Why you may not be able to enter the voting booth in NJ

⚫ There are reasons you may be asked to fill out a provisional ballot

⚫ Vote-by-mail applicants can't cast a routine vote in person

⚫ Provisional ballots need verification before they can be counted

If you're at the wrong polling place on Tuesday, you'll be turned around and told where to go.

But there are also reasons you may be in the right spot and still can't enter a voting booth to electronically cast your ballot on Election Day.

Your vote can still be cast, but you may have to make your choices on paper and let officials do some investigating before your vote counts like everyone else's.

Polling places across New Jersey will be equipped with provisional ballots. They'll be given out when there's a question as to an individual's right to vote.

"If you are presented with that provisional ballot, please make sure you proceed with it," said Lt. Gov. Tahesha Way, who also serves as Secretary of State. "Please proceed with it so that your voice can be heard, after verification."

Who gets 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

Atlantic County says a voter whose name does not appear in the poll book at his or her polling place will be issued a provisional ballot.

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State officials say board workers are supposed to provide provisional voters with a "place to vote the ballot in secret."

Attached to the envelope that's provided is an "affirmation statement" that needs to be signed by the voter. There's a provisional ballot bag; you can place your ballot in the bag yourself or give it to to a board worker to place it in the bag, according to the Department of State.

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.

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