New Jersey candidate resources

Pick your county to see what running for office takes.

A plain-language guide to how county ballot access works in all 21 New Jersey counties. New Jersey saves its big legislative and local elections for odd years, but 2026 is not an empty year: county commissioners serve three-year staggered terms, so commissioner seats are on the ballot in every county every year, and several counties elect a sheriff, county clerk or surrogate this November too. The partisan doors for 2026 closed in the spring; non-partisan municipal petitions are open until August 20, and a general-election write-in needs no filing. Click the map or use the list.

All 21 New Jersey counties. Click any county for its guide.

All 21 New Jersey counties

Alphabetical. Each links to that county’s “how to run for office” guide.

Running somewhere in New Jersey?

Motion51 does not hold the New Jersey voter file, and we do not request it on anyone's behalf. New Jersey sells no statewide file at all: N.J.S.A. 19:31-18.1(b) makes the county commissioner of registration furnish a list of the registered voters in any or all election districts in the county to any voter who asks, capped at $375 for the whole county. That is county by county, which is exactly why it is better economics for a county or municipal candidate than for anyone else: one request, one county, one price. The only prohibited use is commercial or charitable solicitation of the voters on the list (19:31-18.1(c)), and the same statute hands the list free of charge to county party chairs. Request your county's list as the campaign, then bring the file here. We'll load it in, cut turf, and send your volunteers out with a phone instead of a clipboard. The free tier costs nothing to try.

Try the free tier

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