EAST BRUNSWICK, NJ—The county’s Board of Elections has installed 32 secure ballot boxes for voters to deliver mail-in ballots and approved 97 locations where voters can cast ballots on November 3.

Under normal circumstances, a strict process would have to be followed to eliminate even one of the county’s traditional polling locations.

But this year, changes in election procedures due to the COVID-19 pandemic have led to every part of the state to cut back on the number of polling places open, and to fundamentally adjust their operations and rules.

For example, New Brunswick will have just six polling locations open this general election, less than half of the usual fourteen.

During the primary election, even fewer polling locations were open, just 65 around the county and only four in New Brunswick. Typically, the county has between 250 and 260 locations open, according to elections officials.

MURPHY LOOPHOLE ALLOWS CUTS TO NUMBER OF POLLING PLACES

Phil Murphy speaking to the press on August 14

Having this few polling locations in the general election runs afoul of a requirement Governor Phil Murphy verbalized the day that he signed the executive order first proposing these changes for the general election.

“Yes, there will be in person polls open,” Murphy declared on August 14. “All counties must ensure that 50% of their total polling places are open.”

But the order he signed that day, and a subsequent law enshrining the changes into state law two weeks later, included a loophole that allows counties to have less than 50% of their locations open if they are “unable to reach [the] minimum” and open “large voting centers.”

Large voting centers are defined only as “schools or other large facilities” that would “accommodate more voting districts in one polling place.”

Of those who come out to vote in person, all except those who sign an affidavit claiming to be disabled will have to vote on paper provisional ballots. Disabled voters will be allowed to use electronic voting machines, but not the ones that voters here are used to.

Meanwhile, mail-in ballots were sent to every “active” registered voter at the address the Board of Elections has on file, and over 200,000 of them have been returned and received by the Board. The Board’s staff began cutting open the ballots on October 24, the first day they were allowed to.

SECURE BALLOT BOXES DEPLOYED TO EVERY TOWN

Voters anywhere in Middlesex County can drop off their mail-in ballot in downtown New Brunswick.

For the first time ever, this year, the state has allowed for the mail-in ballots to be dropped off in “secure” ballot boxes erected in public places.

After this reporter complained about the lack of a box in the county seat, one was installed at 75 Bayard Street in New Brunswick, where the Middlesex County Administration stands.

A second New Brunswick ballot box was recently installed next to the bus stop at College Avenue near Hamilton Street.

The boxes are a new phenomenon to deal with a deluge of mail-in ballots resulting from Murphy’s decision to send every “active” registered voter an unsolicited ballot via the US mail.

After they were used in the July primary election without any problems, the county moved to expand the number of boxes deployed. A state law will require their use in future elections, with a minimum of one per municipality.

New Brunswick’s downtown post office

Though they are not a perfect solution, they have been widely praised as one way to provide voters more confidence and convenience without having to rely on the United States Postal Service.

In recent years, many mail-in ballots have had to be rejected because the the Postal Service failed to postmark them and it could not be proven they were sent before the election had ended. Those rules have also changed and ballots recieved via US mail without a postmark will be counted for two additional days after the November election.

By law, the boxes must be in locations that are within view of a round-the-clock surveillance camera, a rule that has complicated their deployment.

For instance, a ballot box in Middlesex Borough had to be taken out of service for several days due to a problem with the security camera.

Those mail-in ballots can also be delivered to staff at the Board of Elections offices at 11 Kennedy Boulevard in East Brunswick, dropped in one of the ballot dropboxes 24 hours a day, or brought to the voter’s assigned polling location on Election Day.

The ballots are only supposed to be in the possession of the voter, unless a voter authorizes someone else to transport or drop off their sealed ballot for them, and completes the “bearer” section on the ballot envelope.

Bearers can only drop off ballots for up to three voters other than themselves.

Ballots are being rejected if the bearer has brought three ballots already. Election officials even say that, although the cameras on the ballot boxes are not always monitored, if surveillance video shows someone dropping off more than four ballots, they will refer the matter to law enforcement.

WHAT IS AT STAKE IN THIS YEAR’S GENERAL ELECTION

In addition to President and Vice President, all Middlesex County voters will also be eligible to select one of the state’s US Senators, a member of the US Congress, the next County Clerk, two members of the Board of County Commissioners (formerly the Freeholders), and vote on three statewide ballot questions, including one that would legalize marijuana.

Voters in most towns will also be voting for between one and four of the 50 municipal government offices appearing on ballots here, including Mayors in East Brunswick, Perth Amboy, Piscataway, and Spotswood.

