N.J. Stat. tit. 19, ch. 12

in effect

N.J. Stat. § 19:12-1 Certification as to creation of political party.

19:12-1. The Secretary of State shall within thirty days after the completion of the canvass by the board of State canvassers, certify to each county clerk and county board the fact that at the next preceding general election held for the election of all of the members of the General Assembly ten per centum (10%) of the total vote cast in the State for members of the General Assembly had been cast for candidates having the same designation, thereby creating, within the meaning of this Title, a political party, to be known and recognized as such under the same designation as used by the candidates for whom the required number of votes were cast. The Secretary of State shall also not later than the 74th day preceding the primary election for the general election in every year in which electors of President and Vice-President of the United States, a representative of the United States Senate, members of the House of Representatives, a Governor, a Lieutenant Governor, or Senator, or member or members of the General Assembly for any county, or any of them, are to be elected or any public question is to be submitted to the voters of the entire State, direct and cause to be delivered to the clerk of the county and the county board wherein any such election is to be held, a notice stating that such officer or officers are to be elected and that such public question is to be submitted to the voters of the entire State at the ensuing general election. R.S. 19:12-1 amended 1946, c.11, ss.8,17 (1946, c.11, ss.8,17; repealed 1948, c.2, s.32); 1948, c.2, s.12; 2005, c.136, s.15; 2009, c.66, s.2; 2011, c.37, s.39; 2011, c.134, s.15; 2023, c.16, s.2.

N.J. Stat. § 19:12-3 County clerk, forwarding of notice of creation of political party to municipal clerks.

19:12-3. The clerk of each county shall immediately upon the receipt of the certificate from the Secretary of State setting forth that a political party has been created, forward a certified copy of such certificate to each municipal clerk of his county. He shall also, not later than the 64th day preceding the primary election for the general election in every year, cause a copy of the notice received from the Secretary of State of the officer or officers to be elected at the ensuing general election, certified under his hand to be true and correct, to be delivered to the clerk of each municipality in the county. amended 1946, c.11, ss.10,17; (1946, c.11, ss.10,17; repealed 1948, c.2, s.32); 1948, c.2, s.14; 2005, c.136, s.16; 2011, c.37, s.40; 2011, c.134, s.16; 2023, c.16, s.3.

N.J. Stat. § 19:12-5 Notice that officers will be chosen at general election.

19:12-5. The clerk of every county shall, not later than the 71st day preceding the primary election for the general election, immediately preceding the expiration of the term of office of all other officers who are voted for by the voters of the entire county or of more than one municipality within the county, direct and cause to be delivered to the clerk of each municipality and the county board in counties of the first class, a notice that such officer or officers, as the case may be, will be chosen at the ensuing general election. amended 1946, c.11, ss.11,17; (1946, c.11, ss.11,17; repealed 1948, c.2, s.32); 1948, c.2, s.15; 2005, c.136, s.17; 2011, c.37, s.41; 2011, c.134, s.17; 2023, c.16, s.4.

N.J. Stat. § 19:12-6 Statement designating public offices to be filled at election.

19:12-6. All municipal clerks, not later than the 71st day preceding the primary election for the general election, shall make and certify under their hands and seals of office and forward to the clerk of the county in which the municipality is located a statement designating the public offices to be filled at such election, and the number of persons to be voted for each office. In counties of the first class such statement shall also be forwarded to the county board. amended 1946, c.11, ss.12,17; (1946, c.11, ss.12,17; repealed 1948, c.2, s.32); 1948, c.2, s.16; 2005, c.136, s.18; 2011, c.37, s.42; 2011, c.134, s.18; 2023, c.16, s.6.

N.J. Stat. § 19:12-7 Publication of notice of election.

