While local elections drove voters to the polls in larger numbers, most New Jersey voters stayed home last November.

Mid-term elections typically have lower turnout than gubernatorial and presidential elections, this year's turnout was close to setting a record.

At 41%, turnout was the second lowest in nearly a century in New Jersey. Only the 36% turnout in 2014 was lower for a midterm election since 1926.

Congressional races topped the ballot, but few of the contests were competitive after redistricting created incumbent friendly boundaries in most New Jersey Districts.

With no statewide races to capture the attention of voters, many were disinterested.

NJBOE
NJBOE
loading...

However, in some pockets of New Jersey, local races did drive turnout higher.

In Hunterdon County, The New Jersey Department of Elections reported 57% of registered voters cast a ballot

Some of that turnout was driven by a highly divisive school board race in Clinton Township that was punctuated by rallies and protests in the weeks leading up to the election.

Much of the strife in Clinton and other local school elections was driven by the state's often misunderstood new sex-education curriculum. Fueled by rhetoric on both sides, voters were pummeled with ads and fliers seeking to paint political opponents as bad actors who wanted to harm our children.

The New Jersey School Boards Association reported 2,151 candidates were vying for 1,569 open school board seats in 533 school districts.

Hunterdon was the only New Jersey county to have turnout above 50%. Turnout was half on opposite ends of the state with Sussex and Cape May Counties each reporting 50% turnout.

Essex County had the lowest turnout. Congressional races were not competitive and there were no hotly contested local races.

Mercer County had turnout slightly higher than the state average (42%), partly due to contested races for city council seats in Trenton.

The turnout figures were disappointing to many, who had hoped multiple voting options would have engaged more voters.  Early voting and vote by mail options did little to increase turnout.

The highest voter turnout in a midterm election in New Jersey was in 1938 when 74% of voters cast a ballot. Turnout was 70% or above in 1934, 1954, 1958, 1966, and 1970.

Eric Scott is the senior political director and anchor for New Jersey 101.5. You can reach him at eric.scott@townsquaremedia.com

Click here to contact an editor about feedback or a correction for this story.

LOOK: Here's where people in every state are moving to most

Stacker analyzed the Census Bureau's 2019 American Community Survey data to determine the three most popular destinations for people moving out of each state.

How much does the average NJ home cost? Median prices by county

Everything is costing more these days — and housing is certainly no exception in New Jersey.

Data for 2022 from January through August, compiled by New Jersey Realtors, shows that South Jersey has been seeing homes hit the market and sell in less than a month, on average.

Median prices for single-family homes have reached $500,000 and above in nine counties in North and Central Jersey.

All but two counties have seen houses go for more than the list price, on average, this year.

LOOK: 25 over-the-top Christmas displays from across America

To help get everyone in the mood for the upcoming holiday season, Stacker compiled a list of some of the most over-the-top Christmas displays across America.

More From Beach Radio