About 175,000 people have applied to vote through the state’s well publicized new vote-by-mail program.
Somerset County Clerk Bret Radi, who as county clerk section chief is responsible for coordinating the statewide information on the program, called it a success.
“Our collective efforts have made this transition smooth and successful for voters," he said.
Of the 175,000, just over 100,000 have cast their ballots About 5,200 applications have been rejected for various reaons, including lack of signatures, signatures that do not match those on file and even in some cases bein sent by a person who is not registered to vote.
The totals are well below the number of absentee ballots submitted in 2008, when 245,909 New Jersey residents voted by mail. But that was a presidential year, where many more residents typically vote than in gubernatorial elections.
“I honestly don’t know the expectations that the parties set for themselves. As far as my expectations for my particular county, I personally didn’t expect to do as many as we did in last year’s presidential election,” said Radi.
Tags: 000 People, Absentee Ballots, Collective Efforts, County Clerk, Gubernatorial Elections, Jersey Residents, Mail Program, New Jersey Politics, New Mail, Presidential Election, Radi, Section Chief, Signatures, Somerset County, Transition, Vote