19:12-7. a. The county board in each county shall cause to be published in a newspaper or newspapers which, singly or in combination, are of general circulation throughout the county, a notice containing the information specified in subsection b. hereof, except for such of the contents as may be omitted pursuant to subsection c. or d. hereof. Such notice shall be published once during the 30 days next preceding the day fixed for the closing of the registration books for the primary election, once during the calendar week preceding the week in which the early voting period for the primary election for the general election begins, once during the 30 days next preceding the day fixed for the closing of the registration books for the general election, and once during the calendar week preceding the week in which the early voting period for the general election begins. b. Such notice shall set forth: (1) For the primary election for the general election: (a) That a primary election for making nominations for the general election, for the selection of members of the county committees of each political party, and in each presidential year for the selection of delegates and alternates to national conventions of political parties, will be held on the day and between the hours provided for by or pursuant to this Title, and the days, hours, and places at which early voting shall be available in the county. (b) The place or places at which and hours during which a person may register, the procedure for the transfer of registration, and the date on which the books are closed for registration or transfer of registration. (c) The several county, municipal and party offices or positions to be filled, or for which nominations are to be made, at such primary election. (d) The existence of registration and voting aids, including: (i) the availability of registration and voting instructions at places of registration as provided under R.S.19:31-6; and (ii), if available, the accessibility of voter information to the deaf by means of a telecommunications device. (e) The availability of assistance to a person unable to vote due to blindness, disability, or inability to read or write. (f) In the case of the notice published during the calendar week preceding the week in which the early voting period for the primary election begins, that a voter who, prior to the election, shall have moved within the same county without (i) filing, on or before the 21st day preceding the election, a notice of change of residence with the commissioner of registration of the county or the municipal clerk of the municipality in which the voter resides on the day of the election, (ii) returning the confirmation notice sent to the voter by the commissioner of registration of the county, if such a notice has been sent to the voter, or (iii) otherwise notifying the commissioner of registration of the voter's change of address within the county shall be permitted to correct the voter's registration and to vote in the primary election by provisional ballot at the polling place of the district in which the voter resides on the day of the election. The notice shall further provide that the voter may contact the county commissioner of registration or municipal clerk or may view polling place location information on the Division of Elections website to determine the proper polling place location for the voter. (2) For the general election: (a) That a general election will be held on the day and between the hours provided for by or pursuant to this Title, and the days, hours, and places at which early voting shall be available in the county, and, where applicable, shall include annual school elections and annual fire district elections held on that date. (b) The place or places at which and hours during which a person may register, the procedure for transfer of registration, and the date on which the books are closed for registration or transfer of registration. (c) The several State, county, and municipal offices, and where applicable, school board offices and fire district offices to be filled, notice of any school district propositions to be submitted to the people and, except as provided in R.S.19:14-33 of this Title as to publication of notice of any Statewide proposition directed by the Legislature to be submitted to the people, the State, county, municipal, and fire district public questions to be voted upon at such general election. (d) The existence of registration and voting aids, including: (i) the availability of registration and voting instructions at places of registration as provided under R.S.19:31-6; and (ii) the accessibility of voter information to the deaf by means of a telecommunications device. (e) The availability of