Sample ballots are arriving in mailboxes across Ocean County, and voters in Lakewood, Toms River, Jackson, Brick and Manchester will find a mix of national, county and local contests on the November ballot, plus a question that would shrink the Lakewood Board of Education.

Election Day is Tuesday, November 3, with polls open from 6 a.m. to 8 p.m. Voters who would rather skip the Election Day line can vote early from Saturday, October 24 through Sunday, November 1, from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday through Saturday and from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Sunday. Any registered Ocean County voter can use any of the ten early voting sites. Lakewood voters can head to the Lakewood Municipal Building courtroom at 231 Third Street, Toms River voters to the Toms River branch of the Ocean County Library at 101 Washington Street, Jackson voters to the Jackson branch at 2 Jackson Drive, and Brick voters to the Brick branch at 301 Chambers Bridge Road, and Manchester voters to the Manchester branch at 21 Colonial Drive. On Election Day itself, voters must go to the polling place printed on their sample ballot. Vote-by-mail ballots can be dropped off at any county drop box, which stays open around the clock until 8 p.m. on Election Day. The deadline to request a mail-in ballot by mail is Tuesday, October 27, and requests made in person are accepted until 3 p.m. on Monday, November 2.

On every ballot in all five towns: In the race for U.S. Senate, Republican Justin Murphy faces Democrat Cory Booker, along with Veronica Fernandez (End the