'One Village One Vote' Claim Win: Ridgewood Election Results 2020

This story was last updated at 12:00 a.m.

RIDGEWOOD, NJ - One Village One Vote, the Ridgewood group fighting for Board of Education and Village Council elections to be held during the General Election, claimed victory Tuesday night after Bergen County released unofficial results.

This led to One Village One Vote sending an email claiming victory, which was also posted to their website.

"The votes are in and we are excited to announce that Ridgewood voters voted “YES” on our Municipal Question. Beginning in 2021, Ridgewood will elect representatives to our non-partisan Board of Education and Village Council in November, when history has proven that the most voters turn out and have their votes counted. We will no longer have expensive, low-turnout elections for these bodies in April and May," they wrote.

The current tally is:

• Yes — 6,521
• No — 4,459

(This story will be updated as unofficial results are published from the Bergen County Clerk’s Office. Keep up to date with our alerts by subscribing to your local Patch newsletter here.)

How we got here

“It’s time to let the voters decide,” One Village One Vote said in early September.

The phrase was published in a message on their website following a Superior Court Judge’s decision to allow the question to appear on ballots after the Village Clerk declined their petitions multiple times.

Though Judge Estela M. De La Cruz ruled Village Clerk Heather Mailander violated the Faulkner Act by rejecting the group's second petition, Mailander told Patch she believes she was in the right.

"As Village Clerk, I am obligated to follow NJ Statutes and, as such, stand by my certification that the petition is not sufficient," said Mailander.

So, to be clear, the run-up to this moment wasn’t smooth, nor cordial, but now, the voters will indeed decide.

So what's at stake?

The proposed question would, if passed, would move Board of Education elections, held annually in April, and Village Council elections, held bi-annually in May, to the date of the General Election in November.

For One Village One Vote, pushing for consolidated elections could solve two issues they believe are problematic: voter turnout and funding.

As a point of reference, the group cites the April 2019 election, in which voters cast ballots on the Ridgewood Public School budget.

Of the 18,262 registered voters, only 2,437 turned out for that election, or 14 percent of the electorate. The election, the group says, cost taxpayers $50,000.

"At best, this election was inefficient and at worst a thoughtless waste of Village resources and taxpayer money," they said.

The Village Council voted to move school board elections back to April in 2019, which allows voters to vote on the school district's budget.

According to a 2018 Patch report, 67 percent of villagers' tax bills go to the school district.

November elections in New Jersey don't require voter approval for school budgets, unless the proposed budget increases by more than 2 percent. In April, however, votes are cast on the budget regardless of increase.

Mayor Ramon Hache, at that 2018 meeting, said the decision was about right and wrong.

"It's not about making people happy. It's about what is right; 67 percent of tax dollars is not a small decision," Hache said. "The right and privilege to vote and the choice to vote, they are not the same. What empowers voters more is whether they choose to exercise it or not."

More on this year’s elections

Since the change to this year's election was announced by Gov. Phil Murphy because of the coronavirus, there have been many questions about how the process will work.

Every the ballot sent through the mail had to be postmarked by Nov. 3. It must be received by your county's election boards by 8 p.m. on Nov. 10.

"Every vote should be safe. Every vote should be secure. Every vote should be counted," Murphy said of the process.

For full coverage of 2020 elections in New Jersey, click here.