New Jersey voters could get twice as long to vote early and in person in May’s municipal elections, after Gov. Mikie Sherrill signed a law Monday to expand the early voting period amid efforts nationally to roll back ballot access.
The new law authorizes municipalities that hold non-partisan elections in May to start early in-person voting eight days before Election Day, with the early voting period ending two days before the election as it had previously. In communities that act to expand access, early voters will have seven days to vote early — four days longer than previous law allowed.
Sherrill, a Democrat, signed the bill just six days after President Donald Trump issued an executive order restricting mail-in voting. Under that order, Trump instructed federal agencies to draft lists of verified U.S. citizen voters and prohibited the U.S. Postal Service from sending mail-in ballots to anyone other than voters on state-approved absentee lists. Twenty-three states — including New Jersey — sued the feds Friday in an attempt to block the order they called unconstitutional.
“As President Trump attempts to undermine elections and make voting harder through his unconstitutional Executive Order, we will take every step to protect the integrity of our elections and ensure they are more accessible for New Jerseyans,” Sherrill said in a statement. “This bill will allow municipalities to expand early voting and ensure the people of our state have their voices heard at the local level, where these decisions will shape our neighborhoods, our schools, and our daily lives.”
Some major New Jersey cities, like Newark and Irvington, still hold nonpartisan municipal races in May.
GET THE MORNING HEADLINES.
