Early in-person voting runs Oct. 24 through Nov. 1, mail ballots are due back by 8 p.m. Nov. 3 and the attorney general's office is staffing voter-protection teams through Election Day. What to know before you vote.

Attorney General Jennifer Davenport on Monday announced a package of election safeguards ahead of the Nov. 3 general election, the first since New Jersey enacted the John R. Lewis Voter Empowerment Act. In-person early voting opens statewide Saturday.

The package runs through the New Jersey Department of Law and Public Safety and is built to assist voters, election officials and law enforcement in resolving voting-related legal matters during the election. It centers on the act, which Gov. Mikie Sherrill signed into law July 2 and which carries a $2.5 million appropriation. The act supplements standing protections against voter intimidation, discrimination and unnecessary barriers to casting a ballot. It puts the New Jersey Division on Civil Rights in charge of investigating and enforcing its provisions. The designation is the structural change; the underlying protections predate the act.

The division will staff a team throughout the early-voting period and on Election Day to take reports of intimidation, deceptive practices, harassment or other unlawful interference with voting at 1-833-653-2748.

The New Jersey Division of Law will keep dedicated attorneys on duty through early voting and Election Day, fielding legal questions from county election officials at any hour. The New Jersey Division of Criminal Justice will monitor claims of election fraud, improper electioneering and other criminal violations, referring reports to law enforcement.

Updated guidance from the attorney general on the role of law enforcement in election activities, covering what officers may do and where their authority ends, has gone out to law enforcement officials statewide. The New Jersey Cybersecurity and Communications Integration Cell, part of the New Jersey Office of Homeland Security and Preparedness, will watch for cyber and physical threats to the election.

“Our democracy's continued success depends on free, fair, and secure elections,” Davenport said. “As eligible New Jerseyans cast their ballots – whether by mail, through secure drop boxes, or in person – we are working to ensure they are protected from any illegal interference with their right to vote.”

The office announced a similar package May 21, ahead of the June primary, and its Voter Protection Initiative has operated during elections since 2022.

Early voting opens Saturday at sites in every county

Registration for this election closed Oct. 13. Early in-person voting runs Saturday, Oct. 24 through Sunday, Nov. 1, at any early-voting site in a voter's home county, with counties designating three to 10 locations depending on their size. Sites operate 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday through Saturday and 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Sundays. Polls open on Election Day, Nov. 3, from 6 a.m. to 8 p.m. County election offices must mail sample ballots to registered voters by Wednesday, Oct. 21.

Voters statewide will decide a U.S. Senate contest between Democratic Sen. Cory Booker and Republican Justin Murphy; petition candidates Veronica Fernandez (End the Corruption!) and Joanne Kuniansky (Socialist Workers Party) are also on the ballot. All 12 of New Jersey's U.S. House seats are up, along with county and municipal races. No governor's race and no state legislative contests appear this year. Some counties and municipalities carry additional local public questions.

Some county clerks are urging voters this year to return mail ballots via secure drop boxes. As of Oct. 14, voters had deposited 48.3% of the 319,422 mail ballots returned statewide in drop boxes and mailed back 47.2%, according to a New Jersey Monitor analysis; the drop-box share was 26.4% in 2023 and 23.9% in 2021 at similar points.

Voters have two other ways to cast a ballot

Voting by mail. Apply through your county clerk by Oct. 27 for a mail-in ballot sent by mail, or in person by 3 p.m. Nov. 2. Ballots returned by mail must be postmarked by 8 p.m. Nov. 3 and received by Nov. 9; counties count ballots lacking a postmark if they arrive within 48 hours of polls closing. Ballots can also go to a secure drop box or the county Board of Elections in person by 8 p.m. Nov. 3.

Every county has at least 10 drop boxes, available 24 hours and collected daily. U.S. Postal Service officials recommend mailing ballots early; voters can ask a retail clerk to hand-stamp a postmark at no charge.

The Postal Service said this week that its election-mail processes “will be consistent with previous election cycles.” Mail ballots cannot be returned at early-voting or Election Day polling sites. The deadline to opt out of mail-in voting for this election passed Aug. 31. Voters who received a mail ballot but want to vote at the polls will use a paper provisional ballot on Election Day. Forms to fix a signature problem must reach the county by Nov. 14.

At the polls. The no-electioneering zone may be wider at some sites: a 2025 law lets county boards of elections stretch it from 100 feet to as much as 200 feet around polling places and drop boxes alike, and a board that does must post notice of the zone and its penalties before it takes effect.

Help lines. Intimidation or access problems: Division on Civil Rights, 1-833-653-2748 (1-833-NJDCR4U). Voter assistance or to report a voting problem: 1-877-658-6837 (1-877-NJVOTER).

Davenport, the state's 63rd attorney general, coordinates the safeguards package; the state Senate confirmed her 38-0 in February. Acting Secretary of State Shirley Emehelu, the state's chief election official, oversees the New Jersey Division of Elections, and administration runs through the 21 county election offices. New Jersey had 6,725,177 registered voters heading into October, up 15,706 from a month earlier, according to New Jersey Globe figures.

Federal observers can monitor polls only in Union County

Union County voters may see federal election observers at polling places under a 2023 court agreement that resolved claims involving Spanish-language election materials and the right of voters who need assistance to choose who provides it. Court orders are now the only way federal observers can be stationed inside polling places, a power largely dormant since the U.S. Supreme Court's 2013 decision in Shelby County v. Holder. Justice Department records show no other such agreement in the state, and the Union County agreement is scheduled to expire Dec. 31, 2026, unless the Justice Department asks the court to extend it.

Monday's announcement also said the attorney general's office is preparing for the possibility of federal interference with the state's elections. It did not identify any specific federal action or threat.

Voters can confirm registration status, polling locations, early-voting sites and ballot tracking through their county election office or the Division of Elections' voter portal. For assistance, call 1-877-658-6837.

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Sources

• New Jersey Division of Elections, "In-Person Early Voting" (updated Sept. 17, 2026; accessed Oct. 21, 2026)
• New Jersey Division of Elections, "Vote-by-Mail" (updated June 2, 2026; accessed Oct. 21, 2026)
• New Jersey Legislature, "P.L. 2025, c.92 (S3850, First Reprint): Permits county boards of elections to extend distance within which electioneering is prohibited" (approved July 8, 2025)
• New Jersey Legislature, "P.L. 2026, c.31 (A1715): John R. Lewis Voter Empowerment Act of New Jersey" (approved July 2, 2026)
• United States v. Union County et al., "Consent Decree and Order," U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey, Docket No. 2:23-cv-02531, Document No. 14 (June 12, 2023)
• David Wildstein, "N.J. voter rolls grow by 15,706 in September as Democrats outpace Republicans," New Jersey Globe (Oct. 1, 2026)
• "NJ county clerks nudge mail voters to drop boxes for 2026 election," New Jersey Monitor (Oct. 15, 2026)
• New Jersey Office of the Attorney General, "Attorney General Davenport Announces Safeguards to Protect the Right to Vote During the 2026 Primary Election" (May 21, 2026)
• New Jersey Office of the Attorney General, "Attorney General Davenport Announces Safeguards to Protect the Right to Vote During the 2026 General Election" (Oct. 19, 2026)
• Office of the Governor, "Governor Sherrill Signs Historic Legislation Making New Jersey First State to Enact Voting Rights Reform Following Supreme Court Decision" (July 2, 2026)
• U.S. Postal Service, "U.S. Postal Service Says It's Business as Usual for the 2026 Election" (Oct. 20, 2026)