The Primary Election Results appear below.  They are unofficial until certified by the Bergen County Clerk.

Unofficial Results (detailed with write-ins)

Unofficial Results (summary with write-ins)

Those that care about local issues will no longer hear about them
Those that do not care about local issues, won’t vote in council / BOE races anyway (look at the numbers)

Township managers must remain independent of party bosses’ influence

There’s a move underfoot to move non-partisan Council elections (held in May) to November, to coincide with general partisan elections.

We moved the election from November to May in 1930, when Teaneck was nearly bankrupted by partisan forces.
Since then, powers in Trenton have tried many times to move back to partisan elections, with a first step of moving the Municipal Elections to November. Continue reading “Moving Elections to November: The part they won’t mention”

The questions I raised about the referendum to move Teaneck’s non-partisan Council elections to November, should be looked at carefully.

1) Does moving the elections increase turnout and reduce costs?

2) What has happened in places that moved elections to November?

One argument put forward is that the BOE has already done this.
Let’s take a look at the data.

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Did moving the BOE vote from April to November drive up turnout?

Not every November election is the same.  Let’s examine the three basic types of November elections:

1. Presidential election years
   (I looked at 2016, a very large turnout election since 2020 was vote-by-mail & very abnormal).
2. Even year non-Presidential elections 
   (I looked at 2018 for this type of race – note: 2014 was uncontested)
3. Non “even-year” elections
   (I looked at 2019 for this type of race, although the data is similar in 2017 and 2015)

The Data

For each type of November election, I looked at three metrics:

1. Number of Voters: What was the total turnout?
2. Number of Votes (expected): How many BOE votes could have happened (# of Voters x 3 positions available)?
3. Number of BOE Votes (cast): How many BOE votes did voters use for BOE candidates?

This chart represents the results: Continue reading “May-November Relationship: Does the turnout argument have merit?”

UPDATE #3: Clerk’s Amended Response Letter to Petitioners

UPDATE #2: Clerk’s Response Letter to Petitioners

The clerk of the Township of Teaneck sent the following response to petitioners on Tuesday, August 17th.

Petitioners have brought suit in Bergen County Superior Court.

In the clerk’s letter, several deficiencies in the petition are noted.

In the lawsuit, the petitioners seem to agree there are deficiencies, but ask the judge to “liberally construe all such petitions“.

We will continue to monitor for developments.

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UPDATE: Clerk’s Response Letter to Petitioners

The clerk of the Township of Teaneck received the petition on July 9th.

The review then commenced and his office responded to the petitioners within the 20 days allotted by statute.

The letter below lays out the information as to why his office was not permitted to certify the petition and gives the petitioners 10 days to cure the defects.

 

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Keep Teaneck Non-Partisan

You may have seen them with the clipboard already.  There’s a proposal underfoot to change the way elections are done in town.

Save money and get more people out, what could you possibly have against it?

As far as pitches go, this one is fairly simple – and the clipboard is currently seeking signatures to move Council’s non-partisan elections to November.

But we should remember H.L. Mencken: “For every complex problem, there is an answer that is clear, simple, and wrong.”

Why are Non-Partisan Municipal Elections in May?

We moved the election from November to May in 1930, when Teaneck was nearly bankrupted by partisan forces.  Since then, powers in Trenton have tried many times to move back to partisan elections, with a first step of moving the Municipal Elections to November.

Attacks started right away.  By 1938, this was reported:

As of 2021, Teaneck has always resisted the move to November.

In 1942, the Bergen Record published a major editorial entitled: The Battle of Teaneck.

They decried the possibility of a return to partisanship, concluding:

Some 20 years later, here’s what Mayor Matthew “Matty” Feldman had to say in 1962:

“In order to continue attracting the Werner Schmids [ed note: Mr. Schmid was the manager after Paul Volcker reitred], the Clara Christensens and the Marion Browns to Teaneck’s employ, we must maintain our aloofness from partisan politics.

This is not to suggest that Teaneck’s citizens are to isolate themselves from the mainstream of American politics; on the contrary, we have active Democratic and Republican Clubs, and that is all to the good. But we cannot permit the intrusion of these political groups into our Councilmanic elections. Under our form of government, there is no room for politics and this is a concept which we must guard jealously.”

Continue reading “A May-November Relationship”

After audio surfaced of Alexandra Soriano-Taveras calling for a boycott of Cedar Lane businesses, questions began to swarm about her fitness to represent the 37th District, which includes Teaneck, in the NJ Assembly.