There’s also 73 seats on Boards of Education on the ballots, in every town except New Brunswick which held its school election on May 12 with no voting locations for the general public.

Finally, New Brunswick and East Brunswick will be voting on municipal ballot questions, and Plainsboro will be electing two Fire Commissioners.

On their question, New Brunswick voters will decide whether or not to change the city’s form of government to expand the size of the City Council from five to seven members.

COMPLETE LIST OF ALL POLLING PLACES & BALLOT BOX LOCATIONS

Below is a map of the Election Day polling places and ballot boxes, with polling places in blue and ballot boxes in green.

The 32 ballot dropboxes are located at:

​​Thomas Deverin Community Center
100 Cooke Avenue, Carteret
​​Drop Box located inside the vestibule of the building.
Cranbury Police Department
1 Logan Dr, Cranbury
​Drop Box located in front of police station.
Dunellen Public Library
100 New Market Rd, Dunellen
Drop Box located on sidewalk near entrance to library.​
East Brunswick Municipal Complex
​1 Civic Drive, East Brunswick
​Drop box located between parking lot and East Brunswick Municipal Complex by police entrance.
​Board of Elections Office
11 Kennedy Blvd, East Brunswick
​Drop Box located in front of the entrance, under the tree.
Edison Municipal Complex
100 Municipal Blvd. Edison​
Drop Box located Municipal Complex entrance outside under awning.
​North Edison Library
777 Grove Ave, Edison
​Drop Box located in front of library.
​Middlesex County College
2600 Woodbridge Ave, Edison
​Drop Box located by College Center flagpole.
Helmetta Borough Hall
51 Main St, Helmetta
​Drop Box located in front of Borough hall.
Highland Park Borough Hall
221 South Fifth Avenue, Highland Park
Drop Box in front of Borough hall.
​​Jamesburg Municipal Complex
​131 Perrineville Road, Jamesburg​​
Drop box located within the parking lot, in the Safe Zone
Metuchen Municipal Complex
​500 Main Street, Metuchen
Drop box located in back of parking Lot – by handicap parking lanes.
Middlesex Borough Hall
1200 Mountain Ave, Middlesex Borough
Drop Box located in the rear of townhall.
​Milltown Municipal Complex
​39 Washington​ Ave., Milltown
Drop box located at beginning of side entrance accessible from the parking lot.  Slated as Safe Exchange Zone
​Monroe Township Library
4 Municipal Plaza, Monroe Township
​​Drop Box located to the right of the entrance to the library.
​County Administration Building
75 Bayard Street, New Brunswick
​Drop box located in front of front entrance.
​The Yard at Rutgers University
40 College Ave, New Brunswick
​Drop box located to the right of the bus stop.
​North Brunswick Township Hall
710 Hermann Road, North Brunswick
​​Drop Box located in front of Town Hall.
​Old Bridge Township Municipal Complex
1 Old Bridge Plaza, Old Bridge
​Drop Box located on the sidewalk nearest the curb in front of municipal building.
​Perth Amboy Public Safety Complex
361 New Brunswick Ave, Perth Amboy
Drop box located between Municipal Court and Police Station; closer to police station entrance.
​Piscataway Municipal Complex​
455 Hoes Lane, Piscataway
​Drop box located on walkway between municipal building and police station
​Westergard Library
20 Murray Ave, Piscataway
​Drop Box located in front of library
​Plainsboro Municipal Complex
​641 Plainsboro Road, Plainsboro
Drop box located in front of stairs to Municipal Building.
​Sayreville Borough Hall
​167 Main Street, Sayreville
​Drop box located behind building, on the sidewalk 
(right side when facing the building)
​Sayreville Water Department
3751 Bordentown Ave, Sayreville
​Drop box located near entrance.
​South Amboy Train Station137 N. Broadway, South Amboy​Drop Box located on the curb in front of the train station across from Town Hall.
​South Brunswick Municipal Building
540 Ridge Rd, Monmouth Junction
​​Drop box located in front of main building to the right of visitor parking.
​South Brunswick Community Center Woodlot Park
​124 New Road, Monmouth Junction
​Drop Box located at walkway to front entrance.​
​South Plainfield Borough Hall
2480 Plainfield Ave, South Plainfield
​Drop Box located in rear of Municipal building.
​South River Administration Building
48 Washington St, South River
Drop Box located in front of Administration building.
​Spotswood Municipal Building
77 Summerhill Rd, Spotswood
​Drop Box located in front of Town Hall.
​Woodbridge Municipal Building
​1 Main St., Woodbridge
​Drop Box is curbside. Adjacent to north side of main entrance stairs to Town Hall.

