Election 2023 Preview

By MADDY VITALE Voters will have plenty of choices to make for who their state, county and local officials will be when ballots are cast and counted on Tuesday. Ocean City residents will choose a representative to the state Senate, two representatives to the Assembly, two Cape May County commissioners, a Cape May County commissioner to complete an unexpired term, the county surrogate, the county sheriff, an Ocean City Council member to complete a six-month unexpired term, and three members of the Ocean City Board of Education. The major race is between Republican incumbent Sen. Michael Testa and Democratic challenger Charles R. Laspata for a four-year term in the state Senate. Republican Assemblymen Antwan McClellan, of Ocean City, and Erik Simonsen, of Lower Township, are running for another two-year term. Their Democratic opponents are Damita White-Morris and Eddie L. Bonner. At the county level, Republican Sheriff Bob Nolan is running unopposed for a three-year term. Also at the county level, Republican Cape May County Surrogate E. Marie Hayes, of Ocean City, who filled a vacancy when former Surrogate Dean Marcolongo left the five-year term to become a Superior Court Judge, is running against Democratic challenger and local attorney, Beverly McCall, also of Ocean City. Republican incumbent Cape May County Commissioner Will Morey is running for another three-year term. Also running is Republican Melanie Collette. The Democratic candidate is Patricia O'Connor. Republican Commissioner Bob Barr, who replaced E. Marie Hayes on the commission in the summer, is running unopposed to fill the two-year unexpired term. In Ocean City, Fourth Ward Councilman Dave Winslow, who was appointed in the summer to replace Barr, is running unopposed to secure a six-month unexpired term on City Council. There are seven candidates vying for three, three-year seats on the Ocean City Board of Education. The incumbents running are Cecilia Gallelli-Keyes and Robin Shaffer. The other candidates are Michael Allegretto, Steve Flogaus, Cory Niemiec, Jocelyn Palaganas and Kevin Schaffer. The top three vote-getters will win the seats on the board. ELECTION RUNDOWN:

• POLL HOURS: Open 6 a.m. to 8 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 7
• POLLING PLACES: See chart of Ocean City polling places for each ward and district: 2023 Polling Places. All Third Ward districts will vote at the Ocean City Free Public Library (1735 Simpson Avenue), and all Fourth Ward districts will vote at the American Legion (4556 West Avenue).
• MAP OF VOTING DISTRICTS: See map of Ocean City voting districts and polling places.
• SAMPLE BALLOTS: See list of candidates before you vote. See separate list of Board of Education candidates.
• TOUCH-SCREEN VOTING: See preview of what to expect at the polls with new touchscreen voting equipment.
• FOLLOW ELECTION RESULTS ON TUESDAY NIGHT: capemaycountyvotes.com.

If you have questions or concerns about the voting process, call the City Clerk's Office at 609-525-9328.