Everything To Know About The New Jersey 2018 Midterm Elections
Election Day 2018 is coming up fast. Here’s what you need to know about candidates, key races, polling places, and more ahead of Nov. 6.
Voter Information
Polls in New Jersey open at 6 a.m. and close at 8 p.m. on Election Day.
If you’re not sure where to go to vote, you can find your polling place here. If you won’t be in town on Election Day, don’t worry. You can vote by absentee ballot:
- The application must be received by the county clerk 7 days prior to the election.
- The voter may also apply in person to the county clerk until 3 p.m., the day before the election.
Sample Ballots
Curious about what your ballot will look like on Nov. 6? Check the links below for a glance at what you’ll find inside the booth on Election Day. The county ballots are broken down by municipality and precinct.
Voting Rights
Voting is one of the most precious rights that Americans have. But there are rules to follow. Find all your voter rights by clicking here (by language).
Race for Senator
The Battle of the Bobs is on, and it may prove to be a tougher fight than anyone in New Jersey thought.
Earlier this month, a Stockton University poll of voters in the 2018 U.S. Senate race revealed a “statistical dead heat” between incumbent Democrat Bob Menendez over his Republican challenger Bob Hugin, a former drug company executive, with Menendez leading Hugin by a mere 2 points (45 percent to 43 percent).
Other polls have shown Menendez with a narrow lead of 5 to 7 points despite New Jersey being a solid blue state that hasn’t elected a Republican senator in more than 40 years.
Menendez has been dogged by corruption accusations for years, and a federal trial that ended with a deadlocked jury last year has done little to change those perceptions. Indeed, Hugin has spent millions of dollars reminding voters about the trial.
Menendez was charged with conspiring with Salomon Melgen, a Florida ophthalmologist, in an alleged bribery and corruption scandal that involved gifts and campaign contributions. Menendez, on the other hand, has attacked Hugin for running a company that allegedly gouged the public by charging exhorbitant prices for cancer drugs.
U.S. House of Representatives Races
New Jersey is historically a blue state but there are a few key Congressional races which could help determine the balance of power for the next two years.
New Jersey’s current delegation of 12 includes seven Democrats and five Republicans. In the US House, there are currently 235 Republicans and 193 Democrats, and seven vacancies. Democrats have serious work to do if they hope to flip Congress.
One of the seats Democrats hope to flip is District 11, where Democrat Mikie Sherrill is running against Republican Jay Webber. District 11, which is largely in Morris and Essex counties, has long been considered a solidly Republican district, and this is the first time in decades that there is a competitive race there.
Current Rep. Rodney Frelinghuysen, the chair of the House Committee on Appropriations, has held the seat since 1995; the seat was last held by a Democrat in the mid 1980s. Read more: 5 Questions With Your 11th District Candidates, Webber & Sherrill
Another seat that Democrats hope to flip is District 2, where Democrat Jeff Van Drew maintains his lead among voters, according to a recent poll.
Van Drew held steady with 55 percent of the respondents in a recent Stockton University poll voicing their preference for the current state senator. Republican Seth Grossman pulled in 38 percent of the vote. Five percent say they will vote for some other candidate and 2 percent are unsure or picking nobody.
The Second Congressional District includes Atlantic, Cape May, Cumberland and Salem counties, and parts of Burlington, Camden, Gloucester and Ocean counties.
Van Drew’s double-digit lead reflects the evolving political makeup of the congressional district that has sent a Republican to Congress – Frank LoBiondo — for the past 24 years. LoBiondo is retiring. Read more: Van Drew Maintains Lead In Race For LoBiondo’s Seat In New Poll
Other competitive races include:
- In the traditionally GOP 3rd District, Democrat Andy Kim is running a competitive race against inclumbent Republican Tom MacArthur. In this district, which spans parts of Ocean and Burlington counties, MacArthur has been criticized for his efforts to eliminate the Affordable Care Act and pass a tax cut that’s been viewed as harmful to New Jerseyans. Read more: 5 Questions With Your 3rd District Candidates, MacArthur And Kim
- In District 7, Tom Malinowski, a Democrat, is running a competitive race against incumbent Leonard Lance, a Republican. Malinowski has criticzed Lance for his positions on healthcare, immigration, gun control and taxes, even though Lance has mostly sided with Democrats on those issues over the past year. Read more: WATCH: NJ-7 Candidates Lance, Malinowski Debate
$500 Million School Bond Referendum
There’s a vote on Election Day that’s going to hit home maybe more than any other vote – congressional or otherwise – that day.
Voters will decide on the $500 million “Securing Our Children’s Future Bond Act” that’s supposed to boost school security, improve water safety and and expand programs at community colleges and vocational schools. The referendum will be held on Election Day, Nov. 6.
Though lawmakers haven’t provided specifics on how the money will be spent, they did say the school security portion of the legislation was inspired by the mass shootings in Parkland, Fla. earlier this year.
“Nothing is more important than the safety of our schoolchildren,” said Senate President Steve Sweeney. “The horror of school shootings from Newtown, Ct. in 2012 to Parkland, Fla. makes it clear that we need to do everything we can to make our schools safe, and that includes improving the security of our school buildings.”
Lead also continues to be a problem in some water systems. Newark officials recently kicked off a massive effort to distribute lead water filters to residents after a recent study revealed that corrosion control is “no longer effective” in some parts of the city’s water network. Read more: Newark Hands Out Thousands Of Lead Water Filters After Lawsuit
The plan’s created debate within the Murphy administration and among lawmakers, many of whom wanted more money.
Lawmakers revised the plan after Gov. Phil Murphy initially vetoed it. Murphy effectively cut what was a $1 billion plan in half, saying the state wasn’t ready to add that much debt.
In the final plan, Sen. Anthony Bucco, R-Morris said Murphy cut the school security funding in a way that is a “total lapse in judgment.”
“If the governor is so concerned about keeping our schools safe from gun violence, then I question why he would mandate such a drastic cut in school security,” Bucco said.
The bipartisan legislation, S-2293, originally authorized $1 billion in general obligation bonds to provide grants for vo-tech expansion, school security projects, and school district water infrastructure. The law authorized a public referendum in the upcoming November election.
Murphy’s veto cut the vo-tech school expansion and school security portion from $800 million to $350 million, Bucco said.
“We must guarantee that all New Jersey schools are safe and welcoming places, where students can reach their dreams, and where teachers can inspire them without fear,” Bucco said. “Governor Murphy’s failure to fully-fund school security places students, teachers, and our local communities in harm’s way. I am disappointed to see Governor Murphy pass the buck on this one.”
Others were more complimentary. Sen. Steven Oroho, R-Sussex, Warren, Morris, said New Jersey’s county vo-tech schools have been forced to turn away about 17,000 students each year.
“The Securing Our Children’s Future Bond Act will give more students the opportunity to access the training they need to succeed in New Jersey’s rapidly-evolving workforce – something our top-quality vo-tech programs are designed to do,” Oroho said.
Oroho said the money will allow county vocational-technical school districts and county colleges to upgrade facilities to meet the needs of technical education programs as well as improved school security and updated school water infrastructure.
“While I would have preferred the original legislation as passed by the Legislature, I believe the ballot question still represents a solid investment in our children’s future and I am confident the voters will view it that way,” Oroho concluded.
Patch file photo
