General Election

November 3, 2020 – General Election

2020 General Election Overview
County Clerk Christine Giordano Hanlon explains the major changes to this year's November General Election, per State law.
Update: Please be advised that the County Clerk’s Election Office phone line at 732-431-7790 is experiencing unusually high call volume. If you have misplaced, damaged, or have not yet received your mail-in ballot as of October 13 and need your ballot re-issued to you, please email ClerkOfElections@co.monmouth.nj.us with your name, address, date of birth, and phone number. Please note that the County Clerk’s Office continues to mail ballots on a rolling basis to those who recently registered to vote prior to the Statewide voter registration deadline on October 13. We thank you for your patience and apologize for any inconvenience.

Pursuant to State law, major changes have been made to the November 3, General Election process.

The 2020 General Election will be conducted primarily via Vote by Mail in New Jersey, with limited polling locations open 6 a.m. to 8 p.m. on election day for voting on paper provisional ballots only and accessible voting devices exclusively for disabled voters. View our Notice of Vote by Mail Election (bilingual).

All active registered voters will automatically receive mail-in ballots for voting in the 2020 General Election without the need to submit a vote by mail application. Per State law, the ballots are to be mailed no later than October 5th.

How to Vote by Mail-In Ballot
Check out our tutorial of how to cast your vote in this year's General Election.

Drop Boxes:
For the locations of the drop boxes around the county, click here.

Myth-busters:
Clerk Hanlon and the Monmouth County Clerk’s Office will continue to debunk misinformation and myths spread about the General Election process on social media. View our Monmouth Election Facts page by clicking here.

Informational Materials:

All Active Registered Voters will Automatically Receive Mail-In Ballots

Pursuant to State law, County Clerks in the State of New Jersey are required to automatically send mail-in ballots to all voters listed as active in the Statewide Voter Registration System. Active voters do not need to submit a vote by mail application. To check if you are considered an active voter by the State, please click here to visit the State Division of Elections website.

If you misplaced, damaged, or have not yet received your mail-in ballots by October 13, the County Clerk’s Election Office can re-issue and resend your ballot to you. To request a re-issue, please contact the County Clerk’s Election Office by sending an email to ClerkOfElections@co.monmouth.nj.us with your name, address, date of birth, and phone number. You can also contact the County Clerk’s Election Office by phone to 732-431-7790, Monday to Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Please note that the office has been experiencing unusually high call volume and that we appreciate your patience.

Per State mandate, all County Clerks in the State must automatically mail ballots to all voters who are listed as active in the Statewide Voter Registration System. County Clerks do not have legal jurisdiction to update or manage this voter registration system, as it is maintained by the State and County Superintendent of Elections Offices. Please read the County Clerk’s Office statement here.

If you receive a ballot that is addressed to a different address than your own, please place it back in your mailbox for the U.S. Postal Service to properly deliver the ballot to the correct address. If the ballot is addressed to someone who does not live at your address, or is deceased, please mark it as “return to sender” and place it back in your mailbox for the U.S. Postal Service to return to the County Election Offices. You can also contact the County Superintendent of Elections Office at 732-431-7780 to inform them of updates to the voter files.

To report possible voter fraud, call the Monmouth County Prosecutor’s hotline at 855-786-5878.

Returning your Completed Mail-In Ballot to the County Board of Elections / Tracking My Ballot

Pursuant to State law, voters can return their completed General Election mail-in ballots to the County Board of Elections via U.S. Postal Service (USPS) mail, drop box, in-person to the Board of Elections Office, or in-person at their assigned 2020 General Election polling place, by the following deadlines, in order for the ballot to be considered timely and to be canvassed:

Tracking My Ballot

Voters can track the status of their mail-in ballot’s return to the County Board of Elections for counting via two separate systems:

Monmouth County BallotTrax at monmouthcounty.ballottrax.net

  • County Clerk Christine Giordano Hanlon, in partnership with the Monmouth County Board of Elections and Superintendent of Elections, has launched a supplemental system to help Monmouth County voters know when their ballots have been received by the Board of Elections. The “Monmouth County BallotTrax” system provides enhanced features to notify voters via phone call, email, and/or text message of when their ballots are received for counting. Please note that this is a separate service from the State ballot tracking system, which some voters have experienced difficulty signing up for.

State of New Jersey “Track My Ballot” website at trackmyballot.nj.gov.

