Voter rolls in New Jersey up by more than a half-million

By Kristine Snodgrass, The Packet Group
   More than a half-million new voters have registered in New Jersey this year leaving officials rushing to process the applications by Election Day.
   Secretary of State Nina Mitchell Wells said last week that voter registration figures for the state show an increase of 342,529 registered voters since the last presidential election in 2004, and 575,145 have been processed since Jan. 1. The total number of registered voters in the state has reached 5.3 million.
   Officials are continuing to process registrations, and final numbers will not be available until closer to Election Day. The deadline to register to vote was Oct. 14.
   Betty Monroe, Mercer County superintendent of elections, said 33,344 new voters have registered as Democrats in the county since last November. On the Republican side, 6,786 have registered in the same period. As a consequence, Mercer County now has 83,372 registered Democrats, 32,390 registered Republicans and 106,253 unaffiliated voters in the county, according to state data released this week.
   Ms. Monroe said her office staff of 22 employees was working late nights last week and all weekend in order to process the new registrations. County employees from other departments were also brought in to help out, she said.
       The Mercer County Clerk’s Election Office will also be open until 8:30 p.m. every night this week to receive absentee ballot forms to vote in Tuesday’s election. The hours are from 8:30 a.m. to 8:30 p.m. through Friday this week and on Saturday 8:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. The Election Office is located on the second floor of the Old Courthouse at 209 South Broad St., in Trenton.
   While the last day for filing an application for an absentee ballot by mail was Tuesday, Oct. 28, voters may still apply for an absentee ballot in person up until 3 p.m. on Monday, the day before the election. In order to obtain an absentee ballot, persons must be registered to vote in Mercer County.
   Under New Jersey law, registered voters do not need to be out-of-state to vote by absentee ballot and do not need to provide a reason for requesting one.
   The Mercer County Clerk’s Office has on-site a registered voter and signature verification system so voters will receive their absentee ballot on the spot. State officials last week also addressed concerns about the reliability of electronic voting machines. A Princeton University report released last week said 10,000 voting machines that will be used in the upcoming election are highly vulnerable to hacking.
   Secretary Wells and officials from the state Division of Elections expressed confidence in the voting process, and said they do not anticipate problems on Nov. 4.
   The secretary cited a state-commissioned report that called into question the methodology of the Princeton study, and said the machines have undergone extensive federal testing.
   The state Division of Elections anticipates a record turnout for Election Day. To avoid long lines, Secretary Wells advised going to vote during off-peak hours, between 10 a.m. and 3 p.m., when lines are expected to be shorter. Polls will be open from 6 a.m. to 8 p.m.