‘Historic turnout’: Monmouth County sees ballot numbers at or above those cast 4 years ago

Polls are now closed in New Jersey, including in Monmouth County, which early on saw the number of votes at or above those which were cast during the 2016 election.

News 12 Staff

Nov 4, 2020, 1:29 AM

Updated 1,435 days ago

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Polls are now closed in New Jersey, including in Monmouth County, which early on saw the number of votes at or above those which were cast during the 2016 election.
Election Day 2020
Gov. Phil Murphy hinted at the potential of a historic turnout this presidential election cycle.
Inside the voting room at Thompson Middle School in Middletown Township, a number of people filed in to fill out provisional ballots. Despite the promises of a safe, secure, fair election, some voters said that they still had their doubts.
“I want to go to a machine and I don't understand, I can go to stand on line two hours at Target, use machines to buy stuff for my house, but I can't stand on line here at a school to make my vote, which is the most important thing that we could ever have,” says Bob Schillberg, of Middletown.
Schillberg tried to drop off his ballot, along with his wife and daughters, but due to rules, polling locations can only accept ballots filled out by that individual.
“This cockamamie system is frustrating because I want to do the right thing,” says Schillberg. “I now have to take time out of my day and drive all the way to Freehold if I want to hand deliver these to get to somebody so I make sure it gets to somebody so I know it's getting counted.”
People can drop off family members' ballots at county drop boxes or in person at the county elections office.
Several districts are represented at the Middletown location, and on typical years – it’s one of the busier polls. There is one traditional voting machine located inside for people with special needs, but everything else is by paper.
More than 330,000 voters in Monmouth County mailed their ballots. In 2016, a total of 317,000 votes were recorded.
Vote 2020: The Race for President