Four Candidates File to Run for Montgomery Twp Committee, Primary Election Ballots-by-Mail Are Out, Early Voting Dates Announced

By Barbara A. Preston | May 30, 2024

Republican and Democratic registered voters have multiple options to vote in the Primary, selecting their candidates for the November General Election. The in-person primary election will be held on Tuesday, June 4.

The Somerset County Clerk's Office has completed the mailing of primary 2024 ballots to eligible voters who requested them. Mail-in ballots will continue to be available for in-person requests through 3 pm on Monday, June 3.

REPRESENTATIVES from the Montgomery Democratic and the Montgomery Republican organizations at a recent local event. Photos by Barbara A. Preston.

Know your Local Candidates

Montgomery Township Committee

Two three-year terms will be open on the Montgomery Township Committee as the terms of Neena Singh, who is also mayor, and Dennis Ahn will expire the end of this year. Both are running unopposed for the Democratic slots on the ballot.

Candidates Pamela D. Booth and Marion Sanders are running unopposed for the two Republican slots.

• Neena Singh (Dem)

• Dennis Ahn (Dem)

• Pamela D. Booth (Rep)

• Marion Sanders (Rep)

Rocky Hill Borough Council

Two three-year terms will be open on Rocky Hill Borough Council as the terms of Edgar "Trey" Delaney (Dem), who is also borough council president, and Denise Varga (Dem) will expire the end of this year.

No candidates have filed to run in the primaries for these two positions. The Democratic Party reached out to The Montgomery News asking to put forth the names of two write-in candidates.

• Sharlene Laud (Dem)

• Andrew Jacobson (Dem)
  

Somerset County Commissioners

Two three-year terms will be open on the Somerset County Board of Commissioners as the terms of Shanel Robinson, who is board chair person, and Sara Sooy will expire the end of this year. Both are running unopposed for the Democratic slots on the ballot. Two Republicans, Nicholas Cuozzo and Rakesh Ganta, are running unopposed for the two GOP slots on the November ballot.

• Shanel Robinson (Dem)

• Sara Sooy (Dem)

• Nicholas Cuozzo (Rep)

• Rakesh Ganta (Rep)

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United States Representative, District 12

One two-year term will be open for a U.S. Rep to represent District 12 in the U.S. House of Representatives. Members of the House serve a fixed term of two years, with each seat up for election before the start of the next Congress.

New Jersey's 12th congressional district is represented by Bonnie Watson Coleman, who has served in Congress since 2015. The district, which includes Montgomery and Rocky Hill, is known for its research centers and educational institutions such as Princeton University, Rider University, The College of New Jersey, Institute for Advanced Study, Johnson & Johnson, and Bristol-Myers Squibb. The district is primarily suburban in character, covering portions of Mercer, Somerset, Union, and Middlesex counties, although the district contains the state capital of Trenton as well as the smaller city of Plainfield.

Democratic Candidates - Vote for one.

• Bonnie Watson Coleman (incumbent)

• Daniel Dart

Republican Candidates - Vote for one.

• Darius Mayfield

• Thomas E. Jones, Jr.
  

United States Senator

One six-year term.

Democratic Candidates - Vote for one.

• Andy Kim

• Patricia Campos-Medina

• Lawrence Hamm

Republican Candidates - Vote for one.

• Curtis Bashaw

• Christine Serrano Glassner

• Justin Murphy

• Albert Harshaw

• Peter Vallorosi
  

President of the United States

One four-year term

Democratic Candidates - Vote for one.

• Joseph R. Biden

• Terrisa Bukovinac

Republican Candidate - Running unopposed for the Republican nomination.

• Donald J. Trump

About the Primary Election

Somerset County Clerk Steve Peter says, “There is great interest for this year’s presidential primaries, and we want to be sure that every eligible voter who wants to cast their ballot has the ability to do so easily and fairly."

"Mail-in ballots are a safe, secure, and convenient way to submit a ballot for all elections, and my office is here to help all eligible voters who wish to vote by mail," he says.

Ballots for the 2024 Democratic primary will appear different than voters are accustomed to due to a recent court case that determined the “county line” could not be used for the Democratic contest while it will be used for the Republican voters. The Democratic ballot will be designed in an “office block” style where candidates will be arranged according to the office they are seeking. For instance, all presidential candidates will be listed in one “block”, then all US Senate candidates, US House candidates, County candidates, and local candidates.

The Somerset County Clerk has mailed out the 29,860 ballots to Republican and Democratic Party voters who have previously requested to receive the ballots. These voters must vote by mail and are not eligible to vote in-person on a machine for this election. Voters may opt-out of receiving mail in ballots at any time, but requests received now will first apply to the general election in November and not the June 2024 primary.

Unaffiliated and “third” party voters who have requested mail-in ballots for all elections will not automatically receive a ballot for the June 2024 election as they are not currently eligible. Only registered Democrats and Republicans are eligible to vote in their respective primaries. Unaffiliated voters who are not currently registered with any political party may choose to register as a Republican or a Democrat and vote in that party’s 2024 primary.

Mail in ballots can be submitted in three ways:

• Posted by US Mail and postmarked before 8 p.m. on June 4, 2024; 

• Placed in a Secure Drop Box http://soconj.gov/dropbox before 8 p.m. on June 4, 2024; or

• Brought in-person to the Somerset County Board of Elections, 20 Grove Street, Somerville during office hours.

All information regarding vote by mail can be found on the Election Division section of the Clerk’s website at https://soconj.gov/clerk. If a voter’s question is not answered on that page they can call 908.231.7504 or email mailinvoting@co.somerset.nj.us

Voters who have not requested a mail-in ballot may also vote in-person at any of six early voting locations from May 29 to June 2, 2024, or in-person at their assigned polling place on June 4, 2024. A list of polling places and hours of operation, both for early voting and on election day, is available at http://soconj.gov/pollingplace.  There is an early voting location at the Montgomery Township Municipal Center, 100 Community Drive Skillman, NJ 08558.