Area voters head to the polls today to chose a governor and decide contested state Legislature, county, municipal and school board races.
Area voters head to the polls today to chose a governor and decide contested state Legislature, county, municipal and school board races.
One of the big local races is in West Windsor where a three-way contest for mayor pits three-term incumbent Shing-Fu Hsueh against West Windsor-Plainsboro school board President Hemant Marathe and challenger Rick Visovsky. Mayor Hsueh has been a fixture in West Windsor politics for the past two decades, first as a councilman starting in 1993 and then as mayor.
While there are no changes to the polling locations themselves, the district at the high school will now cast ballots in the theater instead of the hallway to avoid student traffic, according to Sharon Young, township clerk.
In Princeton, the council race pits incumbent Democrats Jenny Crumiller and Patrick Simon against Republican challenger Fausta Rodriguez Wertz, who does not have a running mate.
Ms. Rodriguez Wertz is trying to become the first Latina to serve in municipal government in Princeton, while Democrats look to hold all six seats on the Princeton Council.
”I hope there’s a high turnout,” Ms. Crumiller said Friday.
Also, Princeton voters will fill three school board seats by choosing from incumbents Andrea Spalla, Molly Chrein, Tom Hagedorn and Metta Khatri.
Polling places are the same as they were for the special U.S. Senate election, according to the municipal clerk’s office.
In West Windsor, voters will also decide who will fill the two four-year term seats up for grabs in the Township Council race. Incumbent Linda Geevers and her running mate, Peter Mendonez, will face incumbent Kamal Khanna and his running mate, Eric Payne, and newcomers Debbie Hepler and Martin Whitfield in the election.
There are also four candidates vying for two West Windsor seats and two candidates vying for one Plainsboro seat on the West Windsor-Plainsboro Board of Education. Yingchao Zhang, Rakesh Kak and Scott Powell are challenging incumbent Louisa Ho for the West Windsor seats and incumbent Alapakkam “Mani” Manikandan and Yu “Taylor” Zhong are running for the Plainsboro seat.
Also in Plainsboro, voters will decide between three candidates for two Township Committee seats. Matt Greenberg is challenging incumbents David Bander and Ed Yates.
Plainsboro Township Clerk Carol J. Torres said there are changes to how voters will enter and exit two polling sites.
Voters in Districts 1 and 2 will now enter and exit Wicoff School through the music room, which is located at the rear of the building. The area is handicapped accessible and parking is permitted on the paved play area.
Voters in Districts 3 and 12 will now enter and exit High School North on the left side of the building in Room A107. The area is handicapped accessible and parking is permitted in the faculty parking area.
Signs will be posted at both locations to assist voters.
In Montgomery, polling places are also the same as they were for the special election, according to Township Clerk Donna Kukla. At that time a permanent change was made to three polling locations.
Registered voters in Districts 2, 3 and 4 no longer vote at the Princeton Elks Lodge 2129 on Route 518 in the Blawenburg section of Montgomery.
District 2 voters now vote in the Blawenburg Firehouse at 529 Route 518 in Montgomery Township. Districts 3 and 4 now vote in the Otto Kaufman Community Center at 356 Skillman Road in Skillman.
All other districts will continue to vote in their same polling places.
There are four choices on the ballot for the two Montgomery Township Committee seats up for election. Incumbents Mayor Ed Trzaska and Deputy Mayor Patricia Graham face newcomers Ernie Willson and Sarah Roberts.
Montgomery voters will also choose three out of four candidates to serve three-year terms on the Board of Education. Since Sandra Donnay made her decision to pull out of the race late, her name will still appear on the ballot next to incumbent Shalini Bhargava and newcomers Dharmesh Doshi, Nicholas Hladick and Ramesh Durvasula. There will also be one uncontested candidate on the ballot, Lei Yu, who is running to fulfill the unexpired term of the board seat he currently holds.