Are you ready to vote in NJ’s 2023 primary election on June 6th?
Q. What is a primary election?
A. The primary election is where registered voters can choose their party’s candidate. The winning candidates will go up in the general election in November.
Q. Why are primary elections important?
A. Primaries are how we decide which candidates from the 2 big parties will represent each party during the November elections. Republican candidates compete against each other, and Democrats compete against each other. The winners of the primaries face off in November.
Primaries are our first chance to show our support, or note our concern, with candidates. If you get a jump on learning about what candidates represent in the primaries, you’re more likely to care which candidate is put forth in November. We want the best candidates competing in the general elections. The primaries allow citizens to shape that process early on.
Primaries let citizens engage in the civic process on the ground level. We aren’t waiting until November to see who we wind up with on the ballot, we’re actively helping to choose those people!
Q. How do I learn more about the candidates who are competing for my vote?
A. Learn where candidates running for office in your community stand on the issues. Only candidates that appear on your ballot, based on the address you enter, will be listed. You can print, email, or text the information to use as a reference when you actually vote.
Q. Can anyone who is registered to vote, vote in the primary election?
A. You will need to be affiliated with either the Democratic of Republican party to vote.
If you are registered to vote, but not affiliated with any party, just go to your polling place on June 6 between 6:00 AM – 8:00 PM. Tell the poll workers which primary you’d like to vote in — Democratic or Republican. They will provide a Political Party Affiliation Declaration Form to fill out. Once you have voted, you can fill out another form to change your status back to “Unaffiliated” if you want.
With the NJ Primary coming up, June 6th, now is the time to check the status of your voter registration and find out where you can vote.
Q. Where do I vote?
A. You can find your voting poll location here: https://voter.svrs.nj.gov/polling-place-search
Q. Am I registered to vote?
A. Check your voter registration status at https://voter.svrs.nj.gov/registration-check
Q. Why should I vote?
A. The law does not require citizens to vote, but voting is a very important part of any democracy. By voting, citizens are participating in the democratic process. Citizens vote for leaders to represent them and their ideas, and the leaders support the citizens’ interests.
Was your voting location not accessible? Please use this feedback form: https://www.nj.gov/state/elections/voting-access-feedback-form.shtml
Call 1-877-NJ-Voter (1-877-658-6837) with any voting question!
Important NJ primary dates to remember:
- April 22: Mail-in ballots for the primary election will begin to be mailed
- May 16: Voter registration deadline to vote in the primary
- May 30: Deadline to apply for a mail-in ballot by mail to vote in the primary
- June 2 – June 4: Early in-person voting period
- June 5 – by 3 p.m.: Deadline for in-person, mail-in ballot applications for primary
- June 6: Primary election day
- June 6: Deadline for post office receipt of mail-in ballots from the primary
- June 12: Deadline for receipt of timely mailed postmarked mail-in ballots to county boards of election