HACKENSACK, N.J. — Nearly 38,000 Bergen County residents have already voted in the Nov. 3 election, with more than 45 percent of requested mail-in ballots returned before early in-person voting even begins Saturday.
As of Thursday, Oct. 22, the Bergen County Board of Elections had received 37,547 mail-in ballots out of 82,660 requested, according to County Clerk John Hogan.
That's a return rate of 45.4 percent, with 11 days remaining until Election Day.
Bergen County Board of Elections Chairman Richard Miller told NorthJersey.com that the numbers are running slightly higher than normal.
He expects between 50,000 and 52,000 mail-in ballots to be returned by Nov. 3.
For comparison, 58,571 mail-in ballots were cast in Bergen County during the 2025 gubernatorial election.
The county has 35 ballot drop box locations, allowing voters to return their ballots without relying on the postal service.
Among the locations are the Teaneck Municipal Building at 818 Teaneck Road, Paramus Borough Hall at 1 Jockish Square, Bergenfield Borough Hall at 198 N. Washington Avenue and the Bergen County Administration Building at One Bergen County Plaza in Hackensack.
Drop boxes are available 24 hours a day, with ballots collected under video surveillance by sheriff's officers and representatives of both major political parties.
The county is also using unique mail barcodes to help track ballot envelopes, although votes themselves are counted using optical scanning of paper ballots, not barcodes or QR codes.
Election officials say ballots are secured and processed ahead of Election Day, with initial mail-in results expected to be released around 8:10 p.m. Nov. 3.
The deadline to apply for a mail-in ballot by mail is Tuesday, Oct. 27. Voters can return completed ballots to an official drop box until 8 p.m. on Election Day.
Ballots sent through the mail must be postmarked by Nov. 3 and received within the state's permitted deadline.
Voters can track the status of their ballots at vote.nj.gov.
Early in-person voting begins Saturday, Oct. 24, giving Bergen County residents another way to cast their ballots before Election Day.
