New Jersey Voters Electing All 80 Assembly Members

New Jersey voters on Tuesday are deciding how big an advantage Democrats will have in the state’s General Assembly in the first legislative contest since Democratic Gov. Phil Murphy took office in 2018.

All 80 seats in the Assembly are on the ballot, along with local races and a statewide ballot question on whether veterans living in retirement communities should get a $250 property tax deduction.

Democrats now enjoy a 54 to 26 advantage in the Assembly.

One of the top races has been Assembly Minority Leader Jon Bramnick’s fight to keep his seat in the 21st District, which is becoming more Democratic.

There’s also a single state Senate race on the ballot in southern New Jersey. Voters in the 1st District are electing a permanent successor to U.S. Rep. Jeff Van Drew, who quit when he was elected to Congress. Democrat Bob Andrzejczak, who was appointed to hold the post until the election, is facing off against Republican Mike Testa to fill the remainder of Van Drew’s four-year term.

Polls close at 8 p.m.

County offices have been accepting mail-in ballots for weeks. State data show roughly 600,000 mail-in ballots have been sent. The last time the Assembly topped the ballot in 2015, about 114,000 or nearly 10% of ballots cast were through the mail.

Murphy, who isn’t on the ballot, voted early Tuesday near his home in Red Bank.