Voters will have several options to cast their ballot in the upcoming General Election this fall, including in-person, early voting for the first time.
Legislation signed into law earlier this year by Gov. Phil Murphy created the new early voting option allowing registered voters to cast their ballots in person, using a voting machine, during a nine-day period prior to Election Day.
It’s another option that makes it easier than ever for citizens to exercise their right to vote, and to comply with the law the Burlington County Election Board has designated seven locations across the county to host early voting sites.
The approved early voting sites are:
- Chesterfield at the Chesterfield Township Municipal Building, 295 Bordentown-Chesterfield Road;
- Evesham at the Gibson House Community Center, 535 East Main Street, Marlton;
- Medford at the Medford Town Hall, 49 Union Street;
- Mount Laurel at Rowan College at Burlington County Student Success Center, 1500 College Circle;
- Pemberton Township at the Pemberton Community Library, 16 Broadway, Browns Mills;
- Tabernacle at the EMS Building, 81 Hawkin Road;
- Willingboro at the Willingboro Public Library, 220 Campbell Drive.
While the early voting sites will be set up in these seven towns, voters residing anywhere in Burlington County will be able to go to any of the seven sites to take advantage of the early voting option. The sites are spread across the county and were selected by the bipartisan Burlington County Election Board.
To comply with the new law, Burlington County purchased state-of-the-art electronic voting machines with a voter-verifiable paper trail, as required under the new law. To comply, the County also acquired new electronic poll books for use at all in-person voting sites.
“All the new equipment is state-of-the-art and highly secure,” said Burlington County Board of Elections Chair Joseph Dugan. “Voters can rest assured that our county is taking all the necessary steps to prepare for this new additional way to participate in our democracy.”
In-person early voting will begin Saturday, Oct. 23, and continue through Sunday, Oct. 31. Early voting polls will be open from 10 AM to 8 PM on weekdays and Saturday and from 10 AM to 6 PM on Sunday.
Registered voters are not required to make appointments, but those who are registered to vote-by-mail must opt out from receiving a Vote-by-Mail ballot to vote in-person at either an early voting location or their regular polling site.
Voters can check their registration and status online at Vote.NJ.Gov under the “Am I Registered?” tab. Opt-out forms can be found online at the following link: http://www.co.burlington.nj.us/DocumentCenter/View/1248/Vote-by-Mail-Removal-Request.
Completed forms should be dropped off or mailed to: Honorable Joanne Schwartz, Burlington County Clerk-Elections, 50 Rancocas Road, 3rd Floor, P.O. Box 6000, Mount Holly, NJ, 08060.
For information about opting out of receiving a Vote-by-Mail ballot, call the Burlington County Clerk’s Office at 609-265-5229.
Voters registered to receive a Vote-by-Mail ballot must opt out by Friday, September 10, to cast a ballot with a machine at either an early voting or Election Day polling site.
Voters interested in voting by mail continue to have that option and can return their completed paper ballots via the mail, secure drop boxes or in-person to the Burlington County Election Board offices at 50 Rancocas Street, Mount Holly.
Completed vote-by-mail must be postmarked or placed in secure drop box or submitted to the Election Board office on or before 8 PM on Election Day. However, completed VBM ballots will NOT be accepted at regular polling sites for the November election.
“Voting is secure, easy and more accessible and convenient than ever,” said Burlington County Commissioner Linda Hynes, who is the Commissioners’ liaison to Elections. “You can vote early or on Election Day or by mail, drop box or hand delivery. It doesn’t matter how you vote, the most important thing is that you do, and we hope all voters will take the time to exercise that right.”