assistance to a person unable to vote due to blindness, disability, or inability to read or write. (f) In the case of the notice published during the calendar week preceding the week in which the early voting period for the general election begins, that a voter who, prior to the election, shall have moved within the same county without (i) filing, on or before the 21st day preceding the election, a notice of change of residence with the commissioner of registration of the county or the municipal clerk of the municipality in which the voter resides on the day of the election, (ii) returning the confirmation notice sent to the voter by the commissioner of registration of the county, if such a notice has been sent to the voter, or (iii) otherwise notifying the commissioner of registration of the voter's change of address within the county shall be permitted to correct the voter's registration and to vote in the general election by provisional ballot at the polling place of the district in which the voter resides on the day of the election. The notice shall further provide that the voter may contact the county commissioner of registration or municipal clerk or may view polling place location information on the Division of Elections website to determine the proper polling place location for the voter. (3) For a school election: (a) The day and time thereof, (b) The offices, if any, to be filled at the election, (c) The substance of any public question to be submitted to the voters thereat, (d) That a voter who, prior to the election, shall have moved within the same county without (i) filing, on or before the 21st day preceding the election, a notice of change of residence with the commissioner of registration of the county or the municipal clerk of the municipality in which the voter resides on the day of the election, (ii) returning the confirmation notice sent to the voter by the commissioner of registration of the county, if such a notice has been sent to the voter, or (iii) otherwise notifying the commissioner of registration of the voter's change of address within the county shall be permitted to correct the voter's registration and to vote in the school election by provisional ballot at the polling place of the district in which the voter resides on the day of the election, (e) That if the voter has any questions as to where to vote on the day of the election, the voter may contact the county commissioner of registration or municipal clerk or may view polling place location information on the Division of Elections website to determine the proper polling place location for the voter; and (f) Such other information as may be required by law. c. If such publication is made in more than one newspaper, it shall not be necessary to duplicate in the notice published in each such newspaper all the information required under this section, so long as: (1) The municipal officers or party positions to be filled, nominations made, or municipal public questions to be voted upon by the voters of any municipality shall be set forth in at least one newspaper having general circulation in such municipality; (2) All offices to be filled, nominations made therefor, or public questions to be voted upon by the voters of the entire State or of the entire county shall be set forth in a newspaper or newspapers which, singly or in combination, have general circulation throughout the county; (3) Information relating to nominations and elections in each Legislative District comprised in whole or part in the county shall be published in at least a newspaper or newspapers which, singly or in combination, have general circulation in every municipality of the county which is comprised in such legislative district. d. Such part or parts of the original notices as published which pertain to day of registration or primary election which has occurred shall be eliminated from such notice in succeeding insertions. e. (Deleted by amendment, P.L.1999, c.232) f. The cost of publishing the notices required by this section shall be paid by the respective counties, unless otherwise provided for by law. g. Notices required to be published or posted pursuant to this section shall set forth a general description of the contents of the voter information notice provided for in section 1 of P.L.2005, c.149 (C.19:12-7.1), how the notice may be viewed or obtained prior to the day of an election, and that the notice will be posted in each polling place on the day of an election. amended 1945, c.184; 1962, c.26; 1975, c.289; 1991, c.429, s.9; 1995, c.278, s.16; 1999, c.232, s.2; 2005, c.136, s.19; 2005, c.139, s.4; 2005, c.149, s.2; 2011, c.134, s.19; 2011, c.202, s.25; 2017, c.206, s.2; 2019, c.170, s.1; 2021, c.40, s.8; 2025, c.32, s.11.

