Early voting begins Saturday

Early in-person voting for the Nov. 5 election begins Saturday, Oct. 26 and continues through Sunday, Nov. 3.

Sussex County residents may vote early in person at three locations:

• Cochran House Building, Level PL, 83 Spring St., Newton.

• Sussex-Wantage Branch Library, 69 County Road 639, Wantage.

• Louise Childs Branch Library, 21 Sparta Road, Stanhope.

The hours are from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday through Saturday and 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Sunday.

Polls will be open on Election Day from 6 a.m. to 8 p.m.

Residents who received ballots in the mail may return them by mail or place them in one of the 14 official drop boxes by 8 p.m. on Election Day.

The list of drop boxes is online at sussexcountyclerk.org/ballot-drop-box-locations-in-sussex-county/

To receive a mail-in ballot, residents may download an application for one online at sussexcountyclerk.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/2021-vote-by-mail-english-sussex.pdf, complete Sections 1-9 and mail the signed application to: Sussex County Clerk’s Office, 83 Spring St., Suite 304, Newton, NJ 07860.

Applications must be received by the clerk’s office at least seven days before the election.

Voters also may cast a paper ballot in person at the clerk’s office until 3 p.m. the day before the election. The office is opened from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. weekdays. It is located in Cochran House Professional Bldg., 83 Spring St. Suite 304, Newton.

Follow these steps

Sussex County Clerk Jeffrey Parrott encourages voters to be mindful when assembling their mail-in ballot packet for return to the Board of Elections.

“While voting by mail is not a difficult process, it is a specific process so voters should follow the instructions provided in their ballot packet,” he said,

The following steps must be completed for a ballot to be counted:

1) Voters must sign the “Certificate of Mail-in Voter,” which appears on the flap attached to their privacy envelope; the flap should not be detached.

2) Voters must seal their ballot inside the privacy envelope, keeping the flap attached.

3) Voters must seal the privacy envelope inside the blue return envelope addressed to the county Board of Elections.

4) Voters must return their voted ballot before the close of polls on Election Day or if returning by mail, their ballot must be postmarked on or before Election Day.

New Jersey law requires that both the privacy and the blue return envelopes be used and sealed for the return of ballots, whether ballots are deposited in a drop box, hand-delivered to the Board of Elections or returned via U.S. Mail. If an envelope is spoiled, voters should contact the county clerk for a new one.

“While these requirements might seem annoying or rigid to some, they’re in place to help safeguard our elections,” said Parrott.

“Some voters might not want to sign the certificate for fear that their ballot won’t remain anonymous, but what they might not know is that those certificates are removed by board commissioners well in advance of any envelopes being opened.

“The signature on the certificate is needed to verify against the voter’s ballot application. When a match is confirmed, the flap is removed from the envelope, so there’s nothing to connect the ballot inside with the voter who voted it.”

Voters may check on the status of their returned ballot online at nj.gov/state/elections/vote-track-my-ballot.shtml