This year will be the most unique election in recent memory, if only because it will primarily take place in New Jersey by a Vote-by-Mail process. This creates a lot of questions for some people who have never voted by mail.
The Cape May County Clerk’s Office and the Cape May County Board of Elections is providing the answers to many of the frequently asked questions, according to a county news release.
State law for this year dictates that this election will be primarily Vote-by-Mail. Every active voter will be sent a Vote-by-Mail Ballot. There are four options for returning your ballot, one of which is to return your voted, sealed ballot to your polling place on election day.
Voting will not be allowed at a voting machine. Voters with a disability which prevents them from voting a paper ballot will be able to vote on an assistive device at the polling place. Disabled voters should contact the Board of Election for more information at 609-465-1050.
Anyone who shows up wants to vote in-person on Election Day will be voting via a paper provisional ballot.
For individuals who want to return their Vote-by-Mail ballot there are four options. People can send their ballots in by mail. Those ballots must be postmarked by Election Day on Nov. 3 and received at the Board of Elections by Nov. 10.
The second option is to place your ballot in a secure Drop Box location. They can drop off their ballot at the Board of Elections by Nov. 3 at 8 p.m. The final option is to drop off your ballot at your polling place on Election Day.
If you are dropping off your ballot in-person, you can only return your ballot.
Now that the ballots are printed and mailed the County Clerk’s Office is transitioning to focus on assisting voters one-on-one with replacing spoiled ballots and a host of other issues.
The office will be sending a postcard on or about Oct. 19 to active voters who have not returned their ballots reminding them to return their ballot. Individuals can contact the County Clerk for issues regarding their ballot or to go to their polling place to vote a provisional ballot.
The state put together a website with answers to many questions that people might have including learning about registering to vote, tracking your ballot, polling locations, FAQ’s, and more. The website can be found at
https://nj.gov/state/elections/vote.shtml
Anyone who wants to drop off their ballot to a secure Drop Box location can choose anyone of the following.
- Cape May County Clerk’s Office, 7 North Main Street, Cape May Court House
- Cape May County Public Works Building, 536 Woodbine-Ocean View Road, Oceanview
- Cape May Municipal Hall, 643 Washington Street, Cape May
- Lower Township Municipal Hall, 2600 Bayshore Road, Villas
- Lower Township Public Safety Building (court entrance) in the Cape May County Airport Complex, Erma
- Martin Luther King Center, 207 W Main St, Whitesboro
- Ocean City Municipal Hall, 861 Asbury Avenue, Ocean City
- Sea Isle City Branch Cape May County Library, 4800 Central Avenue, Sea Isle
- Stone Harbor Branch Cape May County Library, 9516 2nd Avenue, Stone Harbor
- Upper Township Municipal Hall, 2100 Tuckahoe Road, Petersburg
- Wildwood Municipal Hall, 4400 New Jersey Ave, Wildwood
Other important links for voters to find information:
Cape May County Voter resources:
www.capemaycountyvotes.com
Important Notice to Cape May County General Election Voters:
https://www.capemaycountyvotes.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/General-2020-Notice-to-Mail-In-Voter.pdf
Sample ballots:
https://www.capemaycountyvotes.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/2020-Generald-Election-Ballots-FINAL-9.11.2020-4.15pm-da.pdf
Cape May County Drop Box Locations:
https://www.capemaycountyvotes.com/voter-information/drop-box-locations/
Cape May County Polling Locations:
https://www.capemaycountyvotes.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/Polling-Places-General-9.1.2020.pdf
