Category: Elections

UPDATE: Unofficial 2020 General Election Results for Teaneck

Keith Kaplan / / Board of Education, Elections, Teaneck

UPDATE: The unofficial results have been updated as returns are coming in.  The post has been updated to reflect the new unofficial stats.

While ballots may still be counted for the next 10 days, as mail arrives, here are the unofficial counts from Bergen County for Teaneck.

Official Link to updated results (11/4/20)

Official Link to results (11/3/20)

Here is a breakdown of turnout by district.  I made this based on information received from the County.  It’s subject to change and I can’t verify the accuracy of the information.  It also may not count those recently registered to vote.  But, it’s the best I have at the moment.

 

 

 

District Voted Registered Turnout
1 863 1,118 77.2%
2 1,047 1,471 71.2%
3 1,040 1,321 78.7%
4 963 1,226 78.5%
5 719 964 74.6%
6 861 1,143 75.3%
7 873 1,176 74.2%
8 1,123 1,362 82.5%
9 1,054 1,366 77.2%
10 1,190 1,552 76.7%
11 1,029 1,387 74.2%
12 1,378 1,776 77.6%
13 873 1,179 74.0%
14 1,159 1,596 72.6%
15 856 1,262 67.8%
16 560 788 71.1%
17 1,015 1,350 75.2%
18 1,136 1,453 78.2%
19 982 1,224 80.2%
20 726 901 80.6%
21 1,109 1,441 77.0%
22 850 1,103 77.1%
23 795 1,122 70.9%
Total 22,201 29,281 75.8%
Voted Registered Turnout
Dem 13,419 16,320 82.2%
Rep 2,933 3,721 78.8%
Una 5,710 8,987 63.5%
22,062 29,281 75.3%
Election Summary 11-5-20

HOW TO VOTE IN THE 2020 PRESIDENTIAL GENERAL ELECTION

Keith Kaplan / / Elections, Teaneck
  1. Mailing your Vote-by-Mail Ballot, which will be sent by Bergen County to all Active, Registered Voters in early October. If you choose this option, we recommend you do so as soon as you fill out your ballot – postage will be paid for! (If you do not receive a VBM ballot please contact any of the election offices ASAP).
  2. Dropping your Vote-by-Mail Ballot in one of many secured, monitored locked drop boxes throughout Bergen County. There will be a drop-box located at the Teaneck Municipal Building – 818 Teaneck Road Teaneck, NJ 07666 at the North Entrance between the Tax Collection Box and USPS Mail Boxes. (See a list of secured drop boxes here:  List of Secure Drop-Box Locations
  3. Dropping your Vote-by-Mail Ballot at your assigned polling location on Election Day – November 3, 2020 up until 8PM. You will have to submit your ballot directly to a poll worker and sign your name in the registration book.
  4. Dropping your Vote-by-Mail Ballot directly to the Bergen County Board of Elections office at 1 Bergen County Plaza in Hackensack, NJ. Please call the office ahead of time so they can arrange a safe retrieval from you (201-336-6225).
  5. If you wish to not participate in the VBM Process, Voters who are NOT ADA Disabled will be able too go to their assigned polling locations on November 3, 2020 from 6am-8pm and fill out a provisional ballot as a way to cast their vote. Please remember to practice social distancing and wear a face covering if you choose to do this option.
  6. Those who are certified ADA Disabled will be able to go to their assigned polling location on November 3, 2020 and utilize an ADA accessible polling booth as a way to cast their ballot.

 

Below please find the polling locations/district allocations for the 2020 Presidential General Election:

TEANECK

  • 1, 2 TEANECK HIGH SCHOOL CRANFORD PL GYM
  • 3, 4 TEANECK HIGH SCHOOL CRANFORD PL GYM
  • 5, 6 TEANECK HIGH SCHOOL CRANFORD PL GYM
  • 7, 8 TEANECK HIGH SCHOOL CRANFORD PL GYM
  • 9, 10 WHITTIER SCHOOL 491 WEST ENGLEWOOD AVE MULTI PURPOSE ROOM #114
  • 11, 12 WHITTIER SCHOOL 491 WEST ENGLEWOOD AVE MULTI PURPOSE ROOM #114
  • 13, 14 BRYANT SCHOOL 1 EAST TRYON AVE ****CAFETERIA
  • 15, 16 BRYANT SCHOOL 1 EAST TRYON AVE ****CAFETERIA
  • 17, 18 BRYANT SCHOOL 1 EAST TRYON AVE ****AUDITORIUM
  • 19, 20 THOMAS JEFFERSON MIDDLE SCHOOL #5 655 TEANECK ROAD ****AUDITORIUM
  • 21, 22 FIREHOUSE #3 370 TEANECK ROAD
  • 23 FIREHOUSE #3 370 TEANECK ROAD

*A notice will be sent to your registered address from Bergen County notifying you of your assigned polling location. If you do not receive this notice in the next few weeks please contact any of the election offices for guidance.

If you have any questions or concerns regarding the above information, please do not hesitate to reach out to our office or any of the election offices:

Contacts:

Bergen County Clerk, Elections
(201) 336-7020 electionsclerk@co.bergen.nj.us

Bergen County Board of Elections
(201) 336-6230 , elections@co.bergen.nj.us

Bergen County Superintendent of Elections
(201)-336-6115 , soe@co.bergen.nj.us

Township of Teaneck Township Clerk’s Office
(201) 837-1600 x1025 , clerk@teanecknj.gov

For more information:

https://www.teanecknj.gov/news/post/10118/

https://www.teanecknj.gov/news/post/9976/

If you are unsure if you are registered to vote, please reach out to any of the above offices for confirmation.

