Ridgewood Voters Say Yes To Consolidated Elections

RIDGEWOOD, NJ — Well, Ridgewood, it's official. By a margin of over 2,000 votes, Village voters passed the municipal question to consolidate local elections.

As of Friday evening, official results are being reported in Bergen County.

Here are the vote totals:

• Yes — 7,582
• No — 5,315

This comes after One Village One Vote, the Ridgewood group fighting for Board of Education and Village Council elections to be held during the General Election, claimed victory Tuesday night after Bergen County released unofficial results.

This led to One Village One Vote sending an email claiming victory, which was also posted to their website.

"The votes are in and we are excited to announce that Ridgewood voters voted "YES" on our Municipal Question. Beginning in 2021, Ridgewood will elect representatives to our non-partisan Board of Education and Village Council in November, when history has proven that the most voters turn out and have their votes counted. We will no longer have expensive, low-turnout elections for these bodies in April and May," they wrote.

Even though the ballot question is passed, which is looking more likely as numbers continue to roll in, the fight may not be over, according to a Northjersey.com report.

Organizers of the group opposing this measure, Keep Our Vote, say the ordinance violates a state statute, and school board election logistics can only be changed by a resolution.

For full coverage of 2020 elections in New Jersey, click here.