The 97 in-person voting locations are listed below:

Carteret Borough (4 locations)

  • Thomas J. Deverin Community Center (100 Cooke Ave) – Districts 1, 7, 8, 9
  • Carteret Middle School (300 Carteret Ave) – Districts 6, 10, 12, 14, 15, 18, 19
  • Columbus School (1 Carteret Ave) – Districts 2, 3, 4, 5, 13
  • Minue School (83 Post Blvd) – Districts 11, 16, 17

Cranbury Borough (1 location)

  • Cranbury Town Hall (23 A North Main St)

Dunellen Borough (1 location)

  • Lincoln Middle School (400 Dunellen Ave)

East Brunswick Township (4 locations)

  • Central School (371 Cranbury Rd) – Districts 1, 3, 7, 9, 11, 25, 26, 30, 31
  • Warnsdorfer School (9 Hardenburg Ln) – Districts 4, 10, 14, 22, 23, 27, 34, 36, 39
  • Hammarskjold Middle School (200 Rues Ln) – Districts 2, 6, 12, 16, 17, 21, 24, 28, 37, 38, 40
  • Churchill Junior High School (18 Norton Rd) – Districts 5, 8, 13, 15, 18, 19, 20, 29, 32, 33, 35

Edison Township (9 locations)

  • Edison Municipal Building (100 Municipal Blvd) – Districts 29, 36, 39, 42, 76, 77
  • James Monroe Elementary School (7 Sharp Rd) – Districts 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 41, 46, 51, 53
  • Menlo Park Elementary Public School (155 Monroe Ave) – Districts 4, 35, 40, 45, 50
  • Woodbrook School (15 Robin Rd.) – Districts 3, 5, 30, 34, 58, 62, 71, 73
  • Martin Luther King School (285 Tingley Ln.) – Districts 1, 43, 64, 66, 67, 68
  • JP Stevens High School (855 Grove Ave.) – Districts 2, 32, 33, 44, 54, 65, 69, 70, 72, 78
  • Edison High School (50 Boulevard of Eagles) – Districts 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 21, 22, 24, 25, 37, 52, 55
  • Thomas Jefferson Middle School (450 Division St.) – Districts 23, 26, 27, 28, 31, 38, 48, 49, 56, 59, 60, 75
  • Grace Reform Church (2815 Woodbridge Ave.) – Districts 12, 13, 19, 20, 47, 57, 61, 63, 74

Helmetta Borough (1 location)

  • Helmetta Community Center (1 Brookside Pl)

Highland Park Borough (2 locations)

  • Highland Park Community Center (220 South 6th Ave) – Districts 1, 2, 3, 4, 5
  • Irving School (South 11th Ave.) – Districts 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13

Jamesburg Borough (1 location)

  • Jamesburg Borough Hall (131 Perrineville Rd)

Metuchen Borough (2 locations)

  • Metuchen Senior Center (15 Center St) – Districts 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 13
  • Metuchen High School (400 Grove Ave.) – Districts 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 11, 12

Middlesex Borough (3 locations)

  • Mauger Middle School (Fisher Ave) – Districts 8,9,10
  • Middlesex High School (300 John F. Kennedy Dr) – Districts 1,2,3,4
  • Hazelwood Elementary School (800 Hazelwood Ave.) – Districts 5,6,7

Milltown Borough (1 location)

  • Joyce Kilmer School (21 W. Church St)

Monroe Township (6 locations)

  • Brookside Elementary School (370 Buckelew Ave) – Districts 1-11, 1-15, 2-2, 2-13, 3-6, 3-8, 3-10, 3-11
  • Monroe Township Community Center (120 Monmouth Rd) – Districts 3-2, 3-3, 3-5, 3-7
  • Monroe Township Senior Center (12 Halsey Reed Rd) – Districts 1-1, 1-6, 1-7, 1-8, 1-9, 1-10, 1-13, 1-16, 2-4, 2-14, 2-15
  • Oak Tree Elementary School (226 Applegarth Rd.) – Districts 1-14, 1-17, 2-10
  • Monroe Township High School (200 Schoolhouse Rd.) – Districts 1-2, 1-3, 1-4, 1-5, 1-12, 2-3, 2-5, 2-6, 2-7, 2-8, 2-9, 2-11, 2-12
  • Woodland Elementary School (42 Harrison Ave.) – Districts 2-1, 3-1, 3-4, 3-9

New Brunswick City (6 locations)

