Poll: Should School Board Elections Be Moved to November?

For local governments, voter turnout is generally low in NJ. In fact, last November's election showed one of the lowest voter turnouts for Monmouth County, according to the county website.

What has a lower turnout than the general election? School board elections.

Traditionally, NJ School Board Elections in local municipalities are held in the spring, separate from the general election in November.

In an effort to cut the costs of holding two elections, and increase voter turnout for school board and school budget elections, a NJ law which passed through the House and Senate says municipalities have the option of combining elections in November. Christie signed the bill into law on Tuesday.

In order to move the election, the governing body or the school board can adopt a resolution, or a petition can be presented with 15 percent of voters who voted in the last presidential election, according to NJ.com.

If elections are combined by a municipality, school budgets will not require a vote if it is under the 2 percent tax cap.