Voter Info
Every vote will matter – make sure you’re registered!
On Tuesday, September 17, 2024, the Hopewell Valley Regional School District asks community members to provide the necessary upfront funding to make cost-saving improvements at all our schools.
Registered voters who live in Hopewell Borough, Hopewell Township and Pennington Borough can either vote in person or by mail. To participate in this referendum, your voter registration must have been up to date by the Aug. 27 deadline.
TO VOTE IN PERSON
One polling location will be open Tuesday, September 17 for residents across Hopewell Borough, Hopewell Township and Pennington Borough.
In-person voting will be available 6 a.m. to 8 p.m.
All in-person voting will take place at Pennington Fire Co. 120 Broemel Place. All residents within Hopewell Borough, Hopewell Township and Pennington Borough should go to this location.
What if I’m told I can’t vote?
If you are told at the polling location that you cannot vote because you are not registered, your ballot was already mailed to you, or any other reason: Ask for a “provisional ballot.” A provisional ballot will be considered after election officials process all in-person and mailed ballots.
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All in-person voting will take place at Pennington Fire Co. 120 Broemel Place.
All residents within Hopewell Borough, Hopewell Township and Pennington Borough should go to this location.
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TO VOTE BY MAIL
If you have previously voted by mail in a New Jersey election and if your address is the same, you might have opted to continue receiving mail-in ballots. If that’s the case, Mercer County should send you a Vote By Mail ballot for the bond referendum automatically about a month before September 17.
If you have questions or require assistance, contact the Election Office at 609-989-6495 or 609-989-6494.
If you want to request a Vote By Mail ballot, download an application (available in English or Spanish) or visit the County Clerk's Office at 209 S. Broad St. Trenton to receive one in person.
The county must receive that application by September 10 to mail you a ballot, or by 3 p.m. on September 16 to give you a ballot in person.
Once you receive and fill out your Vote By Mail ballot, you have options to:
Mail it in with a postmark by September 17
Place it in one of the drop-boxes located at the Mercer County Clerk's Office (209 S. Broad Street in Trenton); the Mercer County Board of Elections (930 Spruce Street in Lawrence); or the Hopewell Township Administration Building (201 Washington-Crossing Pennington Road in Titusville).
Deliver it in person to the County Clerk’s Office by 8 p.m. September 17
Mail-in ballots cannot be submitted at polling places.


This video, provided by the Mercer County Clerk’s Office, shows how to request and fill out a Vote By Mail application.
WHAT DOES THE BALLOT SAY?
Ballot language meets legal requirements, but “legalese” can be hard to decipher. Additionally, some numbers in the bond referendum ballot proposal match the state aid program in a technical sense rather than a practical sense. Here’s a breakdown of the ballot language.
1 -- The first paragraph summarizes proposed renovations, improvements and upgrades at each Hopewell Valley Regional School District (HVRSD) school. Segments (e) and (f) spell out that HVRSD cannot appropriate more, nor borrow more, than $87,150,000. That means that even if costs are higher than estimated, HVRSD cannot spend more than the total amount authorized by voters.
2 -- The second paragraph is a little more confusing. It begins with “final eligible costs,” which means the portion of costs for each site that are eligible for the state’s financial aid program. Not all projects are eligible for this program; these dollar amounts are only for costs that meet program criteria. “Final” refers to the fact that the Board of Education has accepted the aid amounts that the state offered.
Eligible costs total $59,652,998. These projects qualify for the most state aid.
Other costs of $6,198,586 will qualify for some state aid. This amount reflects a portion of new construction costs. That portion is determined by comparing student count to useful square footage. Even though these costs qualify for state aid, the percentage is much lower for new construction versus renovation of existing facilities.
Ineligible costs total $21,298,416. These will not qualify for any state aid.
3 - The next-to-last sentence is technically accurate but does not reflect reality. It says, “The State debt service aid percentage will equal 40% of the annual debt service due with respect to the final eligible costs of the projects.” The factor of 40% has been part of the state aid program for years, but the state has never fully funded school improvements at that level. Instead, the actual percentage has been about 35% for most districts.
Guided by its financial advisors, the Board of Education has communicated its bond referendum plans with cost estimates that reflect what is most likely to happen: $20.3 million in state aid. That isn’t on the program paperwork and it isn’t part of the ballot legalese. It is what financial advisors calculated as a realistic number.
4 -- The last sentence is easier to understand. It says, “The Board of Education is authorized to transfer funds among the projects approved at this election.” The bond proposal is based on the considerable experience of the district’s architects and financial advisors. Even so, market conditions can change. The ballot language acts like a promise to voters: The Board will make these improvements within the dollar amount authorized by voters. This last sentence informs voters that the Board can transfer funds within these designated projects. For example: If the costs of interior or exterior doors turn out lower than anticipated and costs for HVAC equipment turn out higher than anticipated, funds can be transferred to balance those. HVRSD cannot transfer funds out of the bond budget, such as to pay staff costs or complete a project that was not part of the ballot list.
