New Jersey 2026 elections

Contests on the board in New Jersey

The general-election contests the Ledger tracks in New Jersey, each with the raters' current call, the newest public polling and the money reported.

Candidate profiles from New Jersey

NJ-SEN · New Jersey

Justin Murphy

Navy veteran, attorney and former Tabernacle deputy mayor, 2026 Republican nominee for U.S. Senate from New Jersey against Cory Booker: the documented record.

Read Justin Murphy's recordThe race

Key dates and deadlines

Read from the New Jersey Department of State, Division of Elections on Sep 17, 2026. The authority's own page, linked beside each date, is the final word — confirm it before you act.

• Voter registration deadlineOctober 13, 2026 (21 days before the election) is the voter registration deadline for the November 3, 2026 general election. The Division of Elections prints a single deadline: it gives no separate dates for online and paper applications and no time of day. Register online through the state's voter registration system, or mail or deliver a paper Voter Registration Application to the County Commissioner of Registration or Superintendent of Elections for your county. nj.gov
• Registering in person on deadline dayOctober 13, 2026, until 9:00 p.m.: on the registration deadline (21 days before the election) the offices of the County Commissioners of Registration must offer evening voter registration from 4:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m.; evening registration is optional for municipal clerks. nj.gov
• Mail-in ballots start going outSeptember 19, 2026 (45 days before the election): counties begin mailing mail-in ballots to voters for the general election; the Division of Elections notes that some counties begin before then. nj.gov
• In-person early voting beginsOctober 24, 2026: in-person early voting begins for the general election. Every county designates in-person early voting locations; hours are Monday–Saturday, 10:00 a.m.–8:00 p.m., and Sunday, 10:00 a.m.–6:00 p.m. No appointment is necessary. nj.gov
• Last day of in-person early votingNovember 1, 2026: last day of in-person early voting for the general election. November 1, 2026 is a Sunday, when the printed hours are 10:00 a.m.–6:00 p.m. nj.gov
• Deadline to apply for a mail-in ballot by mailOctober 27, 2026 (not less than 7 days before the election): deadline to apply by mail for a mail-in ballot. The application goes to your County Clerk, and the Voters' Bill of Rights says a mailed application “needs to get there at least 7 days before the election.” After that date a voter may still apply in person at the County Clerk's office until 3:00 p.m. on November 2, 2026. nj.gov
• Deadline to return a mail-in ballotNovember 3, 2026 (Election Day), 8:00 p.m. By mail: the ballot must be postmarked on or before 8:00 p.m. on November 3 and be received by your county's Board of Elections on or before November 9, 2026. In one of your county's secure ballot drop boxes, or in person at your county's Board of Elections office: by 8:00 p.m. on November 3. Mail-in ballots cannot be returned to an early voting site or a polling place. nj.gov
• Election DayTuesday, November 3, 2026: General Election Day. nj.gov
• Poll hours on Election DayPolls are open from 6:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. on Election Day, November 3, 2026. If you are in line to vote at the time the polls close, you must be allowed to vote. nj.gov
• Sample ballots mailedOctober 21, 2026: the date on the Division of Elections' timeline for the mailing of sample ballots for the general election (on or before 12 noon on the Wednesday preceding the start of the early voting period). The Division's Polling Locations page adds that your polling place is printed on the sample ballot sent out by your county. nj.gov
• Overseas and military voters: deadline to ask for a ballot by electronic meansOctober 30, 2026 (the 4th day before the election): deadline for qualified overseas civilian and military voters to apply to receive general election mail-in ballots by electronic means. nj.gov
• Deadline to apply for a mail-in ballot in personNovember 2, 2026, by 3:00 p.m. (the day before the election): deadline to apply in person for a mail-in ballot at your County Clerk's office. nj.gov
• Last day for a postmarked mail-in ballot to arriveNovember 9, 2026, by 8 p.m.: last moment for your county Board of Elections to receive a mailed ballot, and only if it was postmarked on or before Election Day, November 3, 2026. The Division's timeline describes the same deadline as no later than 144 hours (6 days) after the closing of the polls. nj.gov
• Deadline for the county to receive a cure formNovember 14, 2026 (within 11 days after the general election): deadline for receipt of a voter's cure form by the county Board of Elections. nj.gov

Official voting tools

These links go to the state's own tools. The Ledger does not collect registrations or ballots.