  • Lord Stirling Elementary School (101 Redmond St) – Districts 1-1, 1-2, 1-3, 2-1, 2-2, 5-1
  • New Brunswick Board of Education Offices (268 Baldwin St) – Districts 2-6, 4-1, 4-3, 4-4
  • Public Works Garage (400 Jersey Ave.) – Districts 4-2, 4-5, 5-2, 5-4
  • Woodrow Wilson Elementary School (133 Tunison Rd) – Districts 1-4, 1-5, 1-6
  • Lincoln School (66 Bartlett St.) – Districts 5-3, 6-1, 6-2, 6-3, 6-4, 6-5, 6-6
  • Redshaw School (216 Livingston Ave., Delavan St.) – Districts 2-3, 2-4, 2-5, 2-7

North Brunswick Township (4 locations)

  • John Adams Elementary School (1450 Redmond St) – Districts 9, 17, 20, 22, 23, 26
  • Linwood Middle School (25 Linwood Pl) – Districts 1, 3, 6, 8, 14, 16
  • North Brunswick High School (98 Raider Rd) – Districts 2, 5, 7, 11, 13, 15, 18, 19, 21, 24, 25, 27
  • Livingston Park School (Ridgewood & Livingston Ave.) – Districts 4, 10, 12

Old Bridge (7 locations)

  • Southwood Elementary School (64 Southwood Dr., Old Bridge) – Districts 5-5, 5-7, 5-8, 5-9, 5-10, 6-7
  • Old Bridge High School (Door 7 & 8) (4209 Rt. 516, Matawan) – Districts 2-1, 2-2, 2-3, 2-4, 2-5, 2-6, 2-7, 2-8
  • Voorhees School (Door 8) (30 Midway Rd. Old Bridge) – Districts 6-1, 6-2, 6-3, 6-4, 6-5, 6-6, 6-8
  • Alan B. Shephard School (Door 24) (33 Bushnell Rd. ) – Districts 4-1, 4-2, 4-4, 4-5,5-1, 5-2, 5-3, 5-4, 5-6
  • Memorial Elementary School (11 Ely Ave., Laurence Harbor) – Districts 1-1, 1-2, 1-3, 1-4, 1-5, 1-8
  • Carl Sandburg High School (Door 35) (3439 Rt. 516) – Districts 1-6, 1-7, 1-9, 1-10, 3-5, 3-6, 3-7, 4-3, 4-6, 4-7, 4-8, 4-9
  • Madison Park School (33 Harvard Rd., Parlin) – Districts 3-1, 3-2, 3-3, 3-4

Perth Amboy (5 locations)

  • Alexander F. Jankowski Community Center (1 Olive St.) – Districts 4-1, 4-2, 4-3, 4-4, 4-5
  • James J. Flynn School (850 Chamberlain Ave.) – Districts 4-6, 6-3, 6-5, 6-7, 6-9, 6-12, 6-13, 6-14
  • McGinnis Middle School (271 State St.) – Districts 1-3, 2-1, 2-2, 5-1, 5-2, 5-3
  • Perth Amboy High School (300 Eagle Ave.) – Districts 3-1, 3-2, 6-1, 6-2, 6-4, 6-6, 6-8, 6-10, 6-11
  • Robert N. Wilentz School (51 1st St.) – Districts 1-1, 1-2, 1-4, 1-5

Piscataway (4 locations)

  • Piscataway High School (100 Behmer Rd.) – Districts 2-1, 2-2, 2-3, 2-4, 2-5, 2-6, 2-7, 2-8, 2-9, 2-10
  • Piscataway Senior Citizen Center (700 Buena Vista Ave.) – Districts 3-1, 3-2, 3-3, 3-4, 3-5, 3-6, 3-7, 3-8, 3-9, 3-10
  • Quibbletown Middle School (99 Academy St.) – Districts 1-1, 1-2, 1-3, 1-4, 1-5,1-6, 1-7,1-8, 1-9
  • Livingston Student Center (84 Joyce Kilmer Ave.) – Districts 4-1, 4-2, 4-3, 4-4, 4-5, 4-6, 4-7, 4-8, 4-9, 4-10

Plainsboro (3 locations)

  • Plainsboro Municipal Building (641 Plainsboro Rd.) – Districts 1, 2, 4, 5, 6, 11
  • Smith House (400 Sayre Dr.) – Districts 7, 13
  • West Windsor/ Plainsboro H.S. (90 Grover’s Mill Rd.) – Districts 3, 8, 9, 10, 12

Sayreville (7 locations)

