VOTER INFORMATION
Cranford Public Schools will hold a special election called a bond referendum on Jan. 23, 2024. The district encourages every eligible adult to cast a ballot. Your participation is strongly encouraged. Click here to learn more about the projects included in the bond referendum.
Make sure your registration is up to date
To participate, you must be a registered voter in Union County by Jan. 2 and your registration must reflect your current address and name. Mailed-in forms must be received by the same deadline.
Check your voter registration status in this state database.
To register online, complete a voter registration form on the NJ Voter Information Portal.
To register by mail, print and send a paper registration form, offered in English and Spanish, to the address shown on the form.
68-voter-registration-english-union.pdf68-voter-registration-espanol-union.pdfIn-person voting January 23
In-person voting will be available at the usual polling places from 2 - 8 pm on January 23, 2024. Use the state's polling place search tool to find your location.
Ask for a 'provisional ballot'
If you go to your polling place and are turned away for any reason, ask for a provisional ballot. Fill it out and leave it with the officials at that location. This will preserve your right to vote while any human error or paperwork problems are sorted out. Your provisional ballot will be counted after officials confirm your eligibility, such as if you were sent a Vote By Mail ballot but did not return it.
Voting By Mail
Some voters have asked that Vote By Mail ballots be sent to them automatically; the county typically sends those four to six weeks in advance. To confirm you are on the list for a Vote By Mail ballot, contact the Office of the Union County Clerk at 908-527-4996 or at ucvote@ucnj.org.
There are three other ways to apply for a Vote By Mail ballot, and they require some action before the referendum.
Download a Vote By Mail ballot application in English or Spanish. Follow its directions, including the need for that application to be received by the county by Jan. 16. That deadline ensures that the actual ballot can be mailed to you in time.
Voters also may request a Vote By Mail ballot at the County Clerk’s Office at 2 Broad Street, Room 113 in Elizabeth, anytime up until 3 p.m. on the day before the referendum.
Union County will mail an application if you fill out this form. You will get an application, mail it back, get a Vote By Mail ballot sent to you, and mail that back. That back-and-forth process must be complete in time for you to have a Jan. 23 postmark on your ballot.
Vote By Mail ballots must be returned to the county by Jan. 23 – the same day as in the in-person vote.
By Jan. 23, a Vote By Mail ballot must be postmarked; dropped in a designated ballot box; or delivered by hand to the County Board of Elections.
The drop box locations are: Cranford Community Center, 220 Walnut Ave, Cranford or Fraser Building, 300 North Avenue East, Westfield.
They cannot be submitted at in-person polling locations.
vote-by-mail-english-union.pdfvote-by-mail-spanish-union.pdf
What will you see on the ballot?
The ballot question is written to meet the legal obligations for the process. With it, the Cranford Board of Education asks voter permission to sell bonds and direct (appropriate) those funds toward specific improvements.
The ballot language includes references to state aid that do not match what the district’s financial advisers have used to calculate the estimated tax impact. That’s because the state Department of Education’s formal paperwork, called the “final eligible costs,” is based on a state aid percentage that historically has not been awarded. In other words: The DOE’s program calls for financial assistance at about 40% of the costs that are eligible for this program, but the state's budget has actually funded the program at a lower rate. In the interest of transparency, financial advisers make calculations based on recent reality, not program paperwork. Not all projects shown in the ballot qualify for that program.