County will have a total of 13 ballot drop-off boxes, exceeding Governor’s mandate of 10 per County
UNION COUNTY, NJ—-The Union County Board of Elections today announced it will be receiving eight new ballot drop-off boxes from the State of New Jersey for residents who wish to drop off their Vote-by-Mail ballots. Governor Phil Murphy has ordered the November 3rd election to be conducted primarily by Vote-By-Mail ballot.
Locations for the eight new drop-off boxes will be released in an upcoming announcement. Once the boxes from the state have arrived, the County will have a total of 13, exceeding the Governor’s mandate of a minimum of 10 boxes per County.
The County Board of Elections currently has five drop-off boxes that have been in place prior to the July primary: Cranford (Cranford Community Center, 220 Walnut Avenue), Elizabeth (Union County Administration Building, 10 Elizabethtown Plaza), Plainfield (Plainfield Municipal Building Parking Lot, 515 Watchung Avenue), Union Township (Union Township Municipal Building Rear Entrance, 1976 Morris Avenue), and Westfield (Fraser Building, 300 North Avenue East).
Board of Elections Administrator Nicole Dirado stated: “The ballot drop-off boxes are an essential component and provide voters with a convenient, timely and secure way to participate in the November 3rd election.”
The drop-off boxes are available on a 24-7 basis. Voters may deposit their ballot in a drop-off box at any time of day or night, up to 8:00 p.m. on November 3rd.
The current locations are ADA accessible and under constant camera surveillance, as will be the upcoming locations.
Ballots will be picked up and brought to the Board of Elections on a daily basis.
In addition, voters using a drop-off box may bear their own ballot, and ballots of up to three other voters. Ballot bearers must sign the bearer portion of the outside envelope in the presence of each voter whose ballot they are bearing.
Voters who wish to hand deliver their ballots can also bring them to the Board of Elections office at 271 North Broad Street in Elizabeth. As with the drop off boxes, they may bear their own ballot and ballots of up to three other voters.
Voters choosing to drop off their ballot at the Board of Elections office are reminded that they must sign a register, and produce a New Jersey Driver’s License or New Jersey Issued Identification.
In addition to regular weekday hours between now and November 3rd, the Board of Elections will be open Tuesday, October 13th until 9 p.m., which is the deadline for voter registration for the Presidential election on November 3rd.
While visiting the Board of Elections office, voters must wear masks and observe social distance.
Voters may also send their ballots to the Board of Elections by U.S. mail. Each ballot comes with prepaid postage. Ballots must be postmarked on or before Election Day and received by the Union County Election Board by November 10, 2020. If your ballot is mailed, but not postmarked by the USPS, it must be received by the Union County Election Board by November 5.
All voters wishing to use a polling location on Election Day will be required to complete a paper provisional ballot. Voters who cannot vote on a paper ballot due to a disability will be afforded the opportunity to vote on an ADA-compliant machine, after they have certified that they cannot vote on a paper ballot.
To view instructions for using a Vote-by-Mail ballot correctly, visit the Election Board online at www.ucnj.org/boe/make-sure-your-vote-by-mail-ballot-is-counted-2
For information on all Board of Elections services visit ucnj.org/boe, email ucboe@ucnj.org, or call 908-527-4123. All email and phone messages will be returned.
For more information and updates on all Union County services during the COVID-19 outbreak, including guidance for using the Drive-Through Test Center at Kean University and a list of locations for walk-up tests in local communities, visit ucnj.org/coronavirus-update.
For general information about COVID-19 and phone contacts for 24/7 assistance with questions, visit the New Jersey Department of Health at nj.gov/health.
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For all Union County programs and services visit ucnj.org, call the Public Info Line, 877-424-1234, email info@ucnj.org or use the online Contact Form.
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