N.J. Stat. § 19:12-7.1 Posting of voter information notice by county board of elections; content and form.

1. a. A county board of elections shall have posted a voter information notice, which shall be referred to as a voter's bill of rights, in a conspicuous location in each polling place and each specially designated polling place used for early voting before voting begins. The notice shall contain: the date of the election and the hours during which polling places will be open; a statement that sample ballots are available at the polling place for review by the voter; instruction for the use of the voting machine in that polling place and an explanation of what instructions for voting are available at the polling place for the voter; instruction for a voter who is voting for the first time; instruction for a voter who is required to provide identification pursuant to the federal "Help America Vote Act of 2002" and R.S.19:15-17 prior to casting a vote; instruction on how to cast a vote if the voter cannot be present at a polling place on the day of the election; an explanation of the right of the voter to vote in private, regardless of the voter's physical abilities; an explanation of the right of the voter to a provisional ballot, including in the event that a mail-in ballot has been applied for and not received or not transmitted to the county board of elections before the day of any election, and the other circumstances under which a voter has a right to a provisional ballot; an explanation of the right of the voter to receive a replacement ballot for a ballot that has been spoiled, destroyed, lost or never received; an explanation of the right of the voter to ask for and receive assistance in voting; an explanation of the right of the voter to take a reasonable amount of time in casting a vote on a voting machine; an explanation of the right of the voter to bring written material into the polling place for the voter's personal use in casting a vote; instruction on how to contact the appropriate officials if a voter's right to vote or right to otherwise participate in the electoral process has been challenged or violated; general information on federal and State laws that prohibit acts of fraud or misrepresentation and the penalties for those acts; an explanation of the right of the voter to confidentially discover the status of their ballot using the "Track My Ballot" user portal; an explanation that "All ballots are counted and your vote remains anonymous"; an explanation of the right of the voter that if their ballot was rejected, a notice will be issued to the voter within 24 hours after a decision is made to reject the ballot. The voter will have up to 48 hours prior to the date for the final certification of the results of the election to provide a cure for their ballot; an explanation giving the options for the voter to provide the cure to their rejected ballot; an explanation that no voters shall be intimidated or otherwise unduly influenced by political insignia while voting. No person shall wear, display, sell, give or provide any political or campaign slogan, badge, button or other insignia associated with any political party or candidate to be worn at or within one hundred feet of the polls or within the polling place or room, on any primary, general or special election day or on any commission government election day, except the badge furnished by the county board as provided by law. This includes any political gear representing the campaign slogans, logos, or depictions or representations of any political party or candidate such as merchandise sold directly from a political party, campaign, candidate, or by third parties and vendors representing any political party or campaign or candidate. A person violating any of these provisions is guilty of a disorderly persons offense and will not be permitted on the premises and can only return to vote after the removal of prohibited political insignia; and such other statement, instruction or explanation the Secretary of State may deem appropriate to ensure the full and knowledgeable participation of the voter in the process. The requirement to post this notice in each polling place shall not replace, supersede or void any other requirement set forth in law for the posting of information in each polling place apart from the voter information notice. The poster promoting the use of voting by mail prepared and distributed by the Secretary of State pursuant to R.S.19:8-6 shall be displayed next to or as close as may be possible to the voter information notice. b. The Secretary of State shall prescribe the form and specific content of the voter information notice, which may be comprised of more than one page. If the notice is comprised of more than one page, each page shall be posted separately. For an election district in which the primary language of 10 percent or more of the registered voters is a language other than English, the Secretary of State shall prescribe an official version of the voter information notice in that other language or languages for use in that election district. The notice shall be posted in English and in the other language or languages in the polling places in each such district. The alternate language shall be determined based on information from the latest federal decennial census. c. A county board of elections may modify or supplement the voter information notice used in a county or municipality to provide additional information specific to that county or a municipality in that county, provided, however, that any such modification or supplementation shall be submitted to the Secretary of State for prior approval. d. The voter information notice shall be printed on each sample ballot, to the extent practicable, or if not practicable, information on how to view or obtain a copy of the voter information notice shall be printed on each sample ballot. e. The voter information notice, including one modified or supplemented pursuant to subsection c. of this section, shall be made accessible on the official Internet site of the State by the Secretary of State and each county board of elections shall ensure that the official Internet site of the county contains a link to that notice. f. (Deleted by amendment, P.L.2020, c.70) g. The State shall be liable for the costs incurred by local government entities for compliance with this section, and they shall be reimbursed for those costs, upon application, by the State Treasurer. L.2005, c.149, s.1; amended 2009, c.79, s.30; 2020, c.70, s.1; 2020, c.71, s.2; 2021, c.40, s.9.

N.J. Stat. § 19:12-8 Contents of notice.

19:12-8. The notice required by section 19:12-7 of this Title shall include the telephone number and times at which a voter may make inquiry as to the location of the polling place in the district in which he resides, and shall advise that the voter may obtain polling place location information by electronic means from the Division of Elections Internet site. amended 1969, c.162; 2019, c.170, s.2.

