Useful Information for Faculty and Staff about Voting

October 9, 2020

Dear Colleagues:

Each October the Rutgers president writes to students, many of whom are new to voting, to remind them of the upcoming deadline for registration and to encourage them to vote in November.  President Holloway followed that tradition with our students earlier this month, but because of the unusual nature of voting this year related to the COVID-19 pandemic, we wanted to share similar information with you.

As you likely know, registration deadlines differ from state to state. In our region, the last day to register in New York is Oct. 9; Delaware is Oct. 10; New Jersey is Oct. 13; and Pennsylvania is Oct. 19.  Information about the registration and voting process in each state is available at https://ruvoting.rutgers.edu.

For residents of New Jersey, we want to share the following information made available through the Eagleton Institute of Politics.

Because of COVID-19 precautions, all active registered voters in New Jersey will receive a mail-in ballot at the address they cited on their voter registration form. If you need to change your address, you will need to update your voter registration by Oct. 13 or you can request that a mail-in ballot be mailed to a different address where you are temporarily located.

If you prefer to vote using a mail-in ballot:

1. Vote, sign, seal, and return your ballot via one of four options:
   • Deposit your ballot at a secure dropbox location
     • For those registered in Middlesex County, a ballot drop box is located on the Rutgers—New Brunswick College Avenue Campus in The Yard.
   • Use the U.S. Postal Service, with the ballot postmarked by Election Day, Nov. 3
   • Bring your ballot to your county Board of Elections Office
   • Bring your ballot to a polling location on Election Day (check link above before you go as some polling locations will change due to COVID-19)
2. Track and verify that your ballot was counted

If you prefer to vote in person on Election Day:

You can go to a polling location between 6 a.m. and 8 p.m. on Election Day, Nov. 3, to vote in-person (check this link before you go as some polling locations will change due to COVID-19). However, since you would have already received a mail-in-ballot, you will need to vote via a provisional ballot. This is because election officials need to check to make sure that you are registered and that you did not complete and submit a mail-in-ballot.  Voters with disabilities can vote by using a polling machine.

For more information about voting in New Jersey, visit the state’s 2020 New Jersey Voter Information Portal. Finally, we invite you to visit Rutgers’ Election 2020 web page where we highlight our faculty experts’ insight and analysis on a diverse range of issues impacting the 2020 presidential election.

We hope this information is helpful as you exercise your right to vote in 2020 and support our students as they engage in this important act of democratic citizenship.

Sincerely,

Brian L. Strom,
Chancellor, Rutgers Biomedical and Health Sciences

Chris Molloy,
Chancellor, Rutgers—New Brunswick