Lace up those snow boots: Early voting in New Jersey’s special election primary to replace newly anointed Gov. Mikie Sherrill in Congress starts Thursday.
The seat is widely seen as safe for Democrats. An off-season primary in the middle of winter wouldn’t typically attract much attention, but the contest is being watched closely as a bellwether for what wing of the Democratic Party voters are favoring ahead of the midterms.
Voters across the state’s 11th Congressional District — which includes parts of Essex, Passaic and Morris counties — have until Feb. 3 to cast their ballots early in-person at polling sites. Vote-by-mail ballots have also been distributed. The deadline to return them is Feb. 5.
Nearly a dozen Democrats and one Republican are competing in the special primaries. The general election is scheduled for April 16.
Political observers say a top tier of well-known candidates has emerged from the crowded Democratic field, including Essex County Commissioner Brendan Gill, former Rep. Tom Malinowski and former Lt. Gov. Tahesha Way. But Analilia Mejia, a longtime New Jersey activist endorsed by the party’s progressive standard bearer — Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders — has generated buzz as the candidate who could consolidate left-wing support in the district.
With so many Democratic competitors in the race, it may only take a small percentage of the vote to clinch the nomination — and the candidates tell Gothamist they expect the primary to be decided by a small margin of victory.
Candidates are now in a race to increase turnout in the final week of campaigning.
Camille Rivera, senior adviser to the Mejia campaign, said a volunteer network of Mejia supporters will launch what she called a “power to the polls” campaign on Thursday.
“Groups are going to be holding events in their homes with potlucks and food and have conversations and then go as a group to vote,” she said.
Mejia planned to meet voters at a coffee shop Thursday morning and accompany them to the polls, Rivera said.
Toral Patel, a Gill spokesperson, said the campaign plans to host “after parties” throughout the week for people who vote early.
“To kind of just reward people for participating in democracy,” she said. “There are multiple ways to vote … so I feel like there should be no excuse as to why you're not voting.”
Way said she’s reminding voters that she was the secretary of state at the time early voting was enacted in New Jersey during Gov. Phil Murphy’s time in office.
“Under my leadership, I implemented early in-person voting,” she told Gothamist. “We’re meeting voters where they are at train stations, at diners, community centers, door-to-door outreach, making sure that they understand that the election is not only Feb. 5.”
John Bartlett, a voting rights lawyer and Passaic County commissioner who is also vying to replace Sherrill, said it’s important that those voting by mail get their ballots in the mail now so that they're postmarked by Feb. 5 in order to have their vote count.
“If they have that vote by mail ballot, they should return it as soon as possible,” he said. “Make sure it gets in the mail, or gets into one of our secure ballot drop boxes so that your voice is heard in this election.”
Winter weather has already disrupted campaigning and could further interrupt voters’ plans to head to the polls. Between 8 inches and a foot of snow fell on the congressional district last weekend, and a possible nor’easter in the forecast could bring more snow to the area this coming weekend.
Zach Beecher, a former Army paratrooper and entrepreneur running in the Democratic primary, said snowy weather has not been entirely negative for his campaign.
”One of the great things about challenging weather is that folks are home,” he said. “So we're getting a lot more people picking up. We're getting a lot more people engaged, eager to hear about the story of what our campaign is looking to offer them.”
Another veteran in the race, Chatham Borough councilmember Justin Strickland, said regardless of weather, his team — which has dubbed itself ‘The Rebel Alliance’ in reference to Star Wars — plans to have a van out in the district playing music from a loudspeaker and encouraged residents to come out and vote.
“It's going to be our Millennium Falcon, if you will, to save the galaxy,” he said.
Those looking to vote early should head to NJ.gov to locate their nearest polling places.
