5 Things You Can And Can’t Do When Voting In Ocean County
Election Day is only a few days away, and there are a few things worth knowing before you head to your Ocean County polling place.
- 1
You Can Bring Someone In With You
In New Jersey, using Election Day as a way to teach your children about the process is perfectly legal. You are allowed to bring one child into the voting booth with you.
In addition, if you're someone who needs assistance, you are also able to bring a helper into the voting booth with you.
- 2
You Can't Take Photos In The Booth
In this day and age of people taking selfies for every occasion, it's worth noting that a voting booth selfie is a big no-no in New Jersey.
While there's a bill currently going through the State House to change the law, you could actually face a stiff fine and even jail time for an ill-advised Facebook post.
- 3
You Can Contact Officials
If you think that there's something shady going on, if your polling place is closed when it should be open, or if you feel like your right to vote is being impeded, both the NJ ACLU and the Division of Elections have hotlines.
The ACLU hotline is 1-800-792-VOTE
The Division of Elections hotline is 1-877-NJVOTER
- 4
You Can't Hand Out Candidate Materials In The Polling Place
It may be an understatement to say that passions are running rather high ahead of the 2016 election. But "electioneering", which includes handing out pamphlets, flyers, or even trying to talk someone into voting for a specific candidate, is strictly illegal within 100 feet of a polling place.
- 5
You Should Familiarize Yourself With Ballot Questions
There are two ballot questions in New Jersey this year.
One dealing with the expansion of gaming outside of Atlantic County, and another dealing with gas tax revenues.
Even with the interpretative statements that are provided on sample ballots, it's still a good idea to take some time in the next few days to familiarize yourself not only with the questions, but exactly what a "yes" or "no" vote will really mean.