  • The State Division of Elections has provided the “Track My Ballot” website for voters to track their ballots. Please note that this website is maintained by the State Division of Election and that the County Election Offices have no jurisdiction over it. We have received reports that voters have been required to provide their Voter ID number to use the Track My Ballot website. Voter ID numbers can be obtained by contacting the County Superintendent of Elections Office at 732-431-7780.
Returning Ballot via USPS Mail

Mail-in ballots returned by U.S. Postal Service (USPS) mail must be postmarked on or before General Election Day, November 3, and received by the County Board of Elections by 8 p.m. on November 10. The County Clerk’s Office has provided a postage-paid envelope for the return of the completed mail-in ballot; therefore, voters are not required to attach a stamp when returning the ballot via USPS.

Pursuant to State law, voters may only deliver three ballots (in addition to their own) by USPS mail. In addition, the “Bearer” section on the front of the return envelope must be signed in the presence of the voters whose ballots are being delivered.

Every ballot without a postmark or mis-marked and confirmed by the USPS that those ballots were received by USPS on or before November 3 and received by the County Board of Elections from the USPS within 48 hours after the close of the polls on November 3, shall be considered valid, per State law.

Returning Ballot via Secure Drop Box
Voters may choose to deposit their completed mail-in ballots in a drop box located throughout the County. For the locations of Monmouth County’s 17 drop boxes, please click here.

The deadline for delivering the ballot via drop box is 8 p.m. on General Election Day, November 3.

Pursuant to State law, voters may only deliver three ballots (in addition to their own) via drop box. In addition, the “Bearer” section on the front of the return envelope must be signed in the presence of the voters whose ballots are being delivered.

The County’s drop boxes are under the jurisdiction of the County Board of Elections and their office can be reached at 732-431-7802 for more information.

To report possible voter fraud, call the Monmouth County Prosecutor’s hotline at 855-786-5878.

Returning Ballot In-Person

In-Person to the Board of Elections

  • If voters would prefer to deliver their completed mail-in ballots in-person, the deadline for the County Board of Elections at 300 Halls Mill Road in Freehold to receive the mail-in ballots in-person is 8 p.m. on General Election Day, November 3. The County Board of Elections Office is open for the hand delivery of completed ballots, Monday through Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 6 p.m., and Saturday from 9 a.m. to noon.
  • If delivered in-person, the voter or the bearer must present identification when surrendering the ballot.
  • Pursuant to State law, voters may only deliver three ballots (in addition to their own) in-person to the County Board of Elections. Again, the “Bearer” section on the front of the return envelope must be signed in the presence of the voters whose ballots are being delivered. In addition, one form of identification is required, with name, address, and signature.

In-Person to Polling Place on Election Day

  • Voters may also deliver their own completed mail-in ballots in-person at their assigned 2020 General Election polling place on Election Day, November 3.
  • Per State mandate, voters may only return their own mail-in ballots at the polling location.
Limited Polling Places on Election Day
Pursuant to State law, a limited number of polling locations in each County in the State of New Jersey will be available from 6 a.m. to 8 p.m. for voters on November 3, 2020, General Election Day, where paper provisional ballots will be available to cast their vote. Voting machines will not be available at polling locations, except for voters with disabilities, who will receive an accessible voting device. Disabled voters can also contact the County Clerk’s Office at 732-431-7790 to obtain an accessible Vote by Mail ballot.

Polling locations for the General Election can be found on our website here. Active voters will also be mailed a notice by October 23 regarding the location of their polling place, per State law.

Sample Ballots
Per State law, sample ballots will not be mailed to voters for the 2020 General Election. The County Clerk will instead send a postcard to voters indicating their polling location for the 2020 General Election.

Sample Ballots are available online for viewing here on our website and on the Monmouth County Votes Mobile App. A sample ballot will also be available at each polling place on Election Day.

Information for Voters with Disabilities
Voters with disabilities or who need an accessible ballot, should contact the County Clerk’s Office at 732-431-7790, or may go to their assigned 2020 General Election polling place, which will provide access to an in-person accessible voting device on General Election Day.
Additional Information

For questions regarding the 2020 General Election process, please view the answers to our Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ). You can also view our Videos Page which features tutorials, explanations, and step-by-step videos from Clerk Hanlon and the NJ State Division of Elections.

If you have any questions, please contact the County Clerk’s Election Office by phone at 732-431-7790, Monday to Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

We also encourage you to download the County Clerk’s Monmouth County Votes Mobile App and to follow the Monmouth County Clerk’s Office on Facebook and Twitter for the latest updates.

For additional questions, please contact:
State of New Jersey Division of Elections
PO Box 304
Trenton, NJ 08625-0304
609-292-3760

Office of the New Jersey Governor
225 W State St.
Trenton, NJ 08625
609-292-6000

Rev. 10/19/20