In the hours before polls closed Tuesday, people began to line up in the Newark Avenue offices of the county clerk in Jersey City.
They were anxious and scared, each of them seeking to confirm their voter registration. They had come from every part of the county and had gone to their polling places first only to find out no record existed that would allow them to vote. And they were, according to officials handling their claims, determined to vote, lining up in the halls, waiting hour after hour as the county officials struggled to get their cases straightened out.
Registration questions occur every election and for numerous reasons. Forms get lost in the mail. People think they are registered when they are not. During most elections, the number of people is perfectly manageable. But on Nov. 7, with people swarming to the polls, the problem took on monumental proportions.
“We were just as determined to make certain they could vote,” said one county official.
For the workers who handled the growing numbers, this was a testimony to the infectious nature of this election, how people didn’t merely seek to do their civic duty, but seemed caught up in a moment that was part of history.
During the day throughout the county, more than 60 percent of the county’s population made its way to the polls, bound to make a difference in this year’s election.
This mood filled the county chambers, as did the radio broadcast predictions for the national races. Public officials from both political parties called in or showed up, seeking to help square away these voters. While county officials handled the cases smoothly, they became concerned over the distances the voters would have to go to vote before the polls closed.
“We thought they would not make it back to their poling places in time,” one county worker said. “So we had a judge come in and authorize them to vote right here.”
This desire to vote crowded polling booths throughout the county, with reports of steady crowds streaming into poling places all day long. For Hudson County, this allowed Democrats to prevail in every national race.
The high vote-getters
Democratic presidential candidate Al Gore and Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Jon Corzine each received more than 70 percent of the vote in Hudson County. Corzine ended up winning a seat in the Senate, while Gore’s lead over Republican opponent George W. Bush disintegrated as the night wore on.
County Executive Robert Janiszewski, wearing his hat as chairman of the Hudson County Democratic Organization, said last week that preliminary results showed that 71.7 percent of the county’s votes went to Jon Corzine for senate and that 72.7 percent of the votes went to Al Gore for president. These numbers are based on 410 out 425 voting precincts.
“Once again, Hudson County delivered big percentages to our Democratic candidates,” Janiszewski said. “With the highest percent of voters cast for Democratic candidates, Hudson County ranks as the first in New Jersey.”
Statewide, Corzine, a former Goldman-Sachs executive and political newcomer, held off a last-minute spurt by Republican Bob Franks to capture a seat on the U.S. Senate. Corzine had spent as much as $60 million – much of it his own money – to win the race. He ran on a campaign that included investing in health care and education as well as enacting stronger gun-control laws. Prominent Hudson County supporters accompanied Corzine to his suite in the Brunswick Hilton in East Brunswick Tuesday night, where they celebrated his victory.
“We came out big for Al Gore and Jon Corzine and re-elected our three congressmen, Bob Menendez, Steve Rothman and Donald Payne by landslide proportions.”
Democrats running for the House of Representatives won easily. Rep. Steve Rothman (D-9th Dist.) won his third term by beating Republican challenger Joseph Tedeschi. Throughout the district – which contains all of Secaucus, and parts of western Hudson County – Rothman received better than 60 percent of the vote. Rothman had campaigned on HMO reform, greater federal funding for academically improved schools, and national debt relief.
Rep. Robert Menendez (D-13th Dist.) captured his fifth term by beating Republican Theresa de Leon. Menendez ran on his record for seeking health care legislation, educational programs, and improvements in transportation. The 13th District includes parts Hudson, Essex, Union, and Middlesex counties, and includes Jersey City, Hoboken, North Bergen, West New York, Union City, Weehawken and Guttenberg.
Rep. Donald Payne, D-Newark, whose 10th district includes a slice of Jersey City, won his seventh term against Republican Dirk Weber.