By Deborah R. Bozarth

The fall campaign is in full swing.

Voters will be choosing a governor as well as filling all 120 seats in the Legislature on Tuesday, November 2, 2021.

The top of this year’s ballot will feature Governor Phil Murphy running for re-election against Republican Jack Ciattiarelli, a former assemblyman.

If he wins, Murphy would be the first Democrat elected to a second term as governor in more than 40 years.

Normally, in the first year after a census, the legislative races would be conducted using newly drawn district lines, but the data from the 2020 census was delayed and this year’s races for Assembly and the New Jersey Senate are being run under the map that was created in 2011.

All of the legislative seats being filled this year will have two-year terms and new district maps will be drawn for the 2023 legislative election when all 120 seats will be up again.

You can see a full list of the Senate candidates here.

You can see the full list of Assembly candidates here.

Currently Democrats have a 25-14 majority in the Senate with one seat vacant.

In the Assembly, the Democrats have a 52-28 majority.

The top of this year’s ballot will feature Governor Phil Murphy running for re-election against Republican Jack Ciattiarelli, a former assemblyman.

If he wins, Murphy would be the first Democrat elected to a second term as governor in more than 40 years.

There also will be two statewide ballot questions.

Public Question 1 would amend the state constitution to permit wagering at casinos or current or former racetracks on all college sports or athletic events, including those taking place in New Jersey or that involve New Jersey colleges or universities.

Public Question 2 would amend the New Jersey Constitution to allow organizations that are permitted to conduct games of chance such as bingo or raffles to use the proceeds from those games to support their groups.

Voters also will elect county, and other local officials.

Now that you know what is on the ballot, here is a short primer on the new voting rules in effect for this year.

• Early voting will be used for the first time in New Jersey. Under a new law, early voting for general elections starts on the 10th calendar day before Election Day and ends on the second calendar day before the election.
• The new law requires that early voting be conducted on paper ballots that can be scanned by machine readers.
• The law also requires each county to set up a minimum of three early voting locations. Counties are permitted a maximum of five, seven or 10 early voting locations depending on depending on the number of registered voters in a given county with the state providing reimbursement for the  cost of those early voting locations.
• Voters are permitted to vote at any early voting site in the county they live in.
• Early voting hours are from at least 10:00  am.to 8:00 pm, Monday through Saturday and from at least 10:00 am to 6:00 pm on Sundays.
• The deadline to register in order to vote in this year’s General Election is October 12.

Eligible voters have two options they can use to register to vote:

1. You can register to vote by filling out an online application. Voters must submit their date of birth  and a current driver’s license or identification card issues by the New Jersey Motor Vehicles Commission or submit their Social Security number in order to register online;
2. You can register by printing out and submitting a paper application.

Voting is our right as citizens and is one of the most patriotic things we can do as Americans, so make sure you vote, regardless of which method you use.

• Registered voters  can vote by mail for any reason, but you must request a Vote by Mail ballot. You will not automatically receive a Vote by Mail ballot if you do not request it.
• Polls will be open on Election Day from 6:00 am to 8:00 pm.

Make sure you vote.

Deborah R. Bozarth is the Director of Governmental Relations for the New Jersey Association for Justice, Inc. She is also the Administrator for the Association’s Political Action Committee, NJAJ PAC.