It's almost time to vote.

Election Day is Tuesday, Nov. 7, and the polls are open from 6 a.m. to 8 p.m.

However, the New Jersey general elections for 2023 started on Oct. 28 for those who are choosing early voting and officially close at 8 p.m. Oct. 28.

If you haven't registered to vote yet, it's too late for this election. Voter registration closes 21 days before the election.

Where to vote on Election Day?

There are hundreds of polling places. Each residential addresses has been assigned to a specific polling place. To find your polling place use the State's Polling Place Search.

How to vote

There are three ways to vote: by mail, in-person early voting and by casting a vote in person on Nov. 7.

In-person early voting

To cast an early in-person vote is as simple as finding the most convenient early voting site in your county. Voters can use any of the voting sites available, and no appointment is necessary.

Early voting locations are open until Nov. 5.

Hours: 10 a.m.-8 p.m. Monday through Saturday and 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Sunday.

Monmouth County Early Voting Centers

Ocean County Early Voting Centers

Vote-by-mail ballot

Voters can apply to vote by mail by filing this application and taking it in person to their county clerk before 3 p.m. Monday, Nov. 6. After submitting the application, the county clerk will provide voters with a ballot.

Voters can either mail their ballot or take it in person to the County Board of Elections Office. If mailed, the ballot should be postmarked on or before 8 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 7. Once a voter applies for a vote-by-mail ballot, they cannot vote in person.

Monmouth County Board of Elections Address: 300 Halls Mill Road, Freehold, NJ 07728 Telephone: 732-431-7802 ext.7150 Hours: 8:30 a.m. - 4:30 p.m. (until 8 p.m. on Election Day)

Ocean County Board of ElectionsAddress: 129 Hooper Avenue, P.O. Box 2006, Toms River, NJ 08754 Telephone: 732-929-2167 Hours: 8 a.m. - 4:30 p.m. (until 8 p.m. on Election Day)

Alternatively, voters can drop their vote-by-mail ballots in any of their county’s secure ballots drop boxes.

Monmouth County Ballot Drop Boxes

Aberdeen, Aberdeen Municipal Building, 1 Aberdeen Square, Aberdeen, NJ 07747 Allentown, Allentown Borough Hall (Front entrance), 8 North Main St., Allentown, NJ 08501 Asbury Park, Asbury Park City Hall (Bangs Avenue), 1 Municipal Plaza, Asbury Park, NJ 07712 Belmar, Borough of Belmar Municipal Bldg., 601 Main St., Belmar, NJ 07719 Colts Neck, Colts Neck Twp. Municipal Building, 124 Cedar Drive, Colts Neck, NJ 07722 Cream Ridge, Township of Upper Freehold Municipal Bldg., 314 Route 539, Cream Ridge, NJ 08514 Eatontown, Eatontown Borough Municipal Bldg. (Rear entrance), 47 Broad St., Eatontown, NJ 07724 Fair Haven, Borough of Fair Haven Municipal Bldg., 748 River Road, Fair Haven, NJ 07704 Freehold, Special Services Complex Bldg. (Side entrance), 300 Halls Mill Rd., Freehold, NJ 07728 Freehold, Borough of Freehold Municipal Building, 30 Mechanic Street, Freehold, NJ 07728 Freehold, Freehold Township Municipal Building, 1 Municipal Plaza, Freehold, NJ 07728 Hazlet, NJ MVC in Hazlet (Airport Plaza), 1374 Highway 36, Hazlet, NJ 07730 Holmdel, Holmdel Senior Community Center, 6 Crawfords Corner Road, Holmdel, NJ 07733 Howell, Howell Twp. Municipal Bldg. (Rear entrance), 4567 Route 9 North, Howell, NJ 07731 Keansburg, Bayshore Senior Center, 100 Main St., Keansburg, NJ 07734 Keyport, Borough of Keyport Municipal Building, 70 West Front St., Keyport, NJ 07735 Leonardo, Croydon Hall, 900 Leonardville Road, Leonardo, NJ 07737 Little Silver, Borough of Little Silver Municipal Building, 480 Prospect Ave., Little Silver, NJ 07739 Long Branch, Long Branch City Hall, 344 Broadway, Long Branch, NJ 07740 Manalapan, Manalapan Twp. Municipal Bldg. (Front entrance), 120 County Road 522, Manalapan, NJ 07726 Manasquan, Borough of Manasquan Municipal Building, 201 East Main St., Manasquan, NJ 08736 Marlboro, Marlboro Township Municipal Building, 1979 Township Drive, Marlboro 07746 Middletown, Middletown Twp. Public Library, 55 New Monmouth Rd., Middletown, NJ 07748 Millstone, Millstone Township Municipal Building, 470 Stagecoach Road, Millstone, NJ 08510 Neptune, Neptune Twp. Municipal Building (Library entrance), 25 Neptune Blvd., Neptune, NJ 07753 Oakhurst, Ocean Township Town Hall, 399 Monmouth Road, Oakhurst, NJ 07755 Oceanport, Borough of Oceanport Municipal Building, 90 Oceanport Way, Oceanport, NJ 07757 Red Bank, Red Bank Borough Municipal Bldg., 90 Monmouth St., Red Bank, NJ 07701 Rumson, Rumson Borough Hall (Front parking lot), 80 East River Road, Rumson, NJ 07760 Tinton Falls, Tinton Falls EMS Building, 1 Volunteer Way, Tinton Falls, NJ 07753 Union Beach, Borough of Union Beach Municipal Building, 650 Poole Ave., Union Beach, NJ 07735 Wall, Wall Township Municipal Building, 2700 Allaire Rd., Wall, NJ 07719 West Long Branch, West Long Branch Community Center, 116 Locust Avenue, West Long Branch, NJ 07764 West Long Branch, Monmouth University’s Rebecca Stafford Student Center, 400 Cedar Avenue, West Long Branch, NJ 07764

