Ocean County Offers One-Stop Early Presidential Primary Voting On Saturday

Registered voters who want to vote in New Jersey's presidential primary but who cannot go to the polls next week will have a chance to cast their ballots early.

Ocean County Clerk Scott M. Colabella announced the county clerk's office will have special hours this Saturday, June 4, for voters to cast vote-by-mail ballots.

From 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturday, voters can go to the county Board of Elections office, which is in the basement of the county building at 129 Hooper Ave., Toms River. There they can fill out the vote-by-mail form, obtain the ballot and then complete and submit their ballot, Colabella said. 

“This is an opportunity for primary voters who will not be able to go to the polls on Tuesday, June 7, to obtain and cast their ballot in person at one easy convenient location,” he said.

The deadline to submit applications for vote-by-mail ballots through the mail has passed, so any registered voters who want to vote by mail must apply in person at the county clerk's Election Office.

Voters do not need a reason to use the Vote by Mail option in New Jersey.

“We are working with the Board of Elections in providing our citizens with every opportunity possible to cast a ballot in the June Primary,” Colabella said. “We encourage the voters of Ocean County to access this service during these special hours.”

Free parking is available in the Ocean County Parking Garage adjacent to the Board of Elections office.

The deadline for obtaining a vote-by-mail ballot in person is 3 p.m., Monday, June 6. After 3 p.m. Monday, voters must obtain a court order from a judge allowing them to apply for a vote-by-mail ballot. The county clerk's election office is located in the Ocean County Courthouse, Room 107, 118 Washington St., Toms River.

As of May 31, 7,649 vote-by-mail ballots have been issued in Ocean County for the primary election. Of those, 3,933 have been issued to registered Republicans; 2,440 ballots have been issued to registered Democrats and 1,276 ballots have been issued to unaffiliated voters. There are 110,323 registered Republican voters in Ocean County; 72,392 residents are registered Democrats, and 203,705 residents are registered as unaffiliated or undeclared voters.

All voters who wish to apply in person for a vote-by-mail ballot need to sign their name as it appears in the voter registry book. For additional information, contact the County Clerk's Election Office at 732-929-2153.

A total of 386,420 sample ballots have been mailed in Ocean County providing registered voters with a copy of the official ballot that will appear on voting machines June 7 as well as their polling place location. The county has 413 election districts.

A copy of the official sample ballot and polling location addresses for all 33 municipalities are also available at the County Clerk's website or voters can visit the County Clerk’s Facebook page.