2020 Primary: How To Vote In Paramus

PARAMUS, NJ — If you've never voted by mail before, 2020 might just be the year.

COVID-19 has delayed this year's election to July 7, closed polls and forced the state into a "primarily" vote-by-mail approach to casting your ballot.

"Our goals are twofold," Gov. Phil Murphy said when he made the announcement in May. "To maximize our democracy while minimizing the risk of illness. We want everyone to participate in a safe, fully democratic process."

Murphy also said that there will be polling places open in every municipality to ensure that everyone can exercise their right to vote and at least 50 percent of the normal locations per county.

The Bergen County Clerk will mail out sample ballots to voters, which will include their polling location. Polls will be open normal hours, 6 a.m. to 8 p.m., and will be staffed with three to four poll workers.

He added that voters who have not been able to seamlessly transition to a mail-in process, like those with a disability, will be kept safe when they cast their vote.

"Social distancing protocols will be enforced within these polling locations including the sanitizing of every touch screen, voting machine in between voters," he said.

The Process

All registered Democratic and Republican voters will automatically receive a postage paid vote-by-mail ballot while all unaffiliated and inactive voters will automatically receive a postage paid vote-by-mail application. Those ballots can be sent back by mail or dropped in one of the boxes.

The Bergen County Clerk's Office has posted a how-to video for those voting by mail.

Vote-By-Mail Drop Boxes:

Not every Bergen County municipality has a drop box, but there are five sprinkled across the county.

• Demarest - 118 Serpentine Road, Demarest, NJ (Borough Hall)
• Fort Lee - 1355 Inwood Terrace/Anderson Avenue Circular Driveway (Fort Lee Community Center)
• Hackensack - One Bergen County Plaza, Hackensack, NJ (County Administration Building)
• Ramsey - 30 Wyckoff Avenue (Library - in rear of building)
• Rutherford - 176 Park Avenue, Rutherford (Borough Hall)

Ballot drop boxes are available 24-hours a day, but ballots must be in the drop box by 8 p.m. on election night to be counted.

All mail-in ballots must be postmarked by the July 7 election day, but, according to Murphy, if the county board of elections receives the ballot within seven days after the polls closed, it will still be counted.