Essex County To Pay Postage For Vote-By-Mail Ballot Applications

ESSEX COUNTY, NJ — There are an estimated 43,000 people across Essex County who choose to vote by mail. And the next time they send in their ballots – or a voter wants to apply for one – they won’t have to shell out for stamps, the county clerk’s office said Monday.

According to Essex County Clerk Christopher Durkin, the county will provide free postage for all vote-by-mail ballot applications. This is in addition to postage-paid vote-by-mail ballots, which are already provided to voters in Essex County.

The new vote-by-mail application form can be downloaded here: https://www.essexclerk.com/_Content/pdf/forms/vote-mail-ballot-essex-english.pdf.

“The message to voters is simple: you don’t need to worry about postage to vote or to register to vote,” Durkin said.

“Making vote-by-mail applications postage-paid is just the latest way that Essex County is working to lower barriers to voting and increase participation in our democracy,” he added.

Durkin thanked Newark-based nonprofit Project Ready and other community groups for their advocacy efforts.

“I am thrilled about this news,” CEO Shennell McCloud said, noting that the group has worked closely with the clerk’s office on the free postage initiative.

“For years, we’ve heard from Newark voters that paying for postage for their vote-by-mail application is an unnecessary barrier, and we have been working collaboratively with the clerk’s office for this simple, but meaningful change,” McCloud said.

Project Ready has also championed increased access to early voting, same-day voter registration, and other initiatives designed to increase access to the ballot.

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