N.J. Stat. § 19:12-9 Publication of certain election procedures required

8. a. The county board in each county shall cause to be published in a daily newspaper of general circulation throughout the county, a notice containing the information specified in subsection b. hereof. This notice shall be published once on the seventh day preceding the day fixed for a municipal, primary, general or special election and once on the day preceding the day fixed for a primary, general or special election, b. At the top of the notice the words "Public Notice to All Registered Voters of (insert appropriate name) County" shall be printed in at least 30-point bold-faced capital type. Next underneath, the words "You are hereby advised of the following procedure to be used for the (insert appropriate date and type of election) election:" shall be printed in at least 12-point bold-faced type. The body of the notice shall be printed in at least 10-point bold-faced type and shall set forth: (1) that any person attempting to vote may be challenged by a duly authorized challenger for a political party or a candidate or on a public question, or by a member of the district board of elections, because the voter's name appears on a challenge list prepared by the superintendent of elections of the county or because the challenger or board member has good cause to believe that the voter is not entitled to vote; (2) that members of the district board and all duly authorized challengers are prohibited from challenging, delaying or preventing the right to vote of any person because of that person's race, color, national origin, expected manner of casting a vote or residence in a particular ward, housing complex or section of a municipality or county; (3) the means by which any person who is challenged because that person's name appears on a challenge list prepared by the superintendent of elections of the county may seek to establish the person's right to vote, as provided in R.S.19:32-18; (4) the means by which any person whose name does not appear on a challenge list prepared by the superintendent of elections of the county but who is challenged by a duly authorized challenger or by a member of the district board of elections may seek to establish the person's right to vote, as provided in section 2 of P.L.1991, c.249 (C.19:15-18.1); (5) that any challenger who succeeds in denying a voter the right to vote must sign an affidavit stating the reason why the voter is not entitled to vote and must furnish a copy of the affidavit to the challenged voter, as provided in section 3 of P.L.1991, c.249 (C.19:15-18.2); (6) the legal remedy which any person whose name does not appear on a challenge list prepared by the superintendent but who is challenged by a duly authorized challenger or by a member of the district board of elections and denied the right to vote may use to seek permission to vote, as provided in section 6 of P.L.1991, c.249 (C.19:15-18.3); (7) that forms to register complaints about the conduct of an election shall be available at each polling place in the county; and (8) the names of the chairman, secretary, clerk and members of the county board of elections and a telephone number at which they may be reached for more information. c. In counties in which the primary language of 10% or more of the registered voters is Spanish, two notices containing the information in subsection b. of this section shall appear side-by-side, one in English and one in Spanish. The notices shall be identical in size, content and type face. d. The cost of publishing the notices required by this section shall be paid by the respective counties. L.1991,c.249,s.8.

N.J. Stat. § 19:12-10 Public notice of dates relevant to elections and voters; internet sites.

4. a. Subject to guidelines established by the Attorney General, each county board of elections shall provide public notice, at appropriate times during the year, of certain dates relevant to elections and voters, including but not limited to the dates of each election and the deadlines for voter registration or application for civilian or military absentee ballots. Such notices may be made by card, poster, newspaper, newsletter, pamphlet, radio, television, Internet or by any other means deemed appropriate by the board. The provisions of this subsection are in addition to any other provision for public notice required by law. b. Each county board of elections and the Division of Elections in the Department of Law and Public Safety shall maintain an official Internet site containing information helpful for voters, including a link to the voter's bill of rights established by law and posted on the official Internet site of the State. The Internet site of the Division of Elections that contains such information shall include links to the Internet site of each county board and the Internet site of each county board shall contain a link to the part of the division's site containing information helpful to voters. c. The Attorney General shall review the official Internet site of each county board of elections to ensure that the information provided thereon is consistent with the information provided on the official Internet site of the Division of Elections. L.2005,c.151,s.4.

Source: Open US Law by Vaquill AI (CC BY 4.0)URL: https://www.njleg.state.nj.us/legislative-activity/statutesFetched: 10/17/2026