Rules to know

• What to bring

  The Voters' Bill of Rights for the November 3, 2026 general election says certain “Need ID” voters have to show ID at the polling place: a voter who registered by mail in the county after January 1, 2003, has never voted in a federal election in the county and did not provide identification before voting for the first time at the polling place; a voter who did not complete the ID-number section of the registration form and did not respond to a request for that information; and a mail-in registrant whose driver's license number or last four Social Security digits could not be verified. ID may be any valid and current photo ID (NJ driver's license, military or other government ID, student or job ID, store membership card) or any current document with your name and address on it (bank statement, car registration, sample ballot, utility bill, pay check, rent receipt, government check or document). A “Need ID” voter who shows no identification cannot vote on the voting machine and must vote with a provisional paper ballot; for that ballot to count, a copy of the ID must be submitted to the County Commissioner of Registration by close of business on the second day after the election. Read from: nj.gov

• Voting by mail

  Every active registered voter is eligible to request a mail-in ballot. Apply by completing the Application for Mail-in Ballot and returning it to your County Clerk; the Vote-By-Mail page also links an online request, which asks for your date of birth and a form of identification. To receive the ballot by mail you must request it not less than 7 days before the election (October 27, 2026); otherwise you must get it in person from your County Clerk by 3 p.m. the day before Election Day (November 2, 2026). A mail-in ballot requires the voter's signature but no witness or notary, and no copy of ID except under certain circumstances for first-time voters, who receive a notice with the ballot. Return it by mail, in one of your county's secure ballot drop boxes, or in person at your county's Board of Elections office by 8:00 p.m. on Election Day (a mailed ballot must be postmarked by then and received on or before 6 days after Election Day); it cannot be returned at an early voting location or an Election Day polling place. A voter registered to vote by mail must opt out, by contacting the County Clerk, in order to vote on a machine at an early voting location; one who goes to the polling place on Election Day will have to vote using a paper provisional ballot. Read from: nj.gov

• In-person early voting

  Every county offers in-person early voting for the general election from October 24, 2026 through November 1, 2026. Registered voters cast their ballot in person, using a voting machine, at an in-person early voting location designated by their county; the Division of Elections lists the locations county by county and tells voters to find the most convenient early voting site in their county. Hours are Monday–Saturday, 10:00 a.m.–8:00 p.m., and Sunday, 10:00 a.m.–6:00 p.m., and no appointment is necessary. A voter who has received a vote-by-mail ballot but has not voted it may only vote by paper provisional ballot at the polling place. Read from: nj.gov

• Track your mail-in ballot

  Voters can track a mail-in ballot through the Division of Elections' Track My Ballot portal. Sign up for an account with your Voter ID, which you can find with the “Am I Registered” voter search tool. The tracker shows one of four statuses: N/A (the ballot has not yet been received by your county's Board of Elections), Received, Rejected or Accepted (the ballot has been counted). Each county updates the status of its own voters' ballots. Read from: nj.gov

• Fixing a signature problem (ballot cure)

  If your vote-by-mail ballot was missing your signature, or the County Board of Elections has determined that your signature does not match the signature in your voting record, your county Board of Elections will provide you an opportunity to certify that you did, in fact, cast that ballot. A missing or non-matching signature is the only reason, by law, that a ballot can be cured and then counted. The Division's timeline sets November 14, 2026 (within 11 days after the general election) as the deadline for county Boards of Election to receive the cure form. Read from: nj.gov

• Voting after a conviction

  A person who is not serving a sentence of incarceration as the result of a conviction of an indictable offense, under the laws of New Jersey, another state or the United States, can vote in New Jersey by completing a new voter registration form. The Division's Register to Vote page says a person who is serving such a sentence of incarceration is not eligible to register to vote. Its Voter Restoration Handbook, linked from the Voter Rights page, answers “Yes” to the question of whether someone on parole or probation can register to vote, and says a pre-trial detainee does not lose the right to vote. Read from: nj.gov

On the statewide ballot

Offices on the November 3, 2026 statewide ballot, per the New Jersey Department of State, Division of Elections:

U.S. Senate

Questions and answers