By Kristen Neymarc
If this past spring’s rushed and crowded District 11 special election didn’t do your head in, what’s coming this fall just might.
Morristown and Morris Township voters face two elections in less than two months: A Sept. 15, 2026, special vote on the Morris School District bond referendum, followed by the Nov. 3 congressional midterms. Add overlapping election deadlines and a federal-state legal fight over mail voting, and more than one veteran reporter has reached for a kitchen wall calendar — and some aspirin.
THE CLOCK’S ALREADY TICKING
This Tuesday, Sept. 8, is the deadline if you want the Sept. 15 ballot mailed to you. Here’s the trick: You must already be registered to vote — and that deadline passed Aug. 25. If you are registered, you can still apply online before the Sept. 8 deadline. Miss that? You can still apply in person at the Morris County Clerk’s Office in Morristown through 3 p.m. Monday, Sept. 14.
Lost already? Our Sept. 15 voting cheat sheet below lays out the deadlines and your options.
WHAT IS THE SEPT. 15 VOTE ABOUT?
What are Morristown and Morris Township voters voting on? The Sept. 15 ballot asks them to authorize up to $158.4 million in borrowing for improvements across the Morris School District, including HVAC and boiler upgrades, roofs and windows, bathrooms, classrooms and science labs, auditorium renovations and replacement of the Morristown High School pool.
The district says $46.4 million would be covered by state aid. The borrowing would be repaid through higher school debt taxes. For more on the referendum, including the proposed projects and estimated tax impact, see Morristown Green’s previous coverage.
THE WILDCARD: MAIL VOTING IS TANGLED UP IN COURT
If you blinked at the end of August, you may have missed the Aug. 31 deadline to opt out of receiving a mail ballot — and the unusual Aug. 26 announcement from Morris County Clerk Ann Grossi that put new emphasis on it. The opt-out itself is nothing new; it happens every year.
What is new is that the Trump administration is pushing a new rule that would bar the U.S. Postal Service from delivering mail ballots in states that do not share voter data with the federal agency. A federal judge has blocked the rule for now, but administration lawyers have asked the U.S. Supreme Court to let it take effect for the midterms.
Grossi said Morris County would continue processing vote-by-mail ballots under New Jersey law, but warned in her Aug. 26 statement that “at this time no one knows what the outcome will be.”
For Morristown and Morris Township voters, the Sept. 15 special election created a timing problem. Their vote-by-mail status could not be changed while that election was underway, and work on the Nov.3 vote-by-mail file already was in progress, so the Clerk’s website says “Morristown and Morris Township voters will not be opted out until after Nov. 3.”
If Nov. 3 seems like it should be far enough from Sept 15 to solve the problem.. .it isn’t. The overlap is the key point: The September election still was active when the November vote-by-mail file was finalized.
Laura Roberts, deputy clerk for elections told Morristown Green that any voters from Morristown or Morris Township who sent in an opt-out form by the clerk’s Aug. 31 deadline already has been contacted by phone or email to explain the situation.
NEXT STOP ON THE ELECTION TRAIN: MIDTERM CALENDAR STARTS SEPT. 19
Sept. 19 is voters’ next essential date on the calendar: That’s when mail ballots for the Nov. 3 midterms are due to begin going out. After that, the next one to circle is Oct. 13, the voter registration deadline for the midterms.
What’s at stake in November? New Jersey voters will elect a U.S. senator and members of the U.S. House, with control of Congress being decided nationally. Morris County voters also will choose a county commissioner, while municipal and school board races vary by town.
Sen. Cory Booker, a Democrat, seeks a third term. He’s being challenged by Republican Justin Murphy.
Rep. Analilia Mejia, a Democrat representing Greater Morristown in the 11th congressional district, is facing a rematch of the spring special election from Randolph Councilman Joe Hathaway, a Republican.
Morris County Commissioner Tayfun Selen, a Republican from Chatham, is running for a third term. He is facing opposition from Morristown Councilman Chris Russo, a Democrat.
There also are contested races for the Morris Township governing body, for mayor and council in Morris Plains, and for the Morris Plains board of education.
For the rest of the November deadlines, including early voting and mail-ballot dates, see our Nov. 3 cheat sheet below.
ROLLING WITH THE PUNCHES
For now, Morris County is proceeding under New Jersey law, even with the mail-ballot rules still unsettled in court. Roberts sounded considerably less rattled than the moment might warrant when asked how her office was managing the uncertainty: “This is our job. We roll with the punches. It’s what we do.”
For voters, that may be the best approach, too: Keep the wall calendar handy, check which deadlines and races apply to you — and make your vote count.
Morristown has a long history of people stepping forward in pivotal moments.
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