SOMA 2024 Election Results: School Board, Water Referendum (UPDATED)

This article was updated at 4 p.m. on Nov. 6. See certified results here.

SOUTH ORANGE-MAPLEWOOD, NJ — Maplewood and South Orange residents went to the polls to cast ballots for a school board election on Tuesday. South Orange voters were also faced with another big question: Should the village privatize its water system?

Polls closed at 8 p.m., with early voting and mail-in voting launching earlier this month.

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SOMA SCHOOL BOARD

There are seven candidates competing for three open seats on the South Orange-Maplewood Board of Education: Bimal Kapadia, Jeff Bennett, Deirdre Brown, Paul Stephan, Qawi Telesford, Arun Vadlamani, and Bethany Joseph.

With 100 percent of districts reported, Brown, Bennett and Kapadia are at the head of the pack. Here are the uncertified election results from the Essex County Clerk’s Office:

• Bimal Kapadia – 8,173 votes (16.41%)
• Jeff Bennett – 9,110 votes (18.29%)
• Deirdre Brown – 9,731 votes (19.54%)
• Paul Stephan – 3,948 votes (7.93%)
• Qawi Telesford – 6,939 votes (13.93%)
• Arun Vadlamani – 5,327 votes (10.7%)
• Bethany Joseph – 6,569 votes (13.19%)

SOUTH ORANGE WATER REFERENDUM

South Orange residents were asked to cast a "yes" or "no" vote for a ballot question, which reads: "Shall South Orange Village, in the County of Essex, New Jersey, be authorized to sell its water distribution and transmission system (commonly known as the "System") to New Jersey American Water Company lnc. for the sum of $19,700,000?" >> See Related: Should South Orange Privatize Its Water? (What To Know)

Here are the latest uncertified election results, as per the Essex County Clerk’s Office (100 percent of districts reported):

• YES – 4,562 votes (62.15%)
• NO - 2,778 votes (37.85%)

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