Yesterday, Soriano-Taveras released a statement (see full statement below) via InsiderNJ.

“There was a call to action in Teaneck this past summer and I attended to speak up and speak out against our town leadership who once again was not listening to the voices of our community.”

Continue reading “Soriano-Taveras Apologizes for ‘Doing Nothing Wrong’ in Calling for Boycott”

This year, Teaneck saw record turnout at the polls.  One member of the Board of Education received more votes than any local office holder in the history of the municipality.

Resident Tom Abbott, made a comment here, providing a link to details on his website, where he broke down the voter numbers.  And one thing stuck out to to me.  Three of the districts, at first glance, seemed to have far fewer registered voters than others.

Districts should have, roughly, an even number of registered voters.  But as I started to look into the issue, I found that Teaneck, compared to its neighbors also has far fewer districts.

Fact: Teaneck has the highest number of registered voters for any Municipality in Bergen County.

We do NOT have the greatest number of Election Districts.

Why not?

Hackensack, with over 6,000 fewer registered voters than Teaneck, has 25 election districts, compared to our 23.

Fair Lawn, with over 5,000 fewer registered voters than Teaneck, has the same number of districts as us.

When it comes to the average number of voters per district, Teaneck packs more in than anyone.

And when you look at our districts, the numbers of registered voters they contain, are all over the place.  Despite an average of 1,258 voters, some districts (e.g. 12) have 1,776 while others (e.g. 16) have a mere 788.

Why does any of this matter?

There are several reasons.

There is a County Committee pursuant to Title 19, Section 19:5-3

Membership and organization of county committees; vacancies; certification of unit of representation and number of election districts.
NJ Rev Stat § 19:5-3 (2013)

As you can see from the By-Laws of the Bergen County Democratic Committee:

The County Committee shall be composed of one male and one female member elected at the Biannual Primary Election by the Democratic voters of each election district of the County pursuant to law.
– Section 1. ELECTED MEMBERSHIP

and the By-Laws of the Bergen County Republican Committee:

Section 1. The membership of this organization shall be composed of members of the Bergen County Republican County Committee who have been duly elected or appointed pursuant to Title 19.
– Art. III, Section 1.  Membership

On the local level, there is a municipal committee for each party, comprised of one male and one female from each election district.

The members of the municipal committees of political parties shall consist of the elected members of the county committee resident in the respective municipalities
NJ Rev Stat § 19:5-2 (2013)

So, as an example, while Teaneck has 2.25x as many registered voters in District 12 as it does in District 16, both get two representatives.  And while Hackensack has over 6,000 FEWER registered voters than Teaneck, they get MORE representation at the County Committee because they have more election districts.

What is the right number of districts and why does it matter?

When one election district has 2.2x as many registered voters, the lines are 2.2x as long.  The volunteers are asked to work 2.2x as hard.  The number of machines / ballots and equipment needed is in part based on the number of expected voters.

In Title 19, Section 19:4-13, the relevant numbers to look for are election districts with more than 750 or less than 250 votes cast in any two consecutive general elections.

19:4-13. Readjustment of boundaries for correct number of voters
When in any two consecutive general elections in an election district more than 750 or less than 250 votes shall have been cast, the county board shall readjust the boundary lines of such election district and other election districts necessary to effect changes so that none of the election districts affected shall have more than 750 registered voters, and for this purpose shall have power to consolidate any number of districts and subdivide the same.
NJ Rev Stat § 19:4-13 (2016)

How many Teaneck Districts had more than 750 votes cast in two consecutive general elections?

Here’s the breakdown:

We have 7 election districts that have consecutively had more than 750 voters, and all but three did, this year.

Will Redistricting Change Council / BOE elections?

No.  Because our elections are “at-large”, meaning that you vote for members of Town Council and Board of Education regardless of where you live, redistricting will have no effect on our elections.  Whoever receives the most votes will still win.

What is the process for redistricting and how many districts will we have?

That is what I intend to look at.  On Tuesday, I will present the information above to the Council and ask that we create a task force to look at our election districts.  We should have clean and clear districts, with roughly the same number of voters in each.

To bring down the average number of voters at the polls to the maximum permitted (750), would require an additional 7 districts.

We currently average over 1,250 registered voters in each of our 23 districts.  Bringing that number down to 750 would mean adding 16 districts.

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