You can register to vote either online or with the general or county-specific voter registration paper form. Along with registering to vote, you can also choose to request a mail-in ballot for the next election, and/or designate a party affiliation.
You should also use a registration form if you are already registered but need to change your address, name or signature on file.
You can return your paper registration forms either through the mail (the earlier the better!) or by bringing them to the County Commissioner of Registration or Superintendent of Elections for your county.
The local elections offices can help with questions or to drop off a registration form if you don't register online:
When you register to vote, you may choose to affiliate with a party at that time, or you may choose to remain unaffiliated. Unaffiliated voters may vote in the general election but not in a primary unless they declare their affiliation.
To declare or change a party affiliation, a Political Party Affiliation Declaration Form must be sent to the Commissioner of Registration for the county in which you’re registered:
By mail:
Deputy Superintendent of Elections/Commissioner of Registration
John Brzozowski
Address: Hudson County Plaza, 257 Cornelison Avenue, 4th Floor, Jersey City, NJ 07302
Office Hours: 8:30am-4:30pm
201-369-7740; (FAX) 201-369-7743
Website: www.hudsoncountyclerk.org/fyi/
In person:
Municipal Clerk: James J. Farina, RMC
Municipal Deputy Clerk: Jerry Lore
Address: 94 Washington St., Hoboken, NJ 07030
Office Hours: M – F, 9 am – 4 pm
201-420-2073; (FAX) 201-420-2085
VOTING
Once you apply for a mail-in ballot, you won't be able to vote in person at your polling place. If you are listed as having received a mail-in ballot but go to your polling place to vote in person, you will still have the option to submit a provisional ballot, which the poll workers are legally bound to give you on request.
HOW TO GET THE BALLOT
Ballots can be sent to you or picked up by an "Authorized Messenger" (such as a family member; see application for more details) who will then bring it to you.
APPLY AT THE COUNTY CLERK'S OFFICE AND VOTE IMMEDIATELY
If you apply in person at the County Clerk's office, you can, if you so choose, fill out the ballot and give it right back to the County Clerk, who will make sure it gets to the office of the Superintendent of Elections/Commissioner of Registration and counted accordingly.
AUTOMATIC ENROLLMENT
Note: Voters who received mail-in ballots in 2020 as a result of the pandemic are not automatically enrolled for mail-in ballots going forward. Check your voter account to find out your current status. If you are not signed up for perpetual mail-in ballots but would like to be, check the box on the request form.
Hoboken: 33rd legislative district, 8th Congressional district
Jersey City: 31st/33rd legislative districts, 8th/10th Congressional districts (use the links below to search with a full address)
Image: Map of the 8th Congressional District (source: ziplook.house.gov)
"If you did not provide identification to the county commissioner of registration or if the identification information could not be verified (i.e., your driver's license number or the last four digits of your social security number), YOU MAY BE ASKED TO SHOW IDENTIFICATION AT THE POLLING PLACE WHEN YOU GO TO VOTE.
Identification may include, but not limited to, any Current and Valid Photo ID:
If you show identification, you will vote in the voting machine."
-- Source: NJ Department of State: Division of Elections: Voting Options in New Jersey (emphasis in the original)
Each county has three offices that are involved in elections: the County Clerk, the Superintendent of Elections/Commissioner of Registration (some county officials serve as both roles while other counties have one or the other), and the Board of Elections. The three offices all play their own part in the overall running of voter registration and elections. Check their responsibilities below to know who to ask for what.