Voting

Are You Registered? | Make a Plan | How to Vote | After You Vote | Timeline | More Resources

Are You Registered?

How to Register to Vote

1. Check your eligibility
2. Register online OR
3. Register with a paper application:
   • Download a paper application in English, Spanish, or Korean here. You can also visit the library and print a voter registration application form for free.
   • Fill out and sign the form, fold it up, tape it shut, and drop it in a mailbox. You don’t need a stamp.

If you’re eligible, you can register to vote at any time. Your registration must be received 21 days before the election.

Make a Plan
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Check Your Registration

Look up your voter status online. You’ll see if you’re registered, the city and county you’re registered in, and your registration status.

• I’m registered!
  Make a Plan
• I’m registered, but the information is inaccurate.
  If your address is incorrect because you have moved within Bergen County: Contact the Bergen County Superintendent of Elections.
  If your address is incorrect because you have moved between counties in New Jersey: Re-register to vote in your new county.
  If your name is incorrect because you legally changed it: Complete a new voter registration form and mark the box “name change”.
• I’m registered, but my status is inactive.
  This usually happens because a sample ballot sent to you was returned as undeliverable. Re-register to vote with your current information.
• I’m not registered.
  How to Register to Vote

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Make a Plan

Once you’re registered, decide how you will vote: by mail/dropbox, early, or on Election Day. If you want to vote by mail, you must request a Vote-by-Mail Application.

Whichever method you plan to use, the state will send you a sample ballot. It should arrive at least 10 days before Election Day. Use the ballot to familiarize yourself with the races, candidates, and any ballot questions.

Vote411 offers a custom voter’s guide that you can use to plan. Vote411 is funded by the League of Women Voters, a nonpartisan organization that advocates for voter protection and interviews local candidates.

How to Vote
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How to Vote

In New Jersey, there are three ways to vote: by mail (absentee voting), early, or on election day.

Vote by Mail / Absentee Voting

1. Request a Vote-by-Mail Application. You must request a vote-by-mail application; it will not be sent automatically. You can request that all future ballots be sent to you by mail or only the ballot for a specific upcoming election. You can also visit the library and print a vote-by-mail application for free.
2. Fill out and sign the form, fold it up, and tape it shut. You must provide a postal stamp. Requests for a Vote-by-Mail ballot must be mailed at least 7 days before the election. You can also fill out a request in-person at the County Clerk’s office before 3:00pm on the day before the election.
3. The County Clerk’s Office begins mailing ballots 45 days before the election. You’ll receive instructions, your ballot, a special envelope with a certificate of mail-in voter, and a return envelope.
4. Your filled-out mail-in ballot can be returned by mail (no postage necessary), at a ballot drop-box, or in-person at the Board of Elections office in Hackensack.

Your ballot must be mailed, put in a ballot drop-box, or returned to the Board of Elections office by 8:00pm on Election Day.

After You Vote
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Early Voting

For general elections, you can vote in-person using a voting machine during a nine-day period ending the Sunday before Election Day. (Primary and municipal elections have different early voting periods.) Early voting polling places are open from 10:00am to 8:00pm, Mondays through Saturdays, and 10:00am to 6:00pm on Sundays. You can vote early at any polling place in your county.

After You Vote
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Election Day

You can vote in-person at your designated polling place on Election Day. Polling places are open from 6:00am to 8:00pm on Election Day.

Your polling place is listed on your sample ballot. You can also use the state’s polling place search tool to find out where to vote.

After You Vote
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After You Vote

If you voted by mail, you can track your ballot online. You must create a Voter Record account using your Voter ID. Find your ID with the Voter Search Tool. With your Voter Record account, you can see which elections you have voted in, your polling place, and your county election officials.

The Bergen County Clerk’s Office tracks results for all elections, including local races.

Timeline of Election Dates and Deadlines
More Resources
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Timeline of Election Dates and Deadlines

2024 Primary Elections

Voters must declare a party affiliation to vote in primary elections.

• Wednesday, April 10, 2024 – Deadline to change party affiliation (if you are affiliated with a party but would like to change affiliations). Check your party affiliation by registering for or logging into your My Voter Record account.
• Tuesday, May 14, 2024 – Deadline to register to vote, if you are eligible. Click here to check if you are registered to vote and see how to register to vote.
• Tuesday, May 28, 2024 – Deadline request a mail-in ballot for the primary elections. Click here to learn about voting by mail. If you are unaffiliated and want to vote by mail, this is also the deadline to declare your party affiliation. Check your party affiliation by registering for or logging into your My Voter Record account.
• Wednesday, May 29, 2024 – In-person early voting for the Primary Election starts. Click here to learn more about early voting.
• Sunday, June 2, 2024 – In-person early voting for the Primary Election ends.
• Tuesday, June 4, 2024 – Primary Election Day. Mail-in ballots must be postmarked, returned to a ballot drop-box, or returned to the Board of Elections office in Hackensack by 8:00pm on Primary Election Day. If you are voting in-person, you can declare your party affiliation and vote at your polling place on Primary Election Day. In-person voting begins at 6:00am and ends at 8:00pm

2024 General Elections

More Resources

• Bergen County Voter Guide
  Voting guides from Bergen County in English, Spanish, and Korean. Includes information on how to register to vote and vote in Bergen County and answers to common questions.
• Bergen County Voting Instructions
  Learn about Bergen County’s new voting machines.
• Can I Vote?
  Created and maintained by the National Association of Secretaries of State, Can I Vote helps people find information about US elections in all 50 states, such as registration deadlines and guidelines for absentee voting. Visitors can easily find their designated polling location and advice on what to bring with them when they vote.
• The League of Women Voters of New Jersey
  The League of Women Voters is a nonpartisan organization that work to serves voters by advocating for and enforcing voter protection, analyzing and interpreting ballot questions into plain language, interviewing local candidates, and publishing and distributing the New Jersey Citizen’s Guide to Government. Find helpful voting information and forms here.
• NJ Voter Information Portal
  The New Jersey Voter Information Portal includes important dates for upcoming elections, information about methods of voting (including for students and those in the military or overseas), and tools for registering to vote, checking your registration, and tracking your ballot.
• NJ Voter Information Portal: Become a Poll Worker
  Interested in becoming a poll worker? Learn more and apply here.
• NJ Voter Rights and Accessibility Information
  Information for restoring the right of former prisoners to vote, the right to an accessible voting, and how to report accessibility problems at your polling place.
• Vote411
  A website funded by the nonpartisan League of Women Voters that allows you to register to vote, find your polling place, and that provides interviews from the candidates on important local issues.

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