Ocean County Ballot Drop Boxes

Barnegat, Ocean County Library (Entrance), 112 Burr St., Barnegat, NJ 08005 Beachwood, Ocean County Library, 126 Beachwood Blvd., Beachwood, NJ 08722 Berkeley / Bayville section, Ocean County Library, 30 Station Roan, Bayville, NJ 08721 Brick, Ocean County Library, 301 Chambers Bridge Road, Brick, NJ 08723 Jackson, Ocean County Library, 2 Jackson Drive, Jackson, NJ 08527 Lacey, Ocean County Library, 10 E Lacey Road, Lacey, NJ 08731 Lakewood, OC Northern Resource Center, 225 4th St., Lakewood, NJ 08701 Lavallette, Upper Shores Library, 112 Jersey City Ave., Lavallette, NJ 08735 Little Egg Harbor, Ocean County Library, 290 Mathistown Road, Little Egg Harbor, NJ 08087 Manahawkin, OC Southern Resource Center, 179 South Main St., Manahawkin, NJ 08050 Manchester, Ocean County Library, 21 Colonial Drive, Manachester, NJ 08759 Manchester / Whiting section, Ocean County Library (Next to Shop&Stop), 400 Lacey Road, Manchester, NJ 08759 Ocean Township, Ocean County Library, 112 Main St., Waretown, NJ 08758 Plumsted, Ocean County Library, 119 Evergreen Road, New Egypt, NJ 08533 Point Borough, Ocean County Library, 834 Beaver Dam Road, Point Pleasant Boro, NJ 08742 Surf City, LBI Library, 217 S Central Ave, Surf City, NJ 08008 Toms River, Ocean County Library (Outside of Mancini Room), 101 Washington St., Toms River, NJ 08753 Toms River, Ocean County Courthouse (Outside of Clerks Office), 118 Washington St., Toms River, NJ 08753 Toms River, OC Parking Garage (3^rd floor), Madison Avenue, Toms River, NJ 08754 Toms River, PIC Building, 1959 U.S. 9, Toms River, NJ 08755

What races are contested in Monmouth County?

What races are contested in Ocean County?

Reilly Klein tallied the winner in second overtime to lift fifth-seeded Steinert past fourth-seeded Princeton Day in the first round of the Mercer County Tournament in Princeton.

Complete Box Score »

Steinert will next face top-seeded Pennington in the semifinal on Thursday.

Jasmin Ortega assisted on Klein’s goal for Steinert (11-4-1), which has won three of its last four matches and earned its 10th shutout of the season.

Princeton Day (11-2-1) lost for the first time in seven matches.

No. 18 Allentown 3, Hopewell Valley 0

Bella Conti scored twice to pace second-seeded Allentown, No. 18 in the NJ.com Top 20, to a 3-0 win over third-seeded Notre Dame in the first round of the Mercer County Tournament in Allentown.

