The election will last until Friday — at least for some voters in New Jersey. State officials announced Tuesday afternoon that they will continue to accept email and fax ballots through Friday night, after election supervisors there reported they were overwhelmed by requests from voters displaced by Hurricane Sandy. The state is seen as securely enough in Obama’s column that many expect that he’ll be able to be called as the winner of the state’s electoral votes nonetheless. Gov. Chris Christie (R-N.J.) announced last Saturday that voters affected by the storm could use an email ballot process set up for overseas voters. However, many voters reported this week that email boxes designated to receive the ballots were already full and not able to accept any more ballots. In addition, some voters said they’d gotten no response to their emailed requests for ballots.
”The response to this expansion has been remarkable, reflecting the civic commitment of New Jersey voters to exercise their franchise even as they are displaced from their homes. The counties and the State are committing all available resources to quickly process email, fax, and mail-in ballot applications and to send qualified voters a ballot,” said Kim Guadagno (R-N.J.), who serves as both the lieutenant governor and secretary of state, in a directive issued Tuesday. “Notwithstanding these efforts, it has become apparent that the County Clerks are receiving applications at a rate that outpaces their capacity to process them without an extension of the current schedule.”
Guadagno said voters will be allowed to email or fax requests for ballots until 5 p.m. Tuesday. County clerks will have until noon Friday to send out the ballots, which must be returned by 8 p.m. Friday, she said.
Full Article: New Jersey extends email voting to Friday – Josh Gerstein – POLITICO.com.