OCEAN COUNTY – You not only have a choice as to who you vote for, you can also choose how you are going to cast your ballot for the upcoming General Election.
There are several options including vote-by-mail, early voting and going out to the polls on Election Day, which is on Nov. 8.
Voters can visit the Ocean County Clerk’s website at oceancountyclerk.com to find more information. Ocean County Clerk Scott M. Colabella said, “the website and also the sample ballots contain the information voters need to determine the best and most convenient way for them to cast a ballot.”
Election Day
“Polls are open on Election Day, Nov. 8 from 6 a.m. to 8 p.m. in all voting districts in Ocean County,” Colabella said.
Polling locations can be found by visiting oceancountyclerk.com.
The process of voting on Election Day has not changed.
Early Voting
Early voting is scheduled to begin on Oct. 29 and will run until Nov. 6. There will be 10 early voting sites and the hours will run from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m., Monday through Saturday and 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Sunday.
“Early voting gives voters an expanded window of time to cast their ballot. A voter can visit any of the 10 early voting sites and cast their ballot,” said Ocean County Commissioner Gary Quinn.
“It doesn’t matter which early voting site you choose to cast your vote. All 10 sites have the ballots for all 33 municipalities. Early voting allows you to vote in person, on a secure state of the art technology voting machine and electronic poll book so that any voter from any election district can cast the proper ballot at any of the 10 locations in the County,” Quinn added.
The early voting sites in Ocean County include:
- the Berkeley Township branch of the Ocean County Library, 30 Station Road, Bayville;
- the Brick Township branch of the Ocean County Library, 301 Chambersbridge Road, Brick;
- the Jackson Township branch of the Ocean County Library, 2 Jackson Drive, Jackson;
- the Lacey Community Center, (Former Knights of Columbus Building), Room C, 15 E Lacey Road, Lacey Township;
- the Lakewood Township Municipal Building, Courtroom, 231 3rd St., Lakewood;
- the Upper Shores Branch of the Ocean County Library, 112 Jersey City Ave., Lavallette;
- the Little Egg Harbor Township Branch of the Ocean County Library; 290 Mathistown Road, Little Egg Harbor Township;
- the Ocean County Southern Service Center, nutrition site, 179 S Main St., Manahawkin;
- the Manchester Township Branch of the Ocean County Library, 21 Colonial Dr., Manchester Township;
- the Toms River branch of the Ocean County Library, 101 Washington St., Toms River.
Vote By Mail
Quinn also noted that the Ocean County Clerk’s Office has issued almost 58,000 vote-by-mail ballots. Sample ballots began being sent to Ocean County residents on Oct. 26.
Voters can also apply and pick up a vote by mail ballot at the County Clerk’s Office up until 3 p.m., Nov. 7, which is the cutoff for issuing vote by mail ballots.
The deadline for vote by mail ballot applications is Nov. 1 for those sent to his office by way of the U.S. Postal Service.
There are 20 secure vote-by-mail ballot drop off boxes strategically located throughout the county. The drop off deadline is 8 p.m., Nov. 8.
“Most of these boxes are located on Ocean County Library branch properties, so they have security cameras in the area and are frequented by security,” Quinn said. “It’s important our voters know their votes are secure and count.”
The drop off box locations are:
- Ocean County Library, Barnegat Branch, 112 Burr St., Barnegat Township;
- Beachwood Library branch, 126 Beachwood Blvd., Beachwood;
- Berkeley Township Library branch, 30 Station Road, Bayville;
- Brick Township Library branch, 301 Chambers Bridge Road, Brick Township;
- Jackson Township Library branch, 2 Jackson Drive, Jackson Township;
- Lacey Township Library branch, 10 E. Lacey Road, Forked River;
- Upper Shores Branch, Ocean County Library, 112 Jersey City Ave., Lavallette;
- Little Egg Harbor Township Library branch, 290 Mathistown Road, Little Egg Harbor Township;
- the Ocean County Northern Resource Center – 225 4th St., Lakewood;
- Ocean County Southern Service Center, 179 South Main St., Manahawkin;
- Manchester Township Library branch, 21 Colonial Drive, Manchester Township
- Plumsted Township Library branch, 119 Evergreen Road, New Egypt;
- Point Pleasant Library branch, 834 Beaver Dam Road, Point Pleasant;
- Long Beach Island Library branch, 217 S. Central Ave., Surf City;
- Toms River Library branch, 101 Washington St., Toms River;
- Ocean County Courthouse, 118 Washington St., Toms River;
- Ocean County Parking Garage, 3rd Floor, Madison Ave., Toms River;
- PIC, Inc. of Ocean County, 1959 Route 9, Toms River;
- Waretown Library branch, 112 Main St., Waretown,
- the Whiting Reading Center/Library, 400 Lacey Road, Suite 5, Whiting.
Vote by mail ballots can also be dropped off at the Ocean County Board of Elections Office at 129 Hooper Ave., Toms River, until 8 p.m. Election Day.
Quinn strongly suggested, “you review the sample ballot when you receive it. It has a lot of information on the process of how to cast your ballot along with the candidates on your ballot.”
Ocean County has 459,480 registered voters. The 2022 General Election includes races for Congressional seats in Districts 2 and 4, two seats on the Ocean County Board of Commissioners and the Ocean County Sheriff, 45 municipal contests, 41 school board contests and municipal ballot questions in Ocean Township and Barnegat Township.