Conti has 24 goals so far this season for Allentown, which will next host third-seeded Notre Dame in the semifinal on Thursday.

Lindsay Hines tallied a goal and two assists while Olivia Cieslak came up with two saves for Allentown (13-0-3), which obtained its ninth shutout of the campaign.

Kennedy Havens finished with five saves for Hopewell Valley (9-6-1).

Notre Dame 2, Lawrence 1

Magdelena Madjor and Anna Guido each had a goal to help third-seeded Notre Dame hold off sixth-seeded Lawrence in the first round of the Mercer County Tournament in Lawrenceville.

Notre Dame will next visit second-seeded Allentown in the semifinal on Thursday.

Reagan O’Mara provided an assist while Leah Zeidman put up six saves to preserve the win for Notre Dame (13-2-1), which has only lost once in the past 11 matches.

Amber Wooding scored for Lawrence (9-5) and Mia Turco finished with nine saves.

Pennington 7, Peddie 0

Hailey Adamsky and Morgan Kotch had two goals apiece to lead top-seeded Pennington to a 7-0 win over eighth-seeded Peddie in the first round of the Mercer County Tournament in Pennington.

Pennington will next host fifth-seeded Steinert in the semifinal on Thursday.

Brianna Turner, Sara Chrnelich and Meg Balerna each scored as well while Maya Raghanundanan had two assists for Pennington (15-0), which earned its ninth shutout of the campaign.

Sadie Lawrence finished with eight saves for Peddie (5-6).

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The National Weather Service has released additional information regarding the tornado that touched down in Allentown during Monday’s storms.

The National Weather Service’s Mount Holly office said Wednesday that the tornado which struck the Midway Manor section of Allentown was an EF1, with estimated peak wind speeds of 100 mph.

The NWS first confirmed the tornado Tuesday evening, after a storm survey team visited the area.

A public information statement from the weather service said the twister touched down at around 7:21 p.m. on Monday near East Pennsylvania Street, between North Ulster and North Van Buren streets.

The statement said damage to the roof of a church and a neighboring shed was observed, with multiple shingles having been removed and displaced. A large hardwood tree was also uprooted.

The tornado traveled northeast toward East Lily and North Wahneta streets, causing sporadic tree damage, but as it crossed North Wahneta the damage increased.

The tornado pulled a shed off its foundation and threw it 50 feet, and uprooted or snapped multiple trees, according to the NWS.

The tornado reached its maximum intensity and width, around 160 yards, as it approached and crossed East Fairmont Street. The greatest amount was done to homes along the west side of Club Avenue, where the weather service said multiple buildings lost between 30-50% of their roof covering, among other damages suffered.

One home had a front porch awning taken off the east side of the house, lofted, then landed about 100 feet away in the backyard of a house two doors down,” the weather service wrote.

“Additionally, damaged crops in the backyard of a home were fallen in a manner consistent with a convergent wind pattern.”

As it crossed into Bethlehem the tornado began to weaken, though it still snapped or tore large branches off multiple trees, before dissipating as it approached Pennsylvania Avenue.

The weather service said there were no known injuries or fatalities associated with this tornado. The twister had a path length of 0.3 miles, and lasted approximately two minutes.

The NWS also confirmed that the storms produced a second tornado, which touched down in Holland Township in Hunterdon County, New Jersey.

This tornado was rated an EF0, with estimated peak wind speeds of 85 mph. It traveled for 0.52 miles, reached a maximum width of 150 yards, and was an the ground for approximately one minute. It damaged trees, and also caused significant damage to two farm outbuildings.

The Midway Manor tornado is the second confirmed funnel cloud to have touched down in the Lehigh Valley this summer.

In late June, an EF0 tornado touched down in Northampton County near the Martins Creek Belvidere highway, with wind speeds of around 65 mph.

According to the Enhanced Fujita Scale, which classifies tornados based on estimated wind speed and related damage, an EF1 is a “weak” tornado with wind speeds of between 86 and 110 miles per hour.

An EF0, the weakest category, has wind speeds between 65-85 mph. The most severe categorization, EF5, has wind speeds of over 200 mph.

Another NWS survey team also investigated damages in the Center Valley, Upper and Lower Saucon Township areas.

The NWS statement said extensive tree damage was observed, but the weather service determined that the damage patterns were consistent with straight-line wind damage.

