newjerseynewsroom.com

Unaffiliated largest category with 2.3 million

BY TOM HESTER SR.

NEWJERSEYNEWSROOM.COM

At least 5.2 million New Jerseyans are eligible to vote in the Nov. 3 general election, according to the latest state registration figures, including 1.7 million Democrats, 1.06 million Republicans and 2.3 million unaffiliated people.

As Democratic Gov. Jon Corzine edges ahead in two polls and solidifies his Democratic base, it is the unaffiliated voters, Republican Chris Christie and Independent Chris Daggett are vying to woo.

While county election boards are constantly updating registration lists, here are some interesting figures as of last Monday.

Since 2005, the number of registered Democrats has grown by 609,623. The number of Republicans is up 168,145.

There are more Democrats than Republicans in 15 of the 21 counties. In the six Republican counties of Cape May, Hunterdon, Morris, Ocean, Sussex and Warren, registered Republicans out number Democrats by less than 2 to 1, 336,957 to 210,723.

Somerset County, once the heart of the Republican Party, now has 51,841 Democrats and 50,942 Republicans. Four years ago, there were 39,746 Republicans and 23,429 Democrats in the county.

Hunterdon County has gained 8,030 Democrats since 2005, to bring the total to 17,492. Hudson County has gained 29,134 Democrats in four years to bring the total to 163,620.

There are 1,219 registered Libertarians and 934 Green Party members. The Natural Law Party has 26 registered voters but nobody is registered as Communist or Socialist.

New Jerseyans who are not registered to vote but want to help decide who the next governor will be have until Tuesday evening to register, state Secretary of State Nina Mitchell Wells said Friday.

For in-person registration, a list of places to sign-up and information on extended evening hours can be found at: www.NJElections.org.

Online applications are available at: www.njelections.org/voter-registration-application.html.

Applications postmarked by Tuesday, Oct. 13 will be accepted. Faxed applications will not be accepted, as an original signature is required by law.

Here is the latest voter registration figures. "U" indicates unaffiliated.

• Atlantic — U73,697, D51,569, R41,678
• Bergen — U249,172, D168,811, R111,261
• Burlington — U120,765, D94,201, R66,613
• Camden — U146,590, D139,528, R43,219
• Cape May — U26,192, D14,065, R27,297
• Cumberland — U45,811, D25,288, R15,269
• Essex — U191,470, D213,422, R46,142
• Gloucester — U82,202, D70,717, R35,617
• Hudson — U118,861, D163,620, R25,128
• Hunterdon — U34,760, D17,492, R33,591,
• Mercer — U98,933, D82,639, R32,347
• Middlesex — U217,358, D171,837, R57,685
• Monmouth — U213,520, D103,955, R95,606
• Morris — U132,380, D70,113, R111,508
• Ocean — U188,548, D78,079, R103,708
• Passaic — U129,810, D82,552, R49,595
• Salem — U21,152, D13,698, R9,135
• Somerset — U92,918, D51,841, R50,942
• Sussex — U42,047, D16,321, R37,421
• Union — U124,563, D122,409, R44,805
• Warren — U28,041, D14,653, R23,432