Lots Of Uncounted Votes In Essex Countys 2020 Elections: Report – Montclair, NJ Patch

ESSEX COUNTY, NJ — Hundreds of vote-by-mail ballots arrived too late to be counted in local elections throughout Essex County this year, a report says.

Nonpartisan elections took place earlier this month in Belleville, Irvington, Montclair, Newark, Nutley and Orange. Voting took place via mail due to the coronavirus crisis; there were no in-person polling places.

Ballots needed to be postmarked by May 12. The county clerk’s office certified the results on May 18.

However, since the May 12 deadline, a wave of ballots have continued to arrive at the Essex County Board of Elections via the United States Postal Service, the New Jersey Globe reported earlier this week. (Read the full article)

According to the Globe:

• 674 ballots arrived too late to be counted in Montclair
• Nutley has had 140 ballots returned
• 222 additional votes in Orange have come in since May 14 that won’t be counted
• Newark had 646 uncounted ballots, Irvington had 183, and Belleville had 76

The uncounted ballots could possibly have swung several races, including in Montclair, where the contest for mayor was decided by just 195 votes.

The issue isn’t unique to Essex County; nearly 1,300 vote-by-mail ballots were delivered after the deadline in Bergen County, the Globe reported.

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