A tornado watch had been declared across the Lehigh Valley until 11 p.m. on Monday. The severe storms also knocked out power to tens of thousands of homes.

(Original air-date: 8/10/23)

ROBBINSVILLE, NJ -- The Borough of Allentown as well as a group of area residents, known as The Alliance for Sustainable Communities (TASC), have filed a lawsuit against Robbinsville Township seeking to void the approval of a 500,000 square foot warehouse complex in Mercer Corporate Park.

According to court documents obtained and reviewed by TAPinto Hamilton/Robbinsville, Allentown has joined with TASC and area residents Kenneth Mayberg, of Robbinsville, and Gregory Westfall, Patricia Brown, Mary Woehr, all from Allentown, in filing a legal complaint with the Superior Court of Mercer County.

The property in question is located at Mercer Corporate Park on Corporate Drive -- which is off of Robbinsville-Allentown Road -- and is zoned Office-Research-Hotel (ORH.) Under a Robbinsville ordinance, warehouses can make up 50 percent of properties in these zones.

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However, the plaintiffs complain that the property is adjacent to Allentown's Historic Village and National and State Historic District. They further take issue with the planned buildings potentially covering almost 50 percent of the 90-acre parcel of land and almost 50 percent of the property with impervious surfaces.

The application was first filed by South Carolina-based Johnson Development Associates in February 2021 but was not fully approved until March 2023 after numerous public hearings.

The Resolution adopted by the Land Use Board, which TAPinto also reviewed, lays out in detail the approval process as well as the conditions set by the board that must be met by the developer.

The document notes that the Land Use Board held seven public hearings on the application on December 6, 2022, December 13, 2022, February 21, 2023, February 28, 2023, March 21, 2023, March 22, 2023, and March 28, 2023. The Township says that all of these meeting were live and members of the public were able to speak or question the applicant's professional witnesses.

The lawsuit by TASC and Allentown contends that members of the public did not have the opportunity to pose questions.

However, meeting transcripts of the February 21 meeting alone show that 16 members of the public, including residents of Robbinsville, Hamilton and Allentown, spoke during the public portion of the meeting and received answers to their questions. Many of these remarks raised questions about truck traffic, noise, contamination of the Indian Run floodplain, and possible impact on the historical area of Allentown.

Additional meetings also provided an opportunity for public comment.

For instance, on March 22, seven members of the public spoke. Many of these comments raised concerns about stormwater runoff and impact on the local environment.

Meeting transcripts show that responses were given, where possible under the legal jurisdiction of board, to these questions.

TASC and the Borough of Allentown charge in the lawsuit that the public and the objectors were not permitted to provide expert testimony on wildlife and wetlands, which provide habitat for the endangered and threatened species on the property. The lawsuit further claims that appropriate approvals by the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP) have not yet been obtained by the developer.

However, according to Michael Herbert, an attorney with Parker McCay who is representing Robbinsville Township in the lawsuit, Johnson Development Associates has already achieved most NJDEP approvals and is pursuing the remaining approvals pursuant to the conditions of this Land Use Board's approval.

The plaintiff's cite the Cornell University Laboratory of Ornithology database in claiming that "the Mercer Corporate Park is one of New Jersey's top birding hotspots with 200 bird species observed there" including several threatened and endangered species such as the American Bald Eagle, Great Blue Heron, Northern Harrier, and Osprey.

Herbert says that the determination of wildlife species on the property also is left up to NJDEP to review.

Finally, the plaintiff's lawsuit claims that a member of the Land Use Board said at a hearing that they were only voting for the application because a board attorney directed them to do so.

Herbert denies that claim saying that all of the "board members chose to vote to approve the application pursuant to their own judgment aided by the guidance of the board professionals including the attorney."

Robbinsville Township and the developer plan to file court documents countering the claims. A case conference would then be schedule by the court prior to a hearing being set. A timeframe will be set by the presiding judge.

Monmouth County wants to buy a Revolutionary War site in Upper Freehold now slated for warehouses and has asked the developer if he wants to sell it.

The county’s move is the latest effort by officials to buy and preserve land where developers plan to build warehouses, plans that have outraged residents who warn about increased traffic and other environmental concerns.

The county wrote to the developer, Active Acquisitions, last month, asking whether it is interested in talking about selling the land, said County Commissioner Ross Licitra. The company had not yet responded, Licitra said Monday.

