❎ Here's what you need to know before you head to the polls
❎ Polls are open until 8 p.m.
❎ How to report problems voting

Election day has finally arrived and it didn't come soon enough for many.

Although New Jersey has seen record numbers of early in-person voting and vote-by-mail, lines may still be long at polling places across the state.

Here is what you need to know before you go to vote.

FIND YOUR POLLING PLACE

When are polls open?

Polls open on election day at 6 a.m. They will close at 8 p.m.

If you are in line at 8 p.m. you will be allowed to vote. Polls will not officially close until all individuals in line by 8 p.m. have had a chance to cast a ballot.

READ MORE: See early voting totals in New Jersey by county

How do a report a problem voting?

Problems do happen.

Voting machines can malfunction and other issues can arise.

If you have any questions about voting or encounter a problem, you can report it to your local elections officials.

New Jersey also has a voter hotline set up to look into any irregularities or problems. That number is: 1-877-NJ-Voter.

The U.S. Department of Justice also has a voting rights hotline that can be reached at: 800-253-3931.

Access the state's voter information portal HERE.

What is a provisional ballot?

A provisional ballot may be necessary for a number of reasons.

Anyone who received a vote-by-mail ballot for the 2024 election, for example, won't be able to cast an electronic vote on Tuesday, even if that vote-by-mail ballot was never returned.

According to the New Jersey Department of State, you must vote by provisional ballot if:

❎ You moved within your county but did not notify the right office of your current address

❎ Your registration information is not complete in the poll book (your sample signature is missing, for example)

❎ You've failed to provide the right identification information

❎ There is a marking in the poll book that you applied for a mail-in ballot

Provisional ballots won't be counted at the polling place. After polls close, the ballots are taken to a central office for verification and counting.

Be careful of what you wear

New Jersey has a very strict laws about electioneering at or near polling places.

You Cannot Enter a Polling Place, or Stand within 100 feet of the Outside Entrance of a Polling Place, wearing or displaying Anything that may offer support for or opposition against any Candidate, Party or Public Question on the Ballot.

That includes political badges, buttons, insignias, t-shirts, hats or other display that can be read or viewed to identify support or opposition of a candidate, political party or public questions.

A Mercer County woman learned that the hard way, and wound up voting in her bra when she was told to remove her shirt.

SEE: NJ woman votes in bra after dramatically ripping off shirt

Is Election Day a holiday?

Election day is not a Federal Holiday. It is a New Jersey State Holiday.

There will be mail delivery and federal offices will be open.

Most banks are open.

Wall street is open for trading.

Election day IS a state holiday in New Jersey.

All state offices, including Motor Vehicle Agencies and inspection lanes, are closed.

Most schools are closed today.

All state workers have a paid day off.

When will we know the results of the election?

It may be a while.

In New Jersey, preliminary results from early voting and vote-by-mail will be posted on-line by county clerks.

The rest of the tallies will take longer.

As for the final results of the presidential race, that could take days.

It takes time to count the tens of million votes in the presidential contest, along with votes for thousands of other offices that will be on ballots across the country.

Notably, lawmakers in the battleground states of Pennsylvania and Wisconsin have left in place laws that delay the ballot count.

In the end, the single biggest factor in a delayed count may be how close the election is.

When will New Jersey 101.5 declare a winner?

While other media organizations, or even the candidates themselves, may declare a winner, that is not how the process works.

It is the Associated Press that has historically been the gold standard of calling political races and that is the standard we will adhere to.

New Jersey 101.5 will wait to call all races until the winner is declared by the Associated Press.

We will report what the candidate say and what other media organizations are reporting, but will will not rush to declare a winner until certified by the Associated Press.

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