NJ 12th District Primary Election: Who's Running, How To Vote

Tuesday's Primary Election in Mercer, Middlesex, Somerset and Union counties includes voting for the representative for the House member from New Jersey's 12th Congressional District.

There are three candidates seeking the two-year House of Representatives seat. Incumbent Bonnie Watson Coleman faces a challenge in the Democratic Primary from Lisa McCormick. The winner of Tuesday's Democratic primary voting will face Republican Mark Razzoli.

Coleman, the first Black woman to represent New Jersey in Congress, is wrapping her third term in the House of Representatives. She was first elected in 2014, when she defeated Republican Alieta Eck to succeed the retiring Rush Holt. In 2016, she defeated Republican Stephen Uccio and in 2018, she defeated Daryl Kipnis.

She faces a primary challenge from Lisa McCormick, who has worked in publishing for the last 15 years. Her family includes her 20-year-old son Jesse A. McCormick, III who is a junior at Fairleigh Dickinson University.

After graduating from JP Stevens High School in Edison, she attended the Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT) for three years and earned a certificate in office automation from Cittone Institute. Read more here: District 12 Primary Election Profile: Lisa McCormick

If you are planning to vote in the primary, here's what you need to know about the process:
If you received a mail-in ballot because you are a registered Republican or a registered Democrat, here are the ways you can submit your vote:

• Mail it back, following the instructions on the ballot. It must be postmarked no later than 8 p.m. on July 7, 2020, to be counted in the election.
• Deliver your completed ballot in person to the Board of Elections in your county.
• In Mercer County, the Board of Elections is located at 640 South Broad Street in Trenton.
• In Middlesex County, the Board of Elections is located at 11 Kennedy Boulevard in East Brunswick.
• In Somerset County, the Board of Elections is located at 20 Grove Street in Somerville.
• In Union County, the Board of Elections is located at 271 North Broad Street in Elizabeth.

You can also drop your completed ballot off in a secure ballot drop box. The drop boxes are under surveillance 24 hours a day, seven days a week and ballots will be picked up daily.
In Mercer County, drop boxes can be found in these locations:

Princeton Municipal Bldg., Princeton;

Hamilton Call Center — 5 Justice Samuel A Alito Jr Way, Hamilton (next to the Hamilton Library);

Hopewell Township Administration Bldg., Hopewell;

Trenton- Courthouse Annex, 209 S. Broad Street (in front), Trenton; and

East Windsor Police Station (in front), East Windsor.

In Middlesex County, drop boxes can be found in these locations:

Jamesburg Municipal Complex, 131 Perrineville Road, Jamesburg;
Piscataway Municipal Complex, 455 Hoes Lane, Piscataway;
Sayreville Borough Hall, 167 Main Street, Sayreville;
Milltown Municipal Complex, 39 Washington Avenue, Milltown;
Metuchen Municipal Complex, 500 Main Street, Metuchen;
Plainsboro Municipal Complex, 641 Plainsboro Road, Plainsboro;
Woodbridge Municipal Complex, 1 Main Street, Woodbridge;
Edison Municipal Complex, 100 Municipal Blvd., Edison;
East Brunswick Municipal Complex, 1 Civic Drive, East Brunswick;
County Administration Building, 75 Bayard Street, New Brunswick.

In Somerset County, drop boxes can be found in these locations:

Bernards Township Municipal Building, 1 Collyer Lane, Basking Ridge;
Bridgewater Township Municipal Building, 100 Commons Way, Bridgewater;
Somerset County Administration Building, 20 Grove Street, Somerville;
Hillsborough Municipal Building, 379 South Branch Road, Hillsborough;
Franklin Municipal Building, 475 DeMott Lane, Somerset.

In Union County, drop boxes can be found in these locations:

Smith County Courthouse, 102 Main Street, Springfield;
Lincoln Library, 44 Elm Road, Elmville;
Union County Administration Building, 10 Elizabethtown Plaza, Elizabeth;
Cranford Community Center, 220 Walnut Avenue, Cranford;
Plainfield Municipal Building, 515 Watchung Avenue, Plainfield;
Union Township Municipal Building, 1976 Morris Avenue, Union;
Colleen Fraser Building, 300 North Avenue East, Westfield.

The deadline for dropping your ballot off in the drop boxes is 8 p.m. on Tuesday, July 7, 2020.
Polling locations have been decreased by fifty percent; and, therefore, election districts have been consolidated. They will be open 6 a.m. to 8 p.m. Find your polling location here.