“We have sent a letter to the owner of the property from the Monmouth County Parks system, asking them if they would consider the option of selling the property to the county for preservation,” Licitra told NJ Spotlight News. “The county definitely has an interest in that piece of property, and we are moving forward and exploring the steps to possibly preserve this property.”

Historic site of British campground

The 55-acre parcel on the township’s border with historic Allentown was a campground for as many as 10,000 British soldiers as they retreated from Philadelphia in June 1778, a few days before the Battle of Monmouth, which helped to turn the tide of the war in favor of the colonists.

The county’s interest in preserving the site is heightened by the approaching 250th anniversary of American independence in 2026, and by its concern about truck traffic, air pollution and the loss of open space in a rural neighborhood, Licitra said.

‘We are not anti-warehouse. These things are popping up all over the place, and there is a need and a place for them. This piece of property does not seem like it’s the right place for a warehouse.’ — Monmouth County Commissioner Ross Licitra

The New Jersey Society of the Sons of the American Revolution, which commemorates the actions of early American patriots, urged Upper Freehold Township to preserve the land where the warehouse would be built.

“The land in question witnessed clashes that, while perhaps forgotten by some, remains a poignant reminder of the struggles and courage exhibited by our forebears. It stands as a testament to the values they held dear and the battles they fought to secure a better future — for themselves and for us, their posterity,” the group wrote to the township’s planning board on Aug. 9.

The warehouse application is being evaluated by the township’s engineer to ensure compliance with zoning regulations, an Upper Freehold official said in early August.

Not the right place?

If built, two warehouses would cover about 500,000 square feet in what is now a soybean field, a development that would “adversely affect” the fabric of Allentown, one of the county’s most historic towns, Licitra said.

Seth Gerszberg, founder of Active Acquisitions, declined to comment on the county’s letter. Gerszberg earlier told NJ Spotlight News that he had spent about $20 million on the property, including $15 million to buy the land.

If the developer is willing to discuss a sale, Monmouth County would consider buying the property itself, or doing so jointly with nearby municipalities or nonprofit groups, Licitra said.

“There’s a lot of different ways we could do this. The county could do it all by itself, or the county could partner with a lot of people that are willing to come to the table and participate; maybe a joint effort with the municipality and historic groups,” the commissioner said.

The county could also acquire the parcel through eminent domain, as could the municipality or the state, he said.

Licitra said the board of county commissioners is not opposed to warehouses but wants them to be built where their environmental and social effects are minimized.

“We are not anti-warehouse,” he said. “These things are popping up all over the place, and there is a need and a place for them. This piece of property does not seem like it’s the right place for a warehouse.”

Other warehouse battles

In West Windsor, Mercer County, critics of a massive 5.5 million square-foot warehouse project urged township officials to seek county funds to buy the land but no such request was ever made to the county, said its spokeswoman, Julie Willmot. Local planners approved that project in June 2022 but the application at the county level remains incomplete, Willmot said.

In Hamilton, another Mercer County township, officials said in June they are seeking to buy a 10-acre parcel currently slated for warehouse development, and preserving it as open space. Two years ago, Hillsborough Township in Somerset County agreed to spend $14 million to preserve 423 acres where a natural gas-fired power plant was once proposed, and which could have been developed for warehouses or housing.

State officials have rejected calls by critics of warehouse “sprawl” to regulate the industry, saying that land-use authority rests with municipalities in a state with a strong tradition of home rule.

In Upper Freehold, critics fear the addition of thousands of square feet of paved surface will pollute a nearby creek, and even Allentown’s drinking water supply, with runoff.

Micah Rasmussen, a Rider University professor who led a successful community campaign against an earlier warehouse plan in Upper Freehold, welcomed the Monmouth County plan.

“If the owner is willing to be realistic and work with the county and impacted communities, it is indeed good news,” Rasmussen said, referring to the county’s proposal. “The flooding and wastewater challenges at this site were always going to prove difficult for any developer, which is precisely why it has not been built on yet. If he has not yet come to the conclusion that historical-minded preservation would be a mutually beneficial solution for everyone, I am sure he will.”

Sue Kozel, an Upper Freehold resident who opposes the warehouse project, said the Monmouth County commissioners have shown “leadership” in their proposal to buy the historic site. “Together, we can do something very special to preserve the wetlands, the Revolutionary War site, and to preserve farming,” she said.

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