By DONALD WITTKOWSKI
In her 34 years of working in the Cape May County Clerk’s Office, Rita Marie Fulginiti has seen nothing else like it.
“This is unprecedented. This is something new,” Fulginiti said.
The “something” is the May 12 municipal election in Ocean City that will be conducted exclusively with mail-in ballots because of the coronavirus pandemic. No one will go to the polls to vote in-person.
Fulginiti said she knows of no other election in Cape May County history that was done only with mail-in ballots.
Her office is sending out a total of 9,324 mail-in ballots to Ocean City’s registered voters for the four races in the City Council election. Ballots are expected to begin arriving at Ocean City homes this week.
While there are three uncontested Council races in Ocean City’s four wards, there is a contested race for the Third Ward seat. Incumbent Third Ward Councilman Tony Wilson is being challenged by Boardwalk businessman Jody Levchuk.
Running unopposed are incumbents First Ward Councilman Michael DeVlieger and Fourth Ward Councilman Bob Barr and newcomer Tom Rotondi, who is running for the Second Ward seat vacated in January by former Councilman Antwan McClellan, who was elected to the state Assembly.
When a voter receives their ballot, they should vote and drop it in the mail. Postage is prepaid. Ballots need to be postmarked by May 12 or before to count in the election. Fulginiti is encouraging voters to mail in their ballots before May 12.
When the voting closes at 8 p.m. on May 12, the ballots will be counted and unofficial totals will be available, Fulginiti said.
The official vote totals will be announced on or around May 14. The law allows for an additional two days from Election Day to receive the mail-in ballots.
Fulginiti said the ballots were delivered by her office to the South Jersey postal distribution center in Bellmawr on Wednesday and may start arriving at Ocean City homes as early as Thursday.
The Cape May County Clerk’s Office has until Friday to begin mailing out the ballots, so it is actually two days early, she explained.
Voters who do not get a mail-in ballot in the mail by the end of April are asked to call the Cape May County Clerk’s Office at 609-465-1013.
Gov. Phil Murphy ordered that all voting in the election be conducted by mail-in ballots to help prevent the spread of COVID-19.
During a normal election, mail-in ballots usually account for only about 10 percent of the total number of votes that are cast, Fulginiti said.
With this election, the governor has ordered that the mail-in ballots should also be sent to registered voters who are considered “inactive,” people whose sample ballots in the past have been returned to the county as undeliverable.
Of the total of 9,324 mail-in ballots being sent out, 8,666 will go to active voters and 658 to inactive voters. Fulginiti said she believes most of the mail-in ballots sent to inactive voters will be returned to her office as undeliverable.
