What Is The Difference Between Received, Accepted Ballots In NJ?

NEW JERSEY - The general election is officially Tuesday but voting in the Garden State has been happening via mail-in-ballot for nearly a month. And residents who participated in the democratic process early are questioning what the language around their tracked ballots mean.

According to officials, frequently received questions concerning the Secretary of State's “Track My Ballot Portal” include what is the difference between “received” and “accepted" status and why isn’t my ballot showing up on the “Track My Ballot Portal” as “received” or “accepted.”

According to the Secretary of State's Office, due to historically high volume, ballots deposited in Secure Ballot Drop Box locations may take up to one week to show up as “Received” and ballots sent via US Mail may take up to two weeks to show up as "Received" in the Track My Ballot tool.

In Morris County, the Board of Elections says ballot status information is provided by the counties via an automated process. The amount of time it takes until updates post to the "Track My Ballot" tool may vary from county to county.

A voter's ballot status won’t be changed to "Accepted" or "Rejected" until after the Certification of the Election, on Nov. 20.

• “Accepted” means that your signature and ballot was verified, and your vote was cast.
• “Rejected” means that there was a problem with the ballot while the Board of Elections was reviewing it.

If this happens, the Board of Election will send a cure letter to resolve the issue within 48 hours of their review.

Cure Letters

If the signature on the ballot does not match the Voter Registration signature, the letter below will be sent from the Board of Elections.

Officials are asking that those who receive this letter, open it and respond immediately.

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