You may also utilize the new State website to register to vote online: https://voter.svrs.nj.gov/register

Save the Date: Teaneck Council Reorganization on July 1, 2020

Keith Kaplan / / Elections, Meetings, Teaneck

On Wednesday, July 1st, 2020 at 6:00 pm, the Teaneck Council will hold the semi-annual reorganization meeting at the Teaneck Town Hall.
(Agenda available here: Reorganization Agenda)
We will be swearing in Mark Schwartz, Karen Orgen & Mike Pagan.

In addition, Council will elect the Mayor & Deputy Mayors, among others.

For those that may not be familiar with the way the Teaneck Council operates, I’d like to offer some additional information:

How does our system work?
Teaneck utilizes the Council-Manager form of Government under the Faulkner Act.  What that means in practice is that residents choose their council-members “at-large” (i.e. you vote for everyone, as opposed to a ward system like neighboring Englewood) and the Council as a body, once elected and seated, chooses a mayor from among the council-members (as opposed to municipalities where the Mayor runs separately). Continue reading “Save the Date: Teaneck Council Reorganization on July 1, 2020”

Vote By Mail — How Did it Work? What Can Be Fixed?

Keith Kaplan / / Elections, Teaneck

The Covid-19 Pandemic has upended many of the ways we conduct our lives.  In the May municipal elections, polls were replaced with envelopes.

Unfortunately, despite the best efforts, not all envelopes were given the same treatment.

Worse, still, it’s impossible to know how many envelopes did not arrive.  It’s not as if you can just count what didn’t show up.

In an effort to find out what worked and what didn’t, I requested information from the Bergen County Board of Elections, as to what ballots arrived and what didn’t. The staff and administration at the BOE have been helpful and worked hard to help explain the system.  They expressed a profound amount of concern for ensuring the system runs as smooth as possible and that every vote is counted.  They do a tremendous amount of work under very strict rules and tight time-frames.

Changes in the systems created issues

It seems that NJ has a new interface between two independent systems, which created some hiccups in reporting and coordination.  The County Board of Elections system feeds information into the State Voter Registration System (SVRS).  I spoke with the head of the County system as well as the head of the State system.  That integration, to put it mildly, is not seamless.

Areas for focus:

Two problematic areas which require more review are:

  1. Ballots which disappeared
  2. Ballots which were rejected

How many ballots disappeared?

Continue reading “Vote By Mail — How Did it Work? What Can Be Fixed?”

A New Council

Keith Kaplan / / Elections, Teaneck

Unofficial Results, pending certification for the May, 12, 2020 municipal election:

Congratulations  to everyone that ran and I look forward to working with the new council on July 1st.

Pagan 5,115
Schwartz 5,089
Orgen 5,076
Belcher 4,750
Gerzsberg 4,657
Walser 4,618

Who will be on Council?

Teaneck’s municipal government operated under the Council-Manager form of the Faulkner Act.

We (residents) elect seven members to a council and they choose a manager who is tasked with the day-to-day operation of the Municipality.

Since 1988, Teaneck residents go to the polls in staggered council elections in even numbered years to choose members who serve 4-year terms.

This week, 3 of the 7 council seats were up, and in two years, the remaining 4 will be voted on by residents.

After each election, the newly constituted group will meet on July 1st at a “Re-Organization Meeting” to determine a Mayor and other positions.

Each of the 7 members of council represent everyone in the municipality.

[As one of your representatives, I will do my best to respond with information to any inquiries received]

Click here for contact Info for current council-members

Who will be Mayor/Deputy Mayor?  Does it go to the person with the highest vote tally?

Not necessarily. Continue reading “A New Council”

Law is hard

Keith Kaplan / / Elections, Ordinances, Teaneck

When one starts to review laws, either on a local or state basis, the complexity factor is readily apparent.  There are many layers, tweaked over the decades (and sometimes centuries) which make legal counsel a requirement, even to understand what otherwise look like simple words.

Take this example:

“The commission shall consist of not less than five nor more than seven members, appointed by the mayor of the municipality…”

Source: NJSA 40:56A-1

Who does the appointing?

  1. The Mayor, Mohammed Hameeduddin
  2. The Council
  3. The Manager, Dean Kazinci

If you answered, the Mayor, you probably aren’t alone.  But you’d be wrong. Continue reading “Law is hard”

Mail-In Ballot FAQs

Keith Kaplan / / Elections, Teaneck
Have another question?  Send me an email
Here are answers to some of the questions I’ve received so far based on my calls with election officials at the County Board of Elections

  1. What happens if I tore the certificate off of my envelope?
    As you can see in my instructional video, the mail-in ballot contains two envelopes. The ballot goes in the first (with a voter certification and then that goes in a larger envelope to mail back. If the certification rips off, simply put it with the smaller envelope inside the larger envelope. Do NOT attempt to tape it back.

  2. What happens if my family is away and cannot sign their ballot?
     In America: If the registered Teaneck voter is America (e.g. sheltering in place in NY or FL), they must obtain and sign the physical ballot.
    Outside America: If the registered Teaneck Voter is sheltering in place overseas (e.g. gap year program or in Europe), there is a Federal Program called the Federal Post Card Application (FCPA) available at     https://www.fvap.gov/ where you may apply for and vote electronically.
  3. What happens if my application doesn’t arrive at the County by May 14th?
    The date for acceptance of ballots is set by the State and the County Board of Elections does not have discretion to move the deadline.  Ballots may be brought to the county, but the building is not open to the general public and an appointment must be made in advance.
  4. What happens if I damage or throw away my ballot?
    You may call the County Board of Elections at (201) 336-7020.  They are capable of generating and sending a new ballot, but you must call with enough time for it to arrive.  The clerk suggests at least 6 days in advance.
  5. Got another question?  Let me know and I’ll try to find you an answer…..
Additional information available at: MovingTeaneckForward.com/vote/