Breaking: Primary Elections Postponed

4-8-2020 from The League of Women Voters of New Jersey.

This afternoon, Governor Murphy issued an Executive Order postponing New Jersey's primary elections to July 7, 2020. Deadlines to change party affiliation, register to vote, and request a vote-by-mail ballot have been changed to reflect the new election date.

Registered voters currently affiliated with a political party who wish to change their party affiliation now have until May 13th to file a political party affiliation declaration form. In NJ's primary elections, you must be a declared member of a party to vote in that party's primary. Unaffiliated registered voters may declare their affiliation up to and including primary election day. 

The new voter registration deadline is June 16th. Voter registration forms are available here. Voters have until June 30th to apply to receive a vote-by-mail ballot through the mail. Vote-by-mail applications are available here. The League of Women Voters of New Jersey encourages voters to apply as soon as possible and to vote safely from home. 

Party affiliation declaration forms, voter registration forms, and vote-by-mail applications all need to be printed, signed, and mailed. If you do not have access to a printer, please contact me at jburns@lwvnj.org and the League of Women Voters will assist you. 

At today's press briefing, Governor Murphy stated: "Our democracy cannot be a casualty of COVID19. We want to ensure that every voter can vote without endangering their health or safety. We want to preserve the possibility that improvements in the public health situation will allow for in-person voting. But, if we eventually have to make the move to a statewide, all-VBM election, which has never happened before, this extra time will make that task easier."

Last week, the League of Women Voters of New Jersey joined with the New Jersey Institute for Social Justice to pen this op-ed, "Keeping Democracy Alive During the Pandemic," outlining our recommendations meant to protect voting rights, public health, and ensure the ballot is accessible to all. Our recommendations stress the importance of expanding, not restricting, voting opportunities. This includes encouraging and expanding vote-by-mail while minimizing the risk of ballots being rejected. However, vote-by-mail is not an equitable solution for all so in-person voting options must be safely maintained. An all vote-by-mail election, without any in-person voting options, risks disenfranchising voters with certain disabilities; voters that need language assistance; voters without mail access, including more transient populations; voters that need to cast provisional ballots; voters displaced from their homes because of COVID-19; and voters that need additional assistance casting a ballot. 

The League of Women Voters of New Jersey is committed to keeping you updated about election changes and educating New Jersey voters about how they can participate in our democracy during this crisis. We have added a COVID-19 voting resource page to our website, and updated our voting resources with additional information about registering to vote, including an instructional video, and applying for a vote-by-mail ballot. 

Stay safe and stay well,

Jesse Burns, LWV of NJ