People lined up Sunday, Nov. 3, 2024, outside the Mercer County public library in Lawrenceville, one of the county’s early-voting sites, on the last day of New Jersey’s nine-day early-voting period. (Dana DiFilippo | New Jersey Monitor)
More than 1.9 million people have already cast their ballots for Tuesday’s general election using early in-person voting and mail-in ballots, with more Democrats taking advantage of both voting options.
Almost 1.2 million voters cast ballots in person during the nine-day early voting period that ended Sunday, according to Ryan Dubicki, an elections researcher for the Associated Press. That’s the most ever since the state started the practice in 2021, an uptick that wasn’t unexpected because voter turnout tends to be higher during presidential elections.
Voter mobilization efforts have been especially intense lately, with Vice President Kamala Harris, a Democrat, and former President Donald Trump, a Republican, tied in polls.
Another 763,000 voters have voted in New Jersey so far by mail, Dubicki found. That’s not a record, though, because most Garden State voters voted by mail in the 2020 election, when the state remained in the grip of the deadly coronavirus epidemic.
“We’re thrilled that so many chose to show up and cast their ballots over the 9-day early voting period,” said Lt. Gov. Tahesha Way, the secretary of state.
New Jersey has just over 6.7 million registered voters, according to the latest state data. That means voter turnout already is at 29%, one day ahead of the general election.
Democrats have cast more advance votes than any other party, Dubicki found. Of ballots already recorded, more than 863,500 came from Democrats, 556,000 from Republicans, 504,600 from unaffiliated voters, and 11,404 from third-party voters, he found.
New Jersey’s most hotly contested and closely watched race also has the most advance votes so far, according to Dubicki’s analysis.
U.S. Rep. Tom Kean Jr., the Republican incumbent in the 7th Congressional District, faces a tough challenge from Democrat Sue Altman, a progressive activist. The district covers Hunterdon and Warren counties and parts of Morris, Somerset, Sussex, and Union counties.
Almost 219,500 people had cast their ballots in the 7th as of Sunday. Overall, Democrats have an edge, casting 82,710 ballots to Republicans’ 78,329 (unaffiliated voters account for 56,889 votes).
Polls will open at 6 a.m. Tuesday and remain open until 8 p.m. Find your polling place here.
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