Election Day In Middletown: When, Where To Vote

MIDDLETOWN, NJ — Election Day 2020 has arrived. You have until 8 p.m. Tuesday to cast your vote; mail-in ballots must be postmarked by Nov. 3. This fall, there are elections for Middletown Board of Education (three seats open) and Middletown Township Committee (two seats open). Middletown voters will also be asked whether they want to pay more in taxes to preserve open space.

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

Middletown Township Committee:

The Republicans are Patricia Snell, a Committeewoman running to keep her seat. Ryan Clarke is running alongside her; he hopes to fill the seat Tony Fiore held for the past five terms. Clarke is the former chief of the Middletown Township Fire Department; he's been a volunteer Middletown firefighter and EMT with Lincroft First Aid since the '90s.

Both Snell and Clarke are running with the backing of the Monmouth County Republican Organization.

The Democrats are Marguerite Stocker and Brian Penschow, running with the backing of the Monmouth County Democratic Party.

Middletown's Open Space Referendum:

Currently, Middletown homeowners pay two cents per every $100 of their quarterly tax bill to the town's open space trust fund. The ballot referendum question — supported by all the Democrats and Republicans running — seeks to raise it to three cents per every $100. The average Middletown homeowner (owning a home assessed at $447,629) currently pays around $89 a year to the town's open space fund. So it will be a small tax increase above that.

If voters approve the referendum, the money will go to purchase land and historic farms in Middletown and keep it as open space. The money can also be used to make improvements to Middletown's recreation facilities.

All the candidates support the increased open space tax increase.

Middletown Board of Education: Ten candidates seek three open seats. The candidates are:

• Robin Stella (currently on the board, vice president, running to keep her seat)
• Nicholas A. DiFranco (currently on the board, running to keep his seat)
• Pamela Rogers (currently on the board, president, running to keep her seat)
• Raymond Jankowski
• Kelly Brodin
• Pam Smith
• Patricia Reed
• Jacqueline Tobacco
• Frank Capone
• Harmony B. Heffernan

Here is Patch's guide on the issues in the Middletown BOE race.

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 the North Middletown/Keansburg area) 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 two ballot drop boxes in Middletown:

• Croydon Hall 900 Leonardville Road Middletown, NJ 07737
• Middletown Municipal Building 1 Kings Hwy Middletown Township, NJ 07748

The boxes are bolted to the ground and under surveillance by Middletown police.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

Keep reading: Middletown Mayor Urges Residents To Approve Open Space Referendum (Sept. 16)
Middletown Twp. Committee Race: Pat Snell On Why She's Running
Marguerite Stocker: Why I'm Running For Middletown Twp. Committee
Middletown Twp. Committee Race: Ryan Clarke On Why He's Running