy Richardson (The Alliance Party) and Bill Hammons/Eric Bodenstab (Unity Party).

Congress: One U.S. Senate seat is up for vote: Incumbent Democrat Cory Booker will face Republican Rik Mehta. Middletown's two longtime Congress reps are also running for re-election: Republican Rep. Chris Smith is being challenged by Democrat Stephanie Schmid, and Democrat Rep. Frank Pallone (he represents Matawan/Aberdeen) is being challenged by Republican Christian Onuoha.

How to vote: Due to COVID, Gov. Murphy ordered that the Nov. 3 presidential election be vote by mail in New Jersey.

You cannot machine vote at the polls on Nov. 3 unless you have a documented disability. Monmouth County Clerk Christine Hanlon has said that the best way to vote is dropping your sealed ballot in a ballot drop box — Don't forget to sign it. Monmouth County installed this box in Aberdeen:

• Aberdeen Township Aberdeen Municipal Building 1 Aberdeen Square Aberdeen, NJ 07747

Ballot drop boxes are collected and returned directly to the Monmouth County Board of Elections office. These ballots are only handled by designated Board of Elections representatives.

• Election date: Nov. 3
• Check if you are registered to vote.
• Where can I drop off my ballot?
• Track my mail-in ballot.
• Where can I vote in person?
• Postmarked by deadline: Nov. 3
• Received by deadline: Nov. 10

Since the change to this year's election was announced by Murphy, there have been many questions about how the process will work. Below is some further reading on the Nov. 3 election process:

• Here's How NJ's Mail-In General Election Will Work: What To Know
• What's A NJ Provisional Ballot? How Does It Work? Patch Found Out

• Do Mail-In Ballots Force NJ Voters To Lie? Here's The Answer
• How Are Election Signatures Verified In NJ? Patch Found Out

• How To Register, Track Your General Election Vote Online In NJ
• Key 2020 Voting Deadlines In New Jersey