No Ballot In The Mail? How You Can Still Vote In Bergen County

BERGEN COUNTY, NJ — Brooke Rustad assumes she isn’t the only one who hasn’t received their mail-in ballot for the 2020 general election.

As it turns out, she’s right.

Bergen County’s Deputy Clerk Steve Chong said over the phone Thursday people across the county are facing similar issues.

Chong said for most this is simply the result an out-of-date address.

When people move, Chong said, he’s found that though they update their credit card information or make a trip to the DMV, some forget “they still need to update their voter registration address too.”

He said this is the issue for "9 out of 10" people.

Enter person 10.

Rustad did change her address. After a September move, she and her husband both updated their information.

She can confirm this because he received a ballot in the mail while she, of course, did not.

“I know that they have the right address because I’ve actually been receiving other election- related material in the mail addressed to me from the County Clerk, including official documentation of my polling place,” said Rustad, who reported a problem to ProPublica's Electionland project.

At this point, Chong said, it's too late for the another ballot to be mailed. According to him, the last day for ballots to be mailed out was Oct. 24, per guidance from the United States Postal Service.

Regardless of why voters didn’t receive their ballot, the question remaining is obvious. How can I vote?

Chong has an answer for that too. In fact, he has a couple.

For starters, the Clerk’s Office has set up a table for voters who didn’t receive their ballot to fill out a provisional one.

The table is located outside 1 Bergen County Plaza in Hackensack daily, and has been since last week, Chong said.

If you are a registered voter you can come to One Bergen County Plaza this Saturday at 9 am-1pm to request a duplicate ballot in person if you haven’t received your ballot yet.
— John S. Hogan (@JohnHoganClerk) October 22, 2020

Voters who need to update their address can still do that too, and the Clerk's Office has even made it easier.

Generally, voters need to contact the Superintendent of Elections to make such an update, but the two offices are collaborating to make that easier in 2020 by having someone from the Superintendent’s office available for voters interacting with the Clerk’s office.

The second option for voters is to call the Clerk's office and have them print out your ballot, which voters can then pick up at 1 Bergen County Plaza.

Rustad is trying her hand at the second option, she said, but has to drive 30 minutes to Hackensack to do so.

“If that doesn’t work, my only and last option is to cast a provisional ballot in person at my polling place on Nov. 3,” she said.

If the old adage is correct, the third time’s the charm. Rustad’s hoping she’ll only have to try twice.

This story was produced with the help of tips reported through ProPublica's Electionland project. If you experience or witness a problem voting, please let us know.

Patch is partnering with ProPublica’s Electionland project to report on problems voters encounter at the polls on Nov. 3 and we want to know if you see any shenanigans. Here’s how you can report what you see to Electionland:

• SMS: Text the word VOTE, VOTA (for Spanish) or 投票 (for Chinese) to 81380 (standard text message rates apply).
• WhatsApp: Send the word VOTE, VOTA (for Spanish) or 投票 (for Chinese) to 850-909-8683.
• Facebook Messenger: Go to m.me/electionland
• Submit this form