Sussex County Voters Have Several Options for Submitting Mail-In Ballots

(Newton, NJ) With the upcoming 2020 General Election on Nov. 3 driven entirely by mail-in-ballots,
voters have four ways to safely submit their ballots and make their vote count. “Early voting will
decide election winners,” said Sussex County Clerk Jeff Parrott. “Vote
early, be engaged.”

By voting early, Parrott said, any discrepancy from a submitted ballot, such as a
signature discrepancy, can be cured as quickly as possible.

“This exclusive vote-by-mail process wasn’t our choice,” said Sussex County Freeholder
Joshua Hertzberg, with the Freeholders having unanimously voted on a resolution in August opposing
it. “However, this is the system we have to work with. We have faith in our County Clerk’s Office
in handling the process of distributing ballots and we encourage
everyone to vote.”

How does a voter participate in the exclusive voting-by-mail process? The early vote- by-mail
process begins with the ballot that each voter should have received in the mail by the first week
of October.

Once a voter completes that ballot as instructed, the final step is placing it into the supplied
envelope and submitting it to the Sussex County Board of Elections, for it to count in the Election
Day tally on Tuesday, Nov. 3.

There are four options to return mail-in ballots.

Option 1: Deposit completed ballots in one of several secure drop boxes, situated in the following
locations countywide: Andover Borough Municipal Building, Andover Township Municipal
Building, Frankford Municipal Building, Franklin Municipal Building, Fredon Civic Center, Hardyston
Municipal Building, Hopatcong Municipal Building, Montague Township Municipal Building, Newton
Municipal Building, Sandyston Municipal Building, Sparta Municipal Building, Vernon
Municipal Building and Wantage Municipal Building. Sussex County residents can drop their
ballots into any of these secure drop boxes, regardless of the municipality that they live within
the county. Each of these drop boxes is monitored by 24-hour surveillance, with the ballots
retrieved once daily by a Republican and Democrat representative, working in concert
to retrieve them. Ballots will be picked up at each of these boxes nightly, through Election Day,
Nov. 3.

Option 2: Ballots can be hand-delivered to the Board of Elections office at 83 Spring Street, Suite
305 in Newton. Voters who opt for hand-delivery to the Board of Elections must provide I.D.
Option 3: Voters may mail their completed ballot to the Board of Elections, via the United States
Postal Service, in the prepaid, First-Class envelope that came with their ballot. Those that are
mailed, must be postmarked by Nov. 3 and must arrive to the Sussex County Board of Elections no
later than Nov. 9, in order to count.

Option 4: Voters can choose to bring their mail-in ballot to their assigned polling place on
Election Day. By Oct. 23, Parrott said, voters should receive a 6 X 9 postcard with their assigned
polling location. However, voters can only bring their own vote-by-mail ballot to their designated
polling location. They cannot be the bearer for anyone else.

The only voters this year who will be permitted to use the voting machines at the polling locations
will be those with disabilities that will prevent them from using ballots mailed to their home,
such as those who are visually impaired. Those who would like to vote at a polling location and
have their vote count toward the Election Day tally, must use the ballot they received in the mail.
For those who show up at the polls without their ballot, they will be given a “provisional” paper
ballot, which is counted after the deadline for vote-by-mail ballots. Parrott said the provisional
count delays the final results of the election and in order for the tally process to move more
quickly, voters are encouraged to vote with the ballot the County Clerk’s Office mailed to them.
If a voter never received their ballot, if they inadvertently disposed of their ballot mailed to
them, if they find an error on their ballot, if they make an error filling out their ballot or if
are there are other issues they encounter with their mail-in-ballot or envelope, the voter may
request a duplicate ballot . To request a replacement ballot, contact the Sussex County Clerk’s
Office as quickly as possible online at: www.sussexcountyclerk.org/elections/ or call the County Clerk’s Office at: 973-579-0900.

For more information about the upcoming General Election, including Election FAQ’s, vote-by-mail
instructions, the list of secure drop box locations, the list of polling locations and how to track ballots submitted, Sussex County voters may visit the Sussex County Clerk’s
website: www.sussexcountyclerk.org/elections/ or call: 973-579-0900.
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