Wednesday is Deadline to Register to Vote in School Elections

Residents not currently registered to vote must do so by Wednesday if they want to vote in this year's school election, according to the New Jersey School Boards Association.

Residents can register with their municipal clerk or county board of elections.

School elections will take place April 27. Polls are open from 4 to 9 p.m. for residents to vote on the Shore Regional High School and Long Branch Public Schools' budgets.

Voters will cast ballots on proposal local school district tax levies and candidates for open Board of Education seats.

Shore Regional High School:

For the Shore Regional High School budget, residents in three of the four sending districts will vote on proposed average tax hikes of $50 in West Long Branch, $114 in Oceanport and $91 in Monmouth Beach. Sea Bright residents will vote on an average tax decrease of $220. 

The total proposed tax levy for Shore Regional is $14,386,255, a 2-percent increase over the 2010-2011 tax levy of $14,104,171.

There will not be any changes to the Shore Regional Board of Education this year as three incumbents are running for three open seats.

Current BOE Vice President Russell Olivadotti, Ronald O'Neill, both of West Long Branch, and Ted Szczurek, of Oceanport, will be running to hold their seats for additional three-year terms.

The following is a list of polling locations for Shore Regional voting:

Monmouth Beach

Borough Hall (22 Beach Road)

Oceanport:

District 1:  Old Wharf House

District 2  Port-Au-Peck Chemical Hose Firehouse

District 3  Oceanport Community Center

District 4  Hook and Ladder Fire House

District 5  Port-Au-Peck Chemical Hose Firehouse

Sea Bright:

Borough Hall (1167 Ocean Avenue)

West Long Branch:

District 1 Borough Chemical & Truck Company No. 1 (732) 229-1223
Monmouth Road 

District 2 Community Center (Downstairs) (732) 870-1549
Locust Avenue 

District 3 Community Center (Upstairs)(732) 870-1549
Locust Avenue

District 4 Community Center (Upstairs) (732) 870-1549
Locust Avenue

District 5 Community Center (Downstairs) (732) 870-1549
Locust Avenue 

District 6 Old First United Methodist Church (732) 222-4232
Locust Avenue

Long Branch Public Schools:

The Long Branch Public Schools budget totals $74,517,816. Of that total, $31,570,923 - a zero percent increase from last year - will be raised from local taxpayers.

Two incumbent Long Branch Board of Education members are joined by three newcomers in seeking school board seats.

Incumbents Violeta Peters and Armand R. Zambrano will be running to reclaim their seats and Norman Palmer, James N. Parnell and Allan Menkin will also be running. Current board member Rose Widdis will not be running for re-election this year.

The following is a list of voting locations for the Long Branch Public Schools voting:

District 1        Elberon Fire House, 173 Lincoln Avenue 

District 2        West End Fire House, 595 Second Avenue

District 3        West End Fire House, 595 Second Avenue

District 4        Elberon Fire House, 173 Lincoln Avenue

District 5        Operation Life Building, 384 Second Avenue

District 6        Long Branch High School (Indiana Ave entrance, Main Lobby)

District 7        Oceanic Fire House, 29 Norwood Avenue

District 8        Operation Life Building, 384 Second Avenue

District 9        Morris Avenue School (Willow Ave entrance)

District 10      Neptune Fire House, 30 Branchport Avenue

District 11      Long Branch Senior Center, 85 Second Avenue

District 12      Long Branch Main Library, 328 Broadway

District 13      Independent Fire House, 205 Union Avenue

District 14      Anastasia School, 7th Avenue

District 15      Lenna Conrow School, LB Avenue entrance

District 16      Oliver Byron Fire House, 45 Atlantic Avenue

District 17      Lenna Conrow School, LB Avenue entranceThe boards of both schools have adopted the proposed budgets.

If the tax levy fails on April 27 in either town, it goes to the respective municipal council, which can leave it intact or cut it.

Registration To register to vote, a person must be at least 18 years old by the election date; a U.S. citizen; and a resident of the state and county where they plan to vote 30 days before the election.  

Vote-by-Mail Any registered New Jersey voter can now vote by mail in any election for any reason. Mail-in ballots are available at the county clerk’s office.

If a resident applies for a vote-by-mail ballot by mail, the application needs to arrive at the county clerk’s office by April 20. People who want to apply for a vote-by-mail ballot in person need to visit the county clerk’s office by 3 p.m. April 26.

Military Ballots A military absentee ballot may be used by someone who is in the military service; their spouses or dependents; by someone who is a patient of a veteran’s hospital; or by a civilian attached to or serving with the Armed Forces of the United States. Citizens who need a military absentee ballot should contact the county clerk for information and deadlines.

Voter Resources  Additional information, including a printable voter registration form and vote-by-mail instructions, can be accessed by selecting the “Voter Information” link from the New Jersey Division of Elections website.

In addition, NJSBA has created an online Voter Information Center at www.njsba.org/elections that includes resources on the Annual School Election, including links for voter registration and absentee ballot information.