Election Day In NJ: Polls Open 6 a.m. To 8 p.m. For Governor, Assembly Races

By Isabella Darcy|NJ State House News Service

Tuesday is Election Day, the last opportunity for New Jerseyans to choose their next governor and General Assembly. Only those who registered to vote by Oct. 14 may cast ballots. 

Polls are open 6 a.m. to 8 p.m. Voters using mail-in ballots face an 8 p.m. deadline to have them postmarked at a U.S. Postal Service counter, or deposit them in a secure ballot drop box, or deliver them in person to their county’s board of elections office.

Frontrunners for governor are Democrat U.S. Representative Mikie Sherrill, a Navy veteran, and Republican Jack Ciatterelli, a former Assembly member and ally of President Donald Trump who is making his third run for the office. The winner in January will succeed Democrat Phil Murphy, who has served two consecutive terms and is constitutionally barred from seeking a third. 

New Jersey and Virginia are the only two states with governor’s races this year. The contests are being watched nationally as a potential bellwether for the 2026 congressional mid-term election. The other big race on the national radar is for New York City mayor.

Top issues for voters today include affordability, property taxes and utilities. 

New Jerseyans on both ends of the political spectrum say they are fed up with high prices for automobiles, appliances, groceries and other goods, and want a lower cost of living. They also say they want a solution to escalating energy costs: In June, electricity bills climbed an average 20% as a result of an annual wholesale power auction, and a spike is expected next year as well.

The White House also is on voters’ minds. Forty percent of New Jerseyans approve of the way Trump is doing his job, while 56% disapprove, according to a Quinnipiac University poll released on Oct. 30. The survey, of 1,166 likely voters contacted from Oct. 23-28, has a margin of error of plus or minus 3.8%.

Respondents in that poll favored Sherrill, with 51%, over Ciattarelli, with 43%. 

Along with the governor’s office, all 80 seats in the Assembly are on the ballot. Democrats control the legislature, and no one is predicting a Republican upset. 

Still, spending on the races – by candidates and independent groups that support them – exceeded $27 million as of Oct. 30, according to the state Election Law Enforcement Commission. Almost 75% of those funds have been spent in 10 of the 40 legislative districts, suggesting a heavy Republican challenge to the Democrats’ 52-28 majority.

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Editor’s note: NJ State House News Service intern Isabella Darcy is a College of New Jersey senior majoring in journalism and professional writing and minoring in communication studies.