Election 2020

The November 3rd General Election will primarily be held through vote-by-mail. All active registered New Jersey voters will automatically receive a prepaid return-postage vote-by-mail ballot from their County Clerks. Essex County began mailing ballots on September 23, 2020. Voters can choose to:

• mail in their ballot
• return their ballot through a secure drop box
• hand their ballot directly to a poll worker at a polling place on Election Day
• vote in-person

Mail-in Your Ballot

The deadline to apply for a mail-in-ballot for the general election if you did not receive one is October 27th. The deadline to submit an in-person mail-in-ballot application for the general election is November 2nd by 3pm. All ballots returned through the US Postal Service must carry a postmark by November 3rd, and be received by the County Clerk no later than 8 p.m. Tuesday, November 10th. Ballots which lack postmarks due to postal error received by 8 p.m. Thursday, November 5th will also be considered valid.

The Essex County Clerk’s office will be mailing the last batch of mail in ballots on Saturday, October 24th. If you have still not received a ballot, you can pick up a replacement ballot next week in person at the Essex County Hall of Records in Newark, or at the end of the week at the Turtleback Zoo Education Center in West Orange:

Pick up a replacement ballot at the Turtleback Zoo Education Center at 516 Northfield, West Orange, NJ

• Thursday, October 29th from 9:00 AM until 2:00 PM
• Friday, October 30th from 9:00 AM until 2:00 PM
• Saturday, October 31st from 9:00 AM until noon; or

Pick up a replacement ballot in the lobby at the Essex County Hall of Records at 465 Dr Martin Luther King Jr Boulevard, Newark, NJ

• Monday-Friday from 9:00 AM until 5:00 PM
• Saturday, October 31st from 9:00 AM until 4:00 PM

To track your mail-in ballot, visit the New Jersey Voter Registration System online and create an account if you don't already have one. You can also call your County Election Officials to track your mail-in ballot. CLICK HERE to watch a video from the Essex County Clerk's Office to learn more. CLICK HERE to watch a video from the State of New Jersey about how to vote by mail.

Secure Drop Box

A drop box has been installed in front of the Roseland Police Station (15 Harrison Avenue) for residents who do not want to send in their ballot through the Roseland Post Office. The drop box is open 24 hours a day, monitored by security cameras, and collected daily by county election officials. Please be sure to NOT drop off your ballot in the separate dropbox located by the front door of Borough Hall (140 Eagle Rock Avenue) as that is only for tax payments, water and sewer payments, and submitting other documents and payments to Borough Hall. Ballots must be deposited in the box by 8pm on Election Day in order to be counted.

Vote In Person

Any voter who chooses to cast their vote in-person will do so on a provisional ballot. Voters can also choose to fill out the ballot mailed to them and drop the completed ballot off in person at their normal polling location or it can be dropped off at the Essex County Board of Elections by 8pm on Election Day (465 Martin Luther King Blvd, Room 411, in Newark). All Roseland polling locations will be open during normal voting hours from 6am until 8pm on Election Day.

District 1 and 4 votes at 19 Harrison Avenue, Districts 2 and 3 vote at the First Aid Squad, and District 5 and 6 will vote at the Roseland Public Library. 

CLICK HERE to see based on what street you live on, what district you are in and where you need to go to vote in person.

Note that you will be required to sign the registration book upon submission of mail in ballot. You will NOT be able to vote by machine unless you are hearing impaired. Individuals with disabilities will have access to an ADA-conforming voting machine.

If you have additional questions related to the election in November, please reach out to Borough Clerk Jock Watkins at 973-403-6029 or the County Clerk's Office at 973-621-4921.