Toms River 2024 Voter Guide: Deadlines, Who's Running

TOMS RIVER, NJ — The 2024 general election is rapidly approaching. While the federal election for president continues to draw the most attention, there are elections at the local level as well.

Our voter guide covers what you need to know about making sure you are registered to vote, how you can vote by mail if you choose, when early voting begins and where polling places are for Election Day, along with who's on the ballot in Toms River from the local level to the federal campaigns.

Key dates

• Election Day: Tuesday, Nov. 5
• Deadline to register to vote: Tuesday, Oct. 15. Check your voter registration here.
• Early voting: Oct. 26-Nov. 3; Monday-Saturday 10 a.m.-8 p.m.; Sunday, 10 a.m.-6 p.m.
• Deadline to apply for a mail-in ballot by mail: Tuesday, Oct. 29. Mail-In Ballot Application
• Deadline for in-person applications for a mail-in ballot: Nov. 4 by 3 p.m.
• Where can I drop off my ballot? See Ocean County ballot drop-box locations. Ballots must be deposited in the dropbox by 8 p.m. Nov. 5
• Mailing it? Ballots must be postmarked by 8 p.m. Nov. 5 and received by the Board of Elections by Nov. 11
• Where can I vote in person? Find your polling location online; it also will be on your sample ballot. Polling places will be open from 6 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Nov. 5.
• Track your mail-in ballot.

Who Are The Candidates?

In Toms River, two candidates are seeking election to serve out the final year of the Ward 2 council term of Mayor Daniel Rodrick. William Byrne, 82, is running as the Republican candidate after decades as a registered Democrat, and Zachary Dougherty, 23, is the Democratic candidate. Dougherty is a lifelong Toms River resident.

There are three seats up for election on the Toms River Regional Board of Education, two representing Toms River and one representing South Toms River. Seeking the three-year terms for Toms River are four candidates: incumbent Jennifer Howe; Lisa Contessa, who served on the board previously but stepped away for a year; and newcomers Diane Oxley and Maria Marisa Matarazzo. Oxley had run for election to the board in 2023 but was defeated.

The candidates for the South Toms River seat are Krista Whittaker, a regular attendee and speaker at school board meetings, and Joseph Jubert, whose wife Jamie is the borough clerk in South Toms River and served on the Toms River Regional school board years ago.

Patch will be publishing candidate profiles in the coming days.

Here's a quick rundown of the choices that voters will be asked to make on a national, state and county level:

• Presidential race: Residents can either cast a write-in vote or choose between Vice President Kamala Harris and her running mate, Tim Walz, the Democratic candidates, or former President Donald Trump and his running mate, J.D. Vance, the Republicans. Also running are: Claudia de la Cruz and Karina Garcia, Party for Socialism and Liberation; Rachele Fruit and Margaret Trowe, Socialist Workers Party; Joseph Kishore and Jerry White, Socialist Equality party; Chase Oliver and Mike Ter Maat, Libertarian Party; Jill Stein and Rudolph Ware, Green Party; Randall A. Terry and Stephen E. Broden, U.S. Constitution Party.
  
  Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and his running mate, Nicole Shanahan, will appear on the ballot as independents. While Kennedy withdrew from the race on Aug. 23 and endorsed Trump, it was too late to have his name removed from the ballot in New Jersey, which has a deadline of Aug. 16 for candidates to withdraw. Requests from Kennedy and from the state Democratic Party Committee to remove Kennedy's name were rejected, the New Jersey Globe reported.

• U.S. Senate: The U.S. Senate seat formerly held by Robert Menendez is up for election. Democrat Andy Kim, who has been serving the Third District in the House of Representatives since January 2019, is being challenged for the seat by Republican Curtis Bashaw, a newcomer. Also running for the six-year term are: Kenneth Kaplan, Libertarian Party; Christina Khalil, Green Party; Joanne Kuniansky, Socialist Workers Party; Patricia G. Mooneyham, on the Vote Better slogan.
• U.S. House of Representatives: All 12 House seats in New Jersey are up for election, including the 4th District. Incumbent Republican Chris Smith is seeking his 23rd term in the House. His challengers are Democrat Matthew Jenkins; Barry Bendar of the Green Party, and John Morrison of the Libertarian Party.
• Ocean County: There are two four-year terms up for election on the Board of Commissioners. Republicans Jennifer Bacchione and Robert Arace are being challenged by Democrats Karen Sugden and Regina C. Discenza. Bacchione, who chairs the Berkeley Township Housing Authority, also serves on the Ocean County Board of Health. Her husband is Berkeley Township Mayor John Bacchione. Arace is in his second year as mayor of Manchester Township. The two unseated Barbara Jo "Bobbi Jo" Crea and Gary Quinn in the Republican primary in June. Discenza has run for office before in Lacey Township, and Sugden is making her second bid for office.

Note: This article has been updated to clarify the status of Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s presidential campaign.