Middlesex County Voter Guide 2021: Who's Running, How To Vote

MIDDLESEX, NJ — This fall, there will be local town elections in Middlesex County and elections for New Jersey state Legislature.

Unlike last year, where New Jersey voters were forced to vote only by mail, voters have many more ways to vote this year:

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• You can now machine vote early from Oct. 23 - 31, thanks to a new law passed in New Jersey earlier this year. Here are all 10 places to vote early in Middlesex County; you do not have to be a resident of these towns to vote here: All The Middlesex County Sites For Early, In-Person Voting
• Vote on Nov. 2 Election Day
• Or vote by mail. Here are all the places in Middlesex County to drop your mail-in ballot or just put it in your mailbox: http://www.middlesexcountynj.g...

There are a range of topics on which Republicans and Democrats generally disagree on in New Jersey this year, including: The lockdowns and school closures of 2020, vaccine mandates, Gov. Murphy's requirement that children as young as two wear a mask and mask mandates in general. Property taxes, corporate taxes, immigration, drivers' licenses for illegal immigrants, voter ID and voter fraud and even abortion/reproductive rights are all hot topics this election season.

There is also the New Jersey governor's race, where Republican Jack Ciattarelli will try to prevent Democrat Gov. Phil Murphy from winning a second term.

Here is who is running in Middlesex County to represent voters in Trenton:

District 12 - (Burlington, Middlesex, Monmouth and Ocean counties), representing the towns of: Allentown, Chesterfield, Englishtown, Jackson, Manalapan, Matawan, Millstone, New Hanover, North Hanover, Old Bridge, Plumsted, Roosevelt, Upper Freehold, Wrightstown

Republican incumbents Robert Clifton and Ronald Dancer will be faced by Democrat challengers Raya Arbiol and Michael Palazzolla.

District 14 - (Mercer and Middlesex counties), representing the towns of Cranbury, East Windsor, Hamilton, Hightstown, Jamesburg, Monroe, Plainsboro, Robbinsville and Spotswood

Democrat incumbents Daniel Benson and Wayne DeAngelo will be challenged by Republicans Andrew Pachuta and Bina Shah.

District 17 - (Middlesex and Somerset counties), representing the towns of Franklin, Milltown, New Brunswick, North Brunswick and Piscataway

Democrat incumbents Joseph Danielsen and Joseph Egan will be challenged by Republicans Catherine Barrier and Peter Gabra.

District 18 - (Middlesex County), representing the towns of East Brunswick, Edison, Helmetta, Highland Park, Metuchen, South Plainfield and South River

Democrat incumbents Robert Karabinchak and Sterley Stanley will be challenged by Republicans Angela Fam and Melanie McCann Mott, plus Brian Kulas (An Inspired Advocate Party) and David Awad (Libertarian Party) .

District 19 - (Middlesex County), representing the towns of Carteret, Perth Amboy, Sayreville, South Amboy and Woodbridge

Democrat incumbents Craig Coughlin and Yvonne Lopez will be challenged by Republicans Bruce Banko and Anthony Gallo.

Election Day is Nov. 2, but under a new voting law passed this year, voters can machine vote early from Oct. 23 - Oct. 31.

Vote-by-mail ballots must be postmarked or placed in drop boxes on or before 8 p.m. on Nov. 2, Election Day.

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