NJ voter registration deadline nearly here – how to sign up online

TRENTON – Tuesday, Oct. 18 is the deadline to register to vote in the 2022 general election, in which control of Congress will be determined along with the holders of many county and local offices.

The state has nearly 6.5 million registered voters. That’s an increase of around 122,000 since the last federal election two years ago, including close to 100,000 more Republicans and about 32,000 more Democrats. There has been a decrease in unaffiliated voters during that time.

While Republicans have been gaining ground in terms of partisan voter registration, there are still about 1 million more registered Democrats statewide.

People can register to vote online. They need to provide their date of birth and either a Social Security number or a driver’s license or non-driver identification card issued by the Motor Vehicle Commission.

To use a Social Security number, someone must have the ability to sign on-screen or upload their signature to complete the registration process. People who use a license or nondriver ID will have their information validated by the MVC, which will provide a copy of a person’s digitized signature.

People can also register by filling out a paper form. Completed forms are then to be submitted to a person’s home county commissioner of registration or superintendent of elections.

The forms have to be received by Tuesday, not just postmarked, so at this point would have to be dropped off in person to meet the 2022 registration deadline.

To register to vote, a person must be a United States citizen; be at least 17 years old, though cannot vote until reaching age 18; a resident of the county for 30 days before the election, which was Oct. 9; and cannot be currently incarcerated.

The state operates an information portal on which people can check whether they are registered.

Questions about voting can be directed to the state Division of Elections at 1-877-NJ-VOTER, or 1-877-658-6837.

Michael Symons is the Statehouse bureau chief for New Jersey 101.5. You can reach him at michael.symons@townsquaremedia.com

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