Elections occurring across NJ on April 20 — how to cast your votes

April 20 likely won't attract anywhere close to the number of ballots cast in New Jersey in November, but officials want to make sure you know that you may have an upcoming opportunity to vote on local leaders.

Most counties in the Garden State have some type of election in at least one of their towns.

Special and typical school elections, special municipal elections, and fire district elections are set for Tuesday. Because of the coronavirus pandemic, Gov. Phil Murphy in December moved many of these elections to April in order to give officials more time to prepare.

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Residents can visit Vote.NJ.Gov's polling location tool to find out where they have the opportunity to vote in person. Voters can check with their Municipal Clerk or County Clerk's office to determine whether an April election is being held in their municipality.

Residents still have option to apply for a vote-by-mail ballot for Tuesday's races, but they need to do so in person at the local County Clerk — by 3 p.m. on April 19.

"As long as it's postmarked by Tuesday and arrives up to six days after the elections, it will be counted," said Robert Giles, director of the New Jersey Division of Elections.

Voters also have the option to drop off their ballot at their local Board of Elections, or place it in one of the secure county dropboxes that New Jersey began using last year. Vote-by-mail ballots for this election cannot be returned to polling places.

"More than 4.6 million ballots were cast in November, said New Jersey Secretary of State Tahesha Way. "New Jersey voters really showed up in the 2020 general election and we want to make sure they have the tools and information to show up for the upcoming April elections as well."