Sunday, December 2, 2012
NJ needs to adopt rules to ensure everyone can vote more easily if another disaster hits.
All the ballots have finally been counted in New Jersey. Once they are certified by the state canvassers on Friday, New Jersey can finally close the book on this difficult election. Or can it? The constitutional litigation clinic of Rutgers Newark Law School is poking into the votes, asking for information about the processing of special balloting New Jersey Secretary of State Kim Guadagno ordered to help those displaced by Superstorm Sandy. Remember, thousands were homeless, either literally because their houses were destroyed or left uninhabitable, or by choice because they had left cold, dark buildings to stay with family or friends or at a hotel. Even some polling places were without power and so had to be moved. Guadagno ordered the …
Wednesday, November 7, 2012
As member was elected to council Tuesday, he will be forced to resign board of education seat.
The Bloomingdale Board of Education is expecting to soon have an opening as Board Member Rich Dellaripa was elected to serve on the Bloomingdale Council Tuesday. Dellaripa was one year in to his second term on the Bloomingdale Board of Education. He was first appointed to the board seat and was elected to a new three-year term after running in last year's school board election. But Dellaripa, who was also appointed as the board of education's liaison to the Bloomingdale Council, decided to serve his borough in a different capacity when he ran for a seat on the municipal council this year. According to unofficial results, Dellaripa was elected Tuesday with 1,888 votes. "We need to put Bloomingdale on a firm financial basis and we need to do…
Tuesday, November 6, 2012
Rich Dellaripa and Mike Sondermeyer garner the most votes in Tuesday's election.
Two Democrats have taken both open seats on the Bloomingdale Council in Tuesday's election. Rich Dellaripa and Mike Sondermeyer will be sworn in on Jan. 1. Republican Incumbent Jo-Ann Pituch, who received 1,083 votes, will be unseated and Republican Michele Siek, who received 1,109 votes, was also not elected. Dellaripa received 1,888 votes and Sondermeyer received 2,003 votes. Both Siek and Pituch were not available for comment Tuesday night. Dellaripa is currently a Bloomingdale Board of Education member and will be forced to vacate his seat on the board before being sworn in to the council on Jan. 1. But he said he is excited to serve the Borough of Bloomingdale in a new capacity. "Obviously I'm very excited, I'm very thankful for the …
Republicans have conceded the senatorial seat to incumbent Robert Menendez.
As the ballots pour in from Sandy-ravaged New Jersey, Robert Menendez has emerged victorious in reclaiming his U.S. Senate seat against Republican challenger Joe Kyrillos. With just over half of polling districts reporting, state Republicans have conceded victory to Menendez. The U.S. senator leads 58 percent to 40 percent as of 10:30 p.m., according to CBS News. "Senator Joe Kyrillos ran a great campaign against very tough circumstances and despite the loss, his family, campaign team, and supporters should be very proud of their efforts," New Jersey Republican Chairman Sam Raia said in a statement late Tuesday night. "Joe represents the very best of New Jersey and has fought for his constituents faithfully from the day he took office and …
Voters said they stopped by the polls because others fought for that freedom.
Whether they were voting for Democrats or Republicans Tuesday, tri-boro voters said they made the polls a priority because it is an American freedom. "People died to have the right," Janice Meich, 64, a Bloomingdale resident and Bloomingdale Public Schools employee said. Meich visited the polling location at the Samuel R. Donald School Tuesday night to vote. She said she felt empowered because so many have fought to be able to "give us the freedom to vote." She also voted because she felt it would help make a difference. "If you don't vote, you can't really complain," she said. Meich was not the only voter who said she visited the polls to exercise her right. Another voter had similar sentiments. "There are men who fought for your freedom …
ACLU asks Superior Court judge to intervene, high volume of application requests extends deadline for email, fax ballots.
- ELECTIONS
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Tuesday, November 6, 2012
The deadline for electronic voting has been extended after email and fax ballots caused headaches Tuesday throughout the state. A high volume of requests overwhelmed county officials, including in Morris where the chairman of the Morris County Board of Elections told NJ.com it may take weeks to determine the outcome of some close local elections. Morris County issues began to surface on Monday when it was discovered some information on the county clerk's website directing voters not able to get to the polls was either inaccurate or misleading, NJ.com reported. The American Civil Liberties Union of New Jersey also plans to file an emergency petition requesting a state Superior Court judge in Essex County to intervene to force the state to …
Politicians said this election season was 'very difficult' because of storm.
After millions of New Jersey residents spent most of last week without power, gas, and even lost their homes, Tuesday’s general election was likely the farthest from their minds. But for politicians who have continued to campaign through the storm, the election has remained a focus. “It’s been a very, very difficult procedure because of the storm,” Essex County Freeholder Vice President Patricia Sebold said. Sebold is the Democratic chairwoman in Livingston and has helped local candidates with their own races. She said her candidates have struggled to reach voters as power outages have stopped their printer, in Irvington, from producing mailers. “I’ve never experienced anything like this ever, in all my years of being involved in politics…
Monday, November 5, 2012
Both parties also approve of governor's level of support for those more affected by Sandy.
Republicans will be mostly likely to benefit from a down voter turnout Tuesday in the aftermath of superstorm Sandy, New Jersey political insiders believe. According to a Patch poll of state elected officials and party insiders, 15 of 22 Republican respondents believe voter turnout will be down slightly from where it would have been otherwise. Of 27 Democratic respondents, 26 expect there will be either a slight or sharp decline in turnout. "The areas likely to remain without power by Tuesday are predominantly smaller, suburban and rural communities that are typically Republican bases," one Republican respondent said. "Power restoration to urban areas, with higher Democratic concentration, seems to have been prioritized," the respondent …
State has given its electoral votes to a Democrat in the last five elections.
If history is any indication, Barack Obama should have no problem winning New Jersey's 14 electoral votes in his quest for re-election on Tuesday. In the past four presidential elections, the Republican candidate has never been within 240,000 votes, and only once did a candidate get within 500,000 of his Democratic opponent. A look at statistics kept by the state shows that in the last four elections, incumbent president George W. Bush was the closest at picking up the NJ's nod, still losing to John Kerry by more than 240,000 votes. The biggest winner among the Democratic candidates in that span was incumbent Barack Obama, who won the state by more than 600,000 votes in 2008. The closest vote in 20 years came in 1992, when Bill Clinton …
Where to vote and when in the tri-boro.
- ELECTIONS
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Monday, November 5, 2012
According to local officials, Tropical Storm Sandy has not had an effect on any tri-boro polling places. In case you were not sure when or where to vote anyway, we've compiled a list of the polling places below. BLOOMINGDALE: Samuel R. Donald School, the Bloomingdale Health Center (225 Union Avenue) and the Bloomingdale Firemen's Hall (97 Hamburg Turnpike) depending on your district. WHEN: Polls will be open from 6 a.m. to 8 p.m. BUTLER: Carey Avenue Firehouse (26 Carey Avenue) WHEN: Polls will be open from 6 a.m. to 8 p.m. KINNELON: Fayson Lakes Clubhouse (10 Clubhouse Trail), Kinnelon Municipal Building (130 Kinnelon Road) and Kinnelon Public Library (132 Kinnelon Road) depending on your district. WHEN: Polls will be open from 6 a.m. to…
Donna Smith Tuason
9:31 am on Monday, November 12, 2012
Great job! Can't wait to see Mike and Rich take their seats in January. Hello progress! more ›