  • Knights of Columbus Hall (775 Washington Rd. Parlin) – Districts 4, 11, 12, 15, 24, 27
  • President Park Firehouse (5 Roosevelt Blvd. Parlin) – Districts 5, 13, 14, 16, 21, 26
  • V.F.W. Post #4699 (575 Jernee Mill Rd.) – Districts 9, 28, 33
  • Wilson School (65 Dane St.) – Districts 1, 2, 7, 23, 29
  • Sayreville Senior Center (423 Main St.) – Districts 3, 10, 18, 30, 32
  • Samsel Upper Elementary School (298 Ernston Rd) – Districts 17, 19, 20, 31, 34
  • Eisenhower School (601 Ernston Rd) – Districts 6, 8, 22, 25, 35

South Amboy (1 location)

  • South Amboy High Middle School (200 Gov. Harold G. Hoffman Plaza)

South Brunswick (5 locations)

  • Brunswick Acres School (41 Kory Dr., Kendall Park) – Districts 8, 11, 12, 18, 21, 22
  • Constable Elementary School (29 Constable Rd. Kendall Park) – Districts 5, 6, 7, 9, 10, 16 ,24
  • Crossroads School South (195 Major Rd., Monmouth Jct.) – Districts 2, 14, 17, 23, 28
  • Indian Fields Elementary School (359 Ridge Rd., Dayton) – Districts 1, 4, 13, 15 ,29, 30
  • South Brunswick High School (750 Ridge Rd., Monmouth Jct.) – Districts 3, 19, 20, 25, 26, 27

South Plainfield (5 locations)

  • South Plainfield Senior Center (90 Maple Ave.) – Districts 2, 5, 6, 8, 11, 14
  • Roosevelt School (135 Jackson Ave.) – Districts 4, 10, 15
  • Kennedy School (2900 Norwood Ave.) – Districts 9, 12
  • Riley School (100 Morris Ave.) – Districts 3, 13
  • Franklin School (1000 Franklin Ave.) – Districts 1, 7

South River (2 locations)

  • St. Mary’s Coptic Church School (80 David St.) – Districts 4, 8, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14
  • V.F.W. (31 Reid St.) – Districts 1, 2, 3, 5, 6, 7 ,9

Spotswood (2 locations)

  • Knights of Columbus (30 Crescent Ave.) – Districts 1, 3, 4, 7
  • Spotswood Municipal Building (77 Summerhill Rd.) – Districts 2, 5, 6

Woodbridge (11 locations)

  • Avenel Middle School (Gym) (85 Woodbine Ave., Avenel) – Districts 3-2, 3-5, 3-6, 3-8, 3-9, 3-10, 3-11, 3-12, 3-13, 5-2
  • Claremont Ave Elementary School 20 (90 Claremont Ave.) – Districts 4-14, 5-1, 5-3, 5-4, 5-5
  • Evergreen Senior Center (400 Inman Ave., Colonia) – Districts 5-6, 5-7, 5-8, 5-9, 5-10, 5-11, 5-12, 5-13
  • First Presbyterian Church of Iselin (1295 Oak Tree Rd, Iselin, entrance on Middlesex Ave) – Districts 4-3, 4-4, 4-10, 4-12, 5-14, 5-15
  • Fords Firehouse (667 King Georges Rd., Fords) – Districts 2-3 ,2-4, 2-6, 2-11
  • Fords Middle School (100 Fanning St., Fords) – Districts 2-5, 2-7, 2-8, 2-12, 2-13, 4-7, 4-8
  • Hopelawn Firehouse #1 (127 Loretta St., Hopelawn) – Districts 2-1, 2-2, 2-10, 2-14
  • Matthew Jago School (99 Glen Cove Ave., Sewaren) – Districts 1-13, 1-15, 3-1, 3-3, 3-4, 3-7
  • Woodbridge Community Center (600 Main St., Woodbridge) – Districts 1-3, 1-4, 1-7, 1-12, 2-9, 2-15
  • Woodbridge Middle School (525 Barron Ave.) – Districts 1-1, 1-2, 1-5, 1-6, 1-9, 1-10, 1-1 ,1-14
  • Iselin Middle School (Hyde Ave. Iselin) – Districts 1-8, 4-1, 4-2, 4-5, 4-6, 4-9, 4-11, 4-13, 5-16, 5-17, 5-18
Editor at New Brunswick Today | 732-993-9697 | editor@newbrunswicktoday.com | Website

Charlie is the founder and editor of New Brunswick Today, and the winner of the Awbrey Award for Community-Oriented Local Journalism. He is a proud Rutgers University journalism graduate, a community organizer, and a former independent candidate for mayor of New Brunswick.

Charlie is the founder and editor of New Brunswick Today, and the winner of the Awbrey Award for Community-Oriented Local Journalism. He is a proud Rutgers University journalism graduate, a community organizer, and a former independent candidate for mayor of New Brunswick.