NJ Election Offices Swamped With New Voter Registrations

Some counties around New Jersey are facing a serious problem. Election officials fear they will not be able to process all the applications in time for the Nov. 4 election.

According to a statement released by the state department Oct. 14, about 500,000 new voters have registered to vote for this general election so far, which is already a record. Young people comprise the majority of the newly registered voters, not a surprise since most people register shortly after turning 18. Most counties in New Jersey report an increase in voters registered for this presidential election compared to four years ago. Just over five million people are registered to vote in this election.

In some northern counties, officials worried they would not be able to keep up with the vast amount of applications coming in. Bergen and Essex Counties alone were receiving nearly one thousand applications per day in the weeks leading up to the deadline, which was Oct. 14.

Essex county officials report a 13.5 percent increase in registered voters, an estimated 460,000 voters compared to 405,000 voters four years ago. Both Bergen and Essex County have increased the number of workers that go over the applications in order to meet the increased flow, and expect to have all applications that came in before the deadline processed in time. The same cannot be said for all of the 21 counties in the state.

Atlantic County might not be able to process every application they received in time for the Nov. 4 election. Even though it is one of the least populated counties in the state, Atlantic County also saw record numbers of applications. Those who sent in their application before the Oct. 14 deadline should not be worried, as they can still cast their vote through a provisional ballot.

In the back of many people's minds was that certain groups could be purposely flooding election offices with fake voter registration applications, filling out the forms in the names of deceased residents or even fictional characters like Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck. In some states these bogus applications have gotten through, but that is not the purpose of these fake applications. They are meant to overwhelm election offices so that legitimate applications cannot be processed in time and as a result those people may not be able to vote. There have been no reported cases of this happening in New Jersey.

Officials give several reasons for the influx of new voter registrations; an extended period of time to register before the election, and for the first time ever citizens can vote with an absentee ballot for any reason. In past elections people had only 21 days prior to an election to register; the time frame has been increased to 29 days for this year's election. Also in previous elections, in order to cast an absentee ballot you needed to give a reason. For example, being out of state on Election Day and being bed ridden or terminally ill were acceptable reasons to qualify for an absentee ballot. This year, the rules have changed so that any registered voter can vote using an absentee ballot without giving a reason.

Even if everyone's application does not get processed, you should be able to vote on Nov.4 with a provisional ballot as long as you have mailed in your application.