In this year’s “off-year” election, the eyes of the nation will be on New Jersey on November 4, as voters decide on the next Governor. South Orange-Maplewood residents will also be voting for representatives for the NJ Assembly 28th legislative district, Essex County Clerk, and the South Orange-Maplewood Board of Education. Maplewood voters will be casting ballots for one seat on the Maplewood Township Committee and South Orange voters for 3 seats on the South Orange Village Council. South Orange voters will also be deciding on a referendum to increase the Open Space & Historic Preservation Trust Fund tax levy.
U.S. Rep. Mikie Sherrill. Photo by Joy Yagid.
Polls will be open from 6:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m.
Find you polling place here: www.nj.gov/state/elections/vote-polling-location
If you are voting by mail, you must already have obtained your ballot, which now needs to be postmarked on or before 8:00 p.m. Election Day and be received by your county’s Board of Elections on or before 6 days after Election Day. To make sure your ballot is postmarked on time, go to the counter at a U.S. Post Office and have a clerk manually stamp the postmark on your ballot envelope, or use a Secure Ballot Drop Box by 8:00 p.m. on Election Day. Find Secure Ballot Drop Box locations here. Or deliver it in person to your the Essex County Board of Elections Office by 8:00 p.m. on Election Day.
Read our local coverage on the election:
Governor
Voters will decided between U.S. Rep. Mikie Sherrill (D-11th), in her fourth term in Congress, and Republican Jack Ciattarelli, a former business owner, making his third bid for the governor’s office. Read more in NJ Spotlight’s Voter Guide.
- OPINION: Mikie Stands Up For Public Transit—That’s Why We Need Her In Trenton, by South Orange Mayor Sheena Collum
- Maplewood Fundraising Event With Mikie Sherrill Draws 100+ People, Raises Over $15,000
- Following Primary Win, SOMA Action Endorses Mikie Sherrill for NJ Governor
- Sheena Collum ‘Throws Full Support’ Behind Mikie Sherrill in NJ Governor Race
- Maplewood Mayor & 3 Township Committee Members Endorse Mikie Sherrill for NJ Governor
- PHOTOS: 4 Democratic Candidates for NJ Governor Draw Packed House in Maplewood
NJ Assembly 28th District
- NYTimes: Tucker & Onyema Win Democratic Primary for NJ Assembly 28th District (This race is uncontested.)
Maplewood Township Committee
- Jane Collins-Colding Wins Democratic Primary for Maplewood Township Committee (This race is uncontested.)
- Maplewood Township Committee Candidate Profile: Jane Collins-Colding
- Maplewood Mayor Nancy Adams Endorses Jane Collins-Colding for Township Committee
- De Luca Endorses Jane Collins-Colding for Township Committee
- Deputy Mayor Malia Herman Endorses Jane Collins-Colding for Maplewood Township Committee
South Orange-Maplewood Board of Education
Six candidates, running on two slates, are vying for three seats on the 9-member Board of Education. Terms are for three years. The election is nonpartisan (although all six candidates are registered Democrats). The candidates are:
- Malini Nayar, Paul Stephan, and Meredith Higgins — running on the “Listen, Learn, Lead” slate.
-
Daniel Caplan, Ashley Ludovicy-Donahue, and Ashwat Rishi, running on the “Progress, Partnership, Promise” slate.
Read BOE candidate endorsements here:
- South Orange-Maplewood Board of Ed Candidates Nayar, Stephan & Higgins — Statements of Support
- Former BOE President Annemarie Maini Endorses Nayar, Stephan & Higgins
- South Orange-Maplewood Board of Ed Candidates Caplan, Donahue & Rishi — Statements of Support
- SOMA Action Endorses Nayar, Stephan & Higgins for BOE
- Former Board of Education Member Mazzocchi Endorses Caplan, Donahue & Rishi
The six BOE candidates met at three forums. Watch and read about the forums here:
- WATCH: 2 Slates for South Orange-Maplewood Board of Ed Seek to Highlight Differences at Final Forum
- BOE Candidates Discuss Budget, Facilities, Busing, AI, Sports & More
- Coalition on Race Forum Reveals Difference in Candidates’ Approaches to Integration Initiative
All six candidates answered these questionnaires:
- 2025 South Orange-Maplewood Board of Ed Candidates Answer Special Education Questionnaire
- Arts Ed NJ 2025 School Board Candidate Survey Results (toggle in lower left to view all six responses)
A major issue in the BOE contest has been the proposed changes to the district’s Intentional Integration Initiative:
South Orange Village Council
Incumbent Bill Haskins and newcomers Patricia Canning and Hannah Zollman, both longtime South Orange volunteers, are running unopposed in the first South Orange Village Council election ever to be held in November.
- Letters: Voters Endorse Unopposed Slate for South Orange Village Council
- Meet the 3 Candidates Running for South Orange Village Council
South Orange Open Space Trust & Historic Preservation Fund Tax Levy Increase Referendum
South Orange will decide whether to double to the Open Space Tax Levy to two cents per $100 of assessed value on the ballot in a referendum in November in order to help pay for numerous projects in the town’s parks and green space, including the River Greenway Project, work at Founders Park in Academy Heights, work in Montrose Park and tree replacements and plantings in Grove Park, and updating playgrounds and making them ADA accessible.
- Letters: Community Opinions on the South Orange Open Space Trust Fund Levy Increase
- Opinion: Founders Park Conservancy Supports Increasing the South Orange Open Space Trust Fund Tax Levy
- OPINION: Vote NO on South Orange Open Space & Historic Preservation Trust Fund Levy Increase
- South Orange Mayor Blasts Anonymous Misinformation About Open Space Trust Fund Referendum
- Opinion: SOMA Action Climate Committee Favors South Orange Open Space Trust Fund Levy Increase
- Opinion: Council Member Bill Haskins Urges ‘Yes’ Vote on the Open Space Trust Referendum
