NJ’s Odd October Election [POLL/AUDIO]

Next Wednesday, Oct. 16 there is a special election in New Jersey for voters to cast their ballot for the state's next U.S. Senator. It's Democratic Newark mayor Cory Booker versus Republican Steve Lonegan. You're not alone if you didn't know that.

"We've never had an election in Oct., certainly not a Wednesday election and when you put all of these things together it's going to be very interesting to see who actually shows up," says Patrick Murray, director of the Monmouth University Polling Institute.

On Nov. 5, Garden Staters voters will be dealing with the regularly scheduled general election. That pits Gov. Chris Christie against State Sen. Barbara Buono. All 120 seats in the State legislature are up for grabs. Having the two elections so close together also makes things a bit strange.

"What makes this electorate strange is that because there are two elections this fall, some voters will make the decision to vote in one or the other," explains Murray. "We know that people like to go with a winner so we do see some indications that there will be a few more Democrats in the Oct. election and a few more Republicans in the Nov. election."

Even a small percentage of the hardcore voters who always cast ballots admitin recent polls that they didn't know there was a special election.

"So there's a possibility that many of them will wake up on Oct. 17 and realize they forgot to vote," says Murray. "The main fault probably lies with Chris Christie for calling a special election in the middle of Oct. because it's just so unusual."