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