For most voters in the Hopewell Valley, the primary election is not that interesting. New Jersey has a closed primary, meaning that only voters who have affiliated with a party can vote. In the Township and Pennington, political committees have already vetted the candidates and chosen just one candidate for each seat to put forward, so voters have little to choose from.
That is not the case this year for Democrats in Hopewell Borough. Mayor Paul Anzano retired and long-time Council member Ryan Kennedy and Planning Board member Marylou Ferrara are vying for that open seat. Please check out Kennedy’s Facebook page here and Ferrara’s website here, as well as our Letters to the Editor for more information about them. Democrats also have put forward Sherri Hook and Heidi Wilenius for the two open seats on Council and Republican incumbent Sky Morehouse is the Republican’s only choice for Council.
In Hopewell Township, Mayor Michael Ruger and Committee member Kevin Kuchinski are on the Democratic ballots to renew their seats on Township Committee. No Republicans filed to run.
In Pennington Borough, incumbents Kit Chandler and John Valenza are on the Democratic ballots to renew their positions and no Republicans have filed in Pennington.
At the County and State level, again, there is nothing to choose from: the 15th District’s incumbents Verlina Reynolds-Jackson and Hopewell’s own Anthony Verrelli are running for their seats in the Assembly; the Republicans have only one person, Michael Hurtado, to oppose them in the general election in November. Similarly, State Senate incumbent Shirley Turner is running unopposed on the Democrat’s ballot and Roger Forest Locandro is running unopposed on the Republican ballot to face her in the fall.
County Commissioner incumbents Lucy Walter and John Cimino are running for their seats on the Democrat ballot and Joseph Stillwell and Denise Turner are on the Republican ballot to run against them in the general. Dan Benson, who won an intra-party ballot to overcome long-time County Executive Brian Hughes is now the Democrats only choice for that seat. Lisa Marie Richford is the Republican’s choice to run against him in the general. Longtime County Sherriff Jack Kemler, Democrat, will face Republican Bucky Boccanfuso in the fall.
Mercer County Clerk Paula Sollami Covello has announced that vote-by- mail ballots for the upcoming June 6 Primary Election have been mailed out to voters. For those who still wish to apply to vote by mail, applications should be returned to the County Clerk’s Office, located at 209 South Broad Street, 2nd floor, Trenton, no later than May 30. Applications may be found online NJ DOS – Division of Elections – Vote-By-Mail (state.nj.us) in several languages.
The deadline for voters who wish to apply for their vote-by-mail ballot in person, at the Clerk’s office, is June 5, at 3pm. The County Clerk cannot accept faxed or emailed copies of an application for a vote-by-mail ballot (unless you are a military or overseas voter), since an original signature is required. To request an absentee ballot, click NJ DOS – Division of Elections – Vote-By-Mail (state.nj.us).
Voted ballots for the June 6 primary may be returned to any drop box location within Mercer County by 8pm on June 6. They also may be returned to the Mercer County Board of Elections, located at 930 Spruce Street, Lawrence, by that same deadline. Or, if a voter wishes to return a ballot by mail the postage is prepaid by Mercer County. Ballots can be tracked here, NJ DOS – Division of Elections – Track My Ballot (state.nj.us).
Early voting will be held from June 2 to June 4: Friday and Saturday from 10am to 8pm, and Sunday from 10am to 6pm. No matter where you live in Mercer County, you can vote your specific ballot in person at any of our county’s seven designated in-person early voting locations.
Early voting sites for the primary are as follows:
- TRENTON – Trenton Fire Department – 244 Perry St, Trenton NJ 08618*
- HAMILTON – Colonial Fire Company – 801 Kuser Rd, Hamilton NJ 08619*
- LAWRENCE – Mercer County Lawrence Library – 2751 Brunswick Pike, Lawrence NJ 08648
- PENNINGTON – Pennington Fire Company – 120 Bromel Place, Pennington NJ 08534
- PRINCETON – Princeton Shopping Center – Unit #260, 301 N Harrison St., Princeton NJ 08540
- EAST WINDSOR – Mercer County Hickory Corner Library – 138 Hickory Corner Rd, East Windsor NJ 08520
- EWING – Mercer County Office Park – 1440 Parkside Ave, Ewing, NJ 08638
Please note that several polling location changes have been made for this upcoming election, and the Clerk’s office reminds each voter to check your sample ballot carefully to see if your polling location has been moved. To check your polling location, click here.
For more information, visit the Clerk’s election page, or the New Jersey Department of State – Division of Elections – NJ Voter Information Portal, or call the County Clerk’s Election Office at 609-989-6495. For polling location questions, or to become a poll worker, you may contact the Mercer County Board of Elections Office at 609-989-6522.
