Voting in Cumberland County
By Albert B. Kelly
One of the foundational pillars of our way of life in this country is the right to vote and more than that, how our voting unfolds on Election Day, especially when it involves voting for president. Over the course of my life, in some quiet way, I was always proud of us as a country that we could go to the polls and cast our votes and watch power change hands, or not, on Election Day without shedding blood or committing acts violence.
I was in awe of the way we way handled our elections- the fact that while people might disagree or be disappointed, worried or even angry, the thing that made us special was the fact that we accepted the outcome and honored the rule of law even as we did our post mortems on why this party or that candidate won or lost. But over the past few years, there is reason to believe that our process is far more fragile and vulnerable than we know and if we continue to defile it, we’ll lose one of our greatest strengths as a nation.
Our system and process is strong so long as we collectively do all in our power to protect everyone’s right to participate, even when it involves those we disagree with- the idea that if we can’t protect the many that are weak, then we won’t be able to protect the few that are strong. Once we start erecting barriers and roadblocks to participation, finding solutions in search of problems, we inevitably weaken ourselves and our system.
Make voting inconvenient and less accessible or so the thought goes and certain people simply won’t show up to vote. Taking that approach, some might suggest eliminating early voting, vote-by-mail ballots, or having multiple secure drop boxes. Others might suggest a strategy that makes voter identification a complicated and multi-layered process as a way to discourage participation. If that fails, there is always some garden variety intimidation on Election Day in the name of poll watching.
I understand why one group or another might want to use these strategies, but making it hard for any group will only rob us of the thing that has made our country special over the last two-and-half centuries. For any who feel somewhat disenfranchised, regardless of what group or tribe you belong to, the way to answer back is to vote. Fortunately, there are multiple ways to vote in 2021 that balance security and integrity with protecting public health.
Close to home in 2021 there will be early voting locations available for in-person voting statewide for a full 9 days from Saturday, October 23rd through Sunday, October 31st. The Monday through Saturday hours will be 10:00am to 8:00pm and the Sunday hours will be 10:00am to 6:00pm.
As far locations in Cumberland County, they include the Bridgeton Public Library at 150 East Commerce St in Bridgeton, the Inspira EMS Millville Station at 600 Cedar Street in Millville, and the Landis Marketplace at 624 East Elmer Street in Vineland. You do not need to call ahead; you can just show up during the listed hours and vote.
In addition to early in-person voting, people can vote using mail-in ballots and take them to one of several secure drop boxes. On the western side of the county, drop-box locations include the County Courthouse at 60 W. Broad St, Bridgeton City Hall at 181 E. Commerce St, the Cumberland County Library at 800 E. Commerce St.
Other locations on the western side of the county include the Upper Deerfield Municipal Building at 1325 Highway 77 in Seabrook, the Hopewell Municipal Building at 590 Shiloh Pike, the Cumberland County Board of Elections at 555 Shiloh Pike, and the Fairfield Township Municipal Building at 70 Fairton-Gouldtown Rd.
Heading toward Millville, drop-box locations include the Commercial Township Municipal Building at 1768 Main Street in Port Norris, the Maurice River Municipal Building at 590 Main Street, Millville Municipal Building 12 South High Street, and the Deerfield Municipal Building at 736 Landis Avenue.
In Vineland, locations include CCTEC at 3400 College Drive in Vineland, Vineland City Hall at 640 East Wood Street in Vineland, and the Cumberland County Division of Social Services located at 275 North Delsea Drive in Vineland.
You can vote in-person on Election Day, November 2nd at your polling place from 6:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. Voting keeps us strong, make sure to vote.