LWV Supports Vote-By-Mail

Governor Murphy announced that New Jersey will conduct a primarily vote-by-mail election with limited in-person voting options this November.   The team here at LWVSH is readying ourselves for long nights and cups (more like pots) of coffee as we launch a large-scale voter education campaign immediately.  Will you chip in $20 to support the League’s massive voter education efforts? Together we can ensure everyone votes and every vote counts in 2020!   Here is what we know right now, and we will provide more information as it becomes available:   All active registered New Jersey voters will automatically receive a prepaid return-postage vote-by-mail ballot.  Online voter registration will be available September 4, 2020.  All ballots will be mailed from County Clerks by Monday, October 5th. Voters will be able return ballots by mail, by depositing it in a secure drop box, or by handing it directly to a poll worker at a polling place on Election Day.  All ballots being returned through the mail must be postmarked by November 3rd and received no later than 8 pm on November 10. Ballots that lack postmarks due to postal error received by November 5th will be valid.   There will be in-person polls open for the November 3rd Election. Each municipality will be required to open at least one in-person polling site. All counties must ensure that at least 50% of their total polling places are open. Any voter who chooses to cast their vote in-person will do so on a provisional ballot. All individuals with disabilities will have access to an ADA-conforming voting machine.  This election will be like none we have ever experienced. New Jersey voters need our trusted, nonpartisan voice now, more than ever, to help understand all their voting options including how to cast a mail-in ballot, how to return their ballot, and what to expect if they vote in-person. We are ready to keep voters updated and safe amid ever-changing election information.   We can’t do this without you. Please stand with our members and volunteers educating voters throughout the state with your gift today.

Grace Musilli and Lauren Johnson win League of Women Voters essay contest. Sussex.

The two young women wrote on the question “Is voting a right or a privilege?” — a timely question for 2020, which is the one hundred-year anniversary of women’s right to vote.

Grace Musilli

Lauren Johnson

Grace Musilli and Lauren Johnson won first and second place in The League of Women Voters Sussex Highlands’ essay contest for 2020.
The essay posed the question to high school seniors, “Is voting a right or a privilege?” The topic of this essay is timely for 2020, as this is the one hundred-year anniversary of women’s right to vote in our country, and 100 years since the founding of the League of Women Voters of New Jersey. The League of Women Voters is a nonpartisan political organization that encourages informed and active participation in government and influences public policy through education and advocacy.
Grace Musilli, a 2020 graduate of High Point Regional High School, was awarded first place in the essay competition. Grace will attend American University in Washington, D.C. in the fall. She will enter a three-year undergraduate degree program in politics, policy, and law in the university’s scholars’ program.
Lauren Johnson, a 2020 graduate of Sparta High School, was awarded second place. She will attend Rutgers University in New Brunswick, N.J., in the fall. Lauren in undecided in her major, but is considering pre=law or foreign affairs.
Both young women are excited to be voting in a national election for the first time in November 2020. They encourage all 18-year-olds to register to vote and make their voices heard with their votes.
Grace and Lauren commented that the essay question seemed like a simple issue when they embarked on writing their essays. However, they quickly learned that the answer to the question is not so simple. Both women conducted in-depth research to formulate their answer in this challenging essay competition.