Voter excitement for candidates will play a role in how many registered voters make it out to the polls. Ben Dworkin with the Rowan University Institute for Public Policy and Citizenship says voter registration numbers in New Jersey have been trending towards democrats over the last decade.
“This is going to be a big help for democratic candidates because when you are registered to vote you’re obviously more likely to actually vote. If you’re not registered, most of these politicians simply don’t care, and why should they.”
Dworkin believes the current political landscape in Washington could cause numbers to increase.
“Heading into the 2008 presidential contest we saw a massive surge in voter registration. To harken back, those were the days of Hillary Clinton versus Barack Obama for the democratic nomination. That led to a huge uptick in voter registration.”
Dworkin says previous figures show less than half of registered New Jersey voters turn out for midterm elections.
“That number may be higher this year, but we won’t know what the actual electorate looks like until Election Day.”
One US Senate and twelve House seats are up for election in New Jersey.