Vote By Mail request due by 4:30 p.m. on Oct. 30
Nov. 6 is Election Day

FREEHOLD TOWNSHIP, NJ – Monmouth County’s registered voters who will not be able to vote at their designated polling place and would like to vote by mail in advance of Election Day 2012, have until 4:30 p.m. on Tuesday, Oct. 30 to request a Vote By Mail ballot.

“Once a voter receives an official election ballot through the vote by mail program, it should be completed and returned by mail to the Board of Elections office at 300 Halls Mill Rd. in Freehold.” Monmouth County Clerk M. Claire French said. “The completed ballot must be received in the Board of Elections Office by the 8 p.m. close of polls on Election Day, Nov. 6.”

If you are not sure your ballot will arrive at the election offices by the close of poles, you can also return the ballot in person or by authorized messenger to the 300 Halls Mill Rd. election offices.  

Additionally, any registered voter who misses the Oct. 30 deadline to request a ballot by mail can go to the county election offices at 300 Halls Mill Rd. in Freehold and vote in person, or by authorized messenger, up until 3 p.m. on Monday, Nov. 5.

“Walk-in voters are really using the Vote By Mail program,” said Bertha Sumick Commissioner of Registration. “Voters at the county election offices use Vote By Mail applications to request their ballots and most voters opt to vote right here.”

The offices are open weekdays from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., but will have extended hours closer to Election Day. The extended office hours are from 8:30 a.m. to 9 p.m. on Friday, Nov. 2, from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Saturday, Nov. 3. Election Day, Tuesday, Nov. 6 the hours are from 6 a.m. to 8 p.m.

Election information can be found on the County Clerk’s page of the Monmouth County Web site at www.visitmonmouth.com. Contact the Monmouth County Clerk’s Election Office at 732-431-7790 for additional information.

“There is no reason for a registered voter to miss out on voting in the upcoming Nov. 6 election,” said Monmouth County Freeholder Lillian G. Burry, liaison to the county’s election departments. “If you know who you want to vote for and might not be able to vote in person on Election Day, there is still time to apply to vote by mail.” 

Election rules allow voters to vote prior to the election for any reason. If a voter chooses to Vote By Mail, they must apply for a Mail-In Ballot for each election, unless he or she designates otherwise in the “Voter Options” section of the Application for a Vote By Mail Ballot.

French also reminds voters that once they apply for a Vote By Mail ballot, they will not be permitted to vote by machine at their polling place on Election Day. 

The County Clerk’s election office, Superintendent of Elections’ office and the Board of Elections’ office work in tandem to coordinate voting prior to Election Day.  

Election Day is Tuesday, Nov. 6. The polls are open from 6 a.m. to 8 p.m. The regular election office hours are weekdays from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

The Vote By Mail ballot has replaced the absentee ballot. Any registered voter can use the Vote By Mail program and vote prior to Election Day.

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