PASCACK VALLEY AREA — Two of Bergen County’s very first advance polls, ahead of the November 2 general election, are in River Vale and Woodcliff Lake.

According to Bergen County election officials, there will be eight early voting locations across the county, and anyone registered to vote in the Bergen County election will be able to use the venues to vote in person nine days before others. voters in person.

The addresses are:

• River Vale Seniors and Community Center, 628 Rivervale Road
• Woodcliff Lake Tice Seniors Center, 411 Chestnut Ridge Road

Both are open to voting from Saturday, October 23 to Sunday, October 31 (Monday to Saturday, 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. and Sunday, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.)

Other municipalities in Bergen County that organize early voting are Fort Lee, Hackensack, Mahwah, Paramus, Rutherford and Teaneck.

According to the state Elections Division’s voter information portal, as of August 30, as “circumstances may change,” all voters have been urged to wear face coverings and respect social distancing at polling stations for early voting and on polling day.

Advance voting is just one way to submit a ballot in this election. As always, each registered voter can cast only one ballot.

In November, voters will select a governor and the 120 seats in the state legislature. The term of the Bergen County Clerk is being re-elected.

In the Pascack Valley, several governing body seats are contested, including that of the Washington Township mayor, and a number of school board seats are up for grabs.

As of August 2, election officials said there were 683,370 registered voters in the county.

Karen Campanelli, Township of River Vale Clerk, told Pascack Press, “I think it’s a great idea to give people more time to vote, and it’s time for us to increase turnout and turn out. get more people to vote.

She said she consulted with Township Administrator Gennaro Rotella and that it was decided to offer the Elderly and Community Center as an early voting location. She said the county was looking for sites that weren’t in schools.

She said the early voting option would give voters more flexibility in deciding when to go to the polls.

Based on a March order from Gov. Phil Murphy, each county is to establish in-person advance polls based on population. County election officials told us that initially up to 10 locations could be established under Murphy’s order, but the county currently plans to offer eight early polls.

According to Debra Francica, the new County Election Superintendent, each advance polling location will have five new Dominion voting machines that will produce a paper ballot with the voter’s voting choices.

Once this document has been verified, the voter inserts it into a scanner at the polling station for tabulation and storage.

[Founded in 2003, Dominion Voting Systems is a leading global supplier of election technology. After finding itself on the defensive following assertions made about it in the 2020 United States presidential election, it posted a strenuous statement on its website: “Lies and misinformation have diminished the credibility of U.S. elections, subjected hardworking public officials and Dominion employees to harassment and death threats, and severely damaged the reputation of our company. Dominion is taking steps to defend our good name and reputation.” — Ed.]

Each polling station will also have a staff with electronic voting books that can instantly search and verify voter registration, replacing the bulky voting books previously in use, Francica said.

New voting machines and electronic voting records were required by law.

New Jersey became the 25th state to establish early voting when Murphy signed the new law.

Woodcliff Lake Mayor Carlos Rendo, a Republican, said, “I think it’s a positive thing to get more people to the polls and to increase voter turnout. It’s a good opportunity for people to start voting early. Now they have [nine] days before the election to vote.

In a Facebook post on August 27, Rendo said some residents who contacted him were confused by an online post about the state elections telling them they had to withdraw from a postal ballot s ‘they had already submitted a request to receive a mail-in ballot. .

He noted that only voters who had permanently requested a mail-in ballot or specifically requested to get a mail-in ballot for this election would get one this year.

Otherwise, all other registered voters could vote in person during the advance poll period or on polling day, November 2.

Information on early voting will be sent along with sample ballots, Rendo said.

Francica and Bergen County Election Supervisor Sabrina Taranto pointed out that in 2020 all registered voters received postal ballots (or mail) on Murphy’s orders in light of the pandemic .

However, unless an elector specifically files a request to receive a mail-in ballot, they will not receive one this year. The deadline to request a mail-in ballot is October 26.

Taranto said some voters appear to believe they should opt out of postal voting because they voted by mail in 2020.

However, almost everyone has voted by mail in 2020 due to the governor’s order, she said, and there is no need to opt out due to the submission of a postal ballot. Last year.

This is not necessary, she said, and the withdrawal of postal voting is only necessary if a voter has specifically requested to vote by mail in 2021, and subsequently decides that they do. prefers to vote in person in an early vote at one of the eight sites or on November 2 at local polling stations.

These are the only people who may wish to opt out of postal voting, she said.

Taranto said nearly 64,000 voters sent mail-in ballot requests in 2021, just over 10% of the county’s registered voters. She said the postal ballots would come out in October.

To help clear up the confusion among voters. Taranto said the county election office would send out a flyer listing “Three Ways to Vote” in the November 2 election:

• Go to your local polling station on November 2;
• Choose to vote by mail by requesting a mail-in ballot before October 26 if you are not already ready to receive one. To check your voting status, call the county clerk’s office at (201) 336-7020; Where
• Vote in person at one of the eight advance polls.

The flyer lists websites and phone numbers for more information: For questions about registration, call (201) 336-6109. For any questions regarding your polling station, dial (201) 336-6230. For any questions regarding your postal ballot, dial (201) 336-7020.

In addition to a list of the eight early voting sites, the flyer provides a list of 31 drop box locations available across the county for voters submitting mail ballots. These must be deposited or postmarked before 8 p.m. on November 2.

“While early voting [in person] may be brand new, people have been voting early for many years in New Jersey via postal or mail voting, ”Taranto said.

She said mail-in ballots were once called mail-in ballots.