(BERGEN COUNTY, NJ) -- The League of Women Voters of Northern Valley (LWVNV) wants the arts community to be prepared with nonpartisan information to participate in New Jersey's Primary Election on Tuesday, June 4, 2024. To prepare voters in Bergen County for what they need to do for the Primary Election, the League developed "Make a Voting Plan".
“Registered voters of the arts community should educate themselves about the voting process and exercise their right to vote in the Primary Election on Tuesday, June 4. The League of Women Voters of Northern Valley encourages people to review our voting plan and go to VOTE411.org for nonpartisan information on local races, polling locations, and other details," said Joyce Luhrs, Vice President of Marketing, League of Women Voters of Northern Valley.
The New Jersey Primary Election allows members of a political party to choose a candidate to represent them in the General Election, which will be held on Tuesday, November 5, 2024. In New Jersey, only voters who are registered members of a political party may participate in nominating that party's candidates. Unaffiliated voters can register with a political party up to and including Primary Election Day. They may declare a party affiliation in person at the polls on Primary Election Day, during the early voting period or upon casting their mail-in ballot. Currently, only the Republican and Democratic parties use a primary election system to select nominees.
Three Voting Options
First, voters may vote in person at local, designated polling sites from 6:00am to 8:00pm on June 4. Voters may find their polling location online at www.lwvnj.org or www.vote411.org. A polling location will also be shown on the sample ballot, which should be received about a week before Election Day.
Second, New Jersey voters may vote early in-person at a designated early voting polling location. This may be done from Wednesday, May 29 through Sunday, June 2 prior to the Primary Election Day on Tuesday, June 4. During these days, voters may cast their ballots from Wednesday, May 29 through Sunday, June 2, 2024. The polls will be open for early voting from 10:00am to 8:00pm weekdays and also Saturday and from 10:00am to 6:00pm on Sunday. Polling locations for early voting in Bergen County may be found at www.lwvnj.org or here.
Third, registered voters may vote using a mail-in ballot for the Primary Election. In New Jersey, any eligible registered voter may Vote by Mail without a reason needed to request a Vote by Mail ballot. Mail-in ballots are available to send to all registered voters by applying through May 28, 2024, the date by which the Bergen County Clerk must receive the application. Voters may check their Vote-By-Mail status by visiting www.vote.nj.gov.
Ballots should be mailed as soon as possible and must be postmarked on or before Primary Day on June 4. They may also be deposited in a Secure Ballot Drop Box by Primary Day by 8:00pm or the voter may deliver the Vote by Mail ballot in person to the Board of Elections located at 1 Bergen County Plaza- Room 310 by 8:00pm on Primary Day, June 4.
For information from the Bergen County Clerk's Elections Division office, visit their website, www.bergencountyclerk.org or contact 201-336-7020 or [email protected]. Their office is located at One Bergen County Plaza, Room 130 in Hackensack, New Jersey 07601-9832.
Voters may return mail-in-ballots to a ballot drop box, through the U.S. postal system, or in-person at the Bergen County Board of Elections office. For a list of drop box locations in Bergen County, click here. Mail-in ballots may not be dropped off at polling locations.
The League encourages voters to return the mail-in ballot as soon as possible. The postage-paid ballot must be postmarked by 8:00pm on Election Day, June 4, 2024 and received by the Bergen County Board of Elections by June 10. The ballot may also be brought in person to the Bergen County's Board of Elections Office or to a secure ballot drop box location before polls close on Election Day. The ballot can be tracked online here.
VOTE411 - VOTE411.org, a "one-stop-shop" for election related information, provides nonpartisan information to the public with both general and state-specific information on the election process. Find out what will appear on the ballot, learn the candidates' positions, and identify your polling location. To learn about candidate debates and forums taking place in your municipality, including events moderated by the League of Women Voters, check regularly VOTE.411 for updates. To obtain additional information about the June primary, visit the League of Women Voters of New Jersey at www.lwvnj.org/vote and www.VOTE411.org.
The League of Women Voters of Northern Valley services 29 municipalities in Bergen County. These municipalities include: Alpine, Bergenfield, Cliffside Park, Closter, Cresskill, Demarest, Dumont, Edgewater, Emerson, Englewood, Englewood Cliffs, Fort Lee, Hackensack, Harrington Park, Haworth, Hillsdale, Leonia, Montvale, New Milford, Northvale, Norwood, Old Tappan, Park Ridge, River Vale, Rockleigh, Tenafly, Washington Township, Westwood, and Woodcliff Lake.
The League of Women Voters of Northern Valley, a chapter of the League of Women Voters (LWV), is a non-partisan, grassroots civic organization that encourages informed and active participation in government, works to increase understanding of public policy issues and influences public policy through education and advocacy. The LWV was an outgrowth of the 19th Amendment passed in 1920 giving women the right to vote. Today, the LWV operates at the state and local levels through more than 700 state and local Leagues in all 50 states and in Washington D.C., the Virgin Islands and Hong Kong.
The League of Women Voters of Northern Valley was founded in 1946 as the League of Women Voters of Closter. By 1964, it included 11 municipalities in the Northern Valley and was renamed the League of Women Voters of Northern Valley. Today, the chapter serves these 29 municipalities: municipalities -- Alpine, Bergenfield, Cliffside Park, Closter, Cresskill, Demarest, Dumont, Edgewater, Emerson, Englewood, Englewood Cliffs, Fort Lee, Hackensack, Harrington Park, Haworth, Hillsdale, Leonia, Montvale, New Milford, Northvale, Norwood, Old Tappan, Park Ridge, River Vale, Rockleigh, Tenafly, Washington Township, Westwood, and Woodcliff Lake.
The organization develops grassroots leadership and achieves widespread credibility because it is strictly nonpartisan. Throughout the year, a range of voters services and programs are provided, including candidates’ forums, registration drives, dissemination of nonpartisan information about candidates and issues, and public meetings to discuss current issues.
Photos courtesy of League of Women Voters
