Midterm elections in New Jersey will take place on November 8, 2022. Many registered voters often overlook local elections, but these positions make the biggest impacts on our State. Local elected officials represent New Jerseyians in the House of Representatives and can affect anything from fixing potholes and supporting local businesses to making decisions about public schools in NJ. Several candidates are running for Board of Education positions across the state as well.
New Jersey has 12 congressional districts in the House of Representatives. Each of these districts has a position that is up for re-election, or has an open seat. Currently, Democrats hold 10 of the 12 congressional seats in NJ. However, the President’s party typically loses seats during a midterm election. When combined with redistricting, Democrats could lose some of their in-state power.
Since midterm elections take place in the middle of a presidential term, voters focus on issues that are occurring in real time. For the 2022 midterms, voters across the nation are concerned with inflation, gas prices, health care, and other issues.
According to the NJ Secretary of State, New Jersey has 6,488,266 registered voters in 2022.
Every 10 years, redistricting in the US is done based on each state’s most current Census data. In 2020, New Jersey redistricted the entire state in a process known as district redrawing. Here’s a breakdown of the new redistricting and candidates running in the upcoming midterm election.
You can view the new district map here.
District 1
Donald Norcross- D (Incumbent)
Claire Gustafson- R
District 2
Jeff Van Drew- R (Incumbent)
Tim Alexander- D
District 3
Andrew Kim- D (Incumbent)
Bob Healey- R
District 4
Chris Smith- R (Incumbent)
Matthew Jenkins- D
District 5
Josh Gottheimer- D (Incumbent)
Frank Pallotta- R
District 6
Frank Pallone Jr.- D (Incumbent)
Susan Kiley- R
District 7
Tom Malinowski- D (Incumbent)
Thomas Kean Jr.- R
District 8
Robert Menendez Jr.- D
Marcos Arroyo- R
District 9
Bill Pascrell- D (Incumbent)
Billy Prempeh- R
District 10
Donald Payne Jr.- D (Incumbent)
David Pinckney- R
District 11
Mikie Sherrill- D (Incumbent)
Paul DeGroot- R
District 12
Bonnie Watson Coleman- D (Incumbent)
Darius Mayfield- R
Races to Watch
The race in NJ-7 has been followed closely by voters and political science analysts because it is a competitive rematch for Representative Malinowski and his challenger, Thomas Kean Jr. Due to the redrawing, NJ-7 houses a more Republican demographic than before. This means that Rep. Malinowski, who assumed office in 2019, could potentially lose his seat.
How to Vote
Voters in New Jersey can vote in three ways:
- Absentee ballots: The deadline to request an absentee ballot is Nov. 1. Absentee ballots may be returned in person by 8 p.m. on Nov. 8 or by mail as long as they are postmarked by 8 p.m. on Nov. 8.
- Early in-person voting: Early voting in person starts on Oct. 29 and will end on Nov. 6.
- In-person voting: At your polling place on Election Day takes place on Nov. 8.
About the Author/s
Kailee Morel is a senior at New Jersey City University where she majors in English with a concentration in Creative Writing, and minors in Political Science. Kailee has completed an internship as an Editorial Assistant with Memoir Magazine and is currently the Editor-In-Chief of NJCU's Hype Literary Magazine and an Editorial Intern with New Jersey Digest. She also participates as an Event Host with the NJCU English Dept.'s Student Events and Publications Committee. Kailee has developed her craft to produce content that uplifts the messages of writers.
1 comment
In your discussion about voting there was no mention of ballot boxes. I was sent a mail in ballot and placed it in a ballot box at my municipal Ctr. Will my vote be counted?