HACKENSACK, N.J. — Bergen County is moving up the timetable for mailing thousands of ballots ahead of November’s election and adding a new tracking system to nearly 76,000 ballot envelopes.
The county expects to begin mailing ballots to voters with active mail-in requests before Sept. 19, giving voters extra time to receive and return them in case of postal delays, according to a notice issued by the County Clerk’s Office.
The envelopes will also carry a unique Intelligent Mail Barcode, allowing individual pieces of mail to be tracked as they move through the postal system.
The barcode is not being used to count votes.
Bergen County officials said the county’s voting equipment scans the paper ballots themselves and does not use barcodes or QR codes to tabulate votes. Each ballot also leaves a paper record that can be reviewed by a person.
The county said its ballot envelopes meet U.S. Postal Service design standards and that the updated design was approved by a Postal Service mail-piece design analyst in 2021.
The County Clerk’s notice also references ongoing election litigation but does not identify the cases or explain what effect they could have on Bergen County’s voting procedures. The county said it is continuing to follow New Jersey law and existing vote-by-mail rules.
Voters who are expecting a mail ballot should contact the County Clerk’s Office if it has not arrived by Oct. 13.
Once completed, ballots can be returned through the mail or placed in one of Bergen County’s 35 secure ballot drop boxes. Voters can also check the status of their mail ballot through New Jersey’s voter information portal.
If a mailed ballot has not reached the Board of Elections within a week after it was sent, the county says voters can request a replacement by mail, pick one up at the County Clerk’s Office or vote provisionally during early voting or on Election Day.
The county is also warning voters not to wait until the last minute.
For ballots being mailed during the final week before Election Day, voters are advised to take them to a post office counter and request a free manual postmark.
Voters who would rather cast their ballots in person will have another option. Bergen County’s nine-day early voting period runs from Oct. 24 through Nov. 1, with 10 locations across the county. Polls will be open from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday through Saturday and from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Sunday.
The early voting sites are in Fort Lee, Garfield, Hackensack, Mahwah, Paramus, River Vale, Teaneck, Woodcliff Lake, Wood-Ridge and Wyckoff.
The 2026 general election is Tuesday, Nov. 3.
Voters with questions about mail ballots can contact the Bergen County Clerk’s Elections Division at 201-336-7020 or electionsclerk@bergencountynj.gov.
