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    • How many people voted in the early 2024 elections?
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    How many people voted in the early 2024 elections?

    Harry Posted on

    3 minute read

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    More people than ever participated in early voting in New Jersey.

    During nine days of in-person early voting in the state, 1,172,842 people went to the polls, and lines appeared almost daily in some places.

    Of the 1,113,134 mail-in ballots sent, 763,178 have already been returned.

    Of the voters who used the early option, 556 thousand 442 were Republicans and 863 thousand 574 were Democrats. There were also more than 500,000 independent voters who voted.

    What did the experts say?

    Ashley Koning, an adjunct research professor and director of the Eagleton Center for Public Interest Polling at Rutgers University, attributed turnout to the presidential race at the top of the ticket, but noted that races at all levels would benefit from turnout.

    “I think the early voting turnout numbers are no surprise, given the high-profile presidential race and the growing perception that this cycle is a consequential election for the country,” he said. “Downballot races for everything from a U.S. Senate seat to contentious contests like CD7 will benefit from having Harris and Trump on top.”

    Koning also noted that the last presidential election was held at the height of the pandemic, adding, “For a change from last election, New Jersey voters on both sides of the aisle are certainly taking full advantage of early voting.”

    Last year, only 124,197 people used the early in-person voting option and 421,573 mail ballots were cast. This is the first presidential election held since the early in-person option was introduced in 2021.

    There are 6,659,963 registered voters in the state, approximately 71% of the population.

    Relating to: What’s open and closed on Election Day 2024 with NJ courts, banks, mail and more

    Mail ballots must be returned today

    Mail ballots may be returned to county election offices or drop boxes by 8 p.m. on Election Day or, if using the Postal Service, must be postmarked by Election Day.

    In this election, voters who received a mail ballot are expected to vote using this ballot. If they go to a polling place to vote in person, they will only be able to vote via provisional ballot rather than the traditional method, by machine. The electronic poll book at polling places will show that the ballot has already been received.

    Provisional ballots are used as a way to defend against voter fraud. These are used by voters whose eligibility to vote at the polls on Election Day cannot be confirmed or who apply to vote by mail. If it is determined after the election that the voter who cast a provisional ballot has the right to vote, the votes will be counted.

    Katie Sobko guards the New Jersey Statehouse. Email: [email protected]

    Harry
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