Voters urged to follow steps to complete mail-in ballots

As voters cast mail-in ballots for the Nov. 5 election, Sussex County Clerk Jeffrey Parrott encourages them to be mindful when assembling their 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

Voters who don’t have a personal “My Voter Account” will have to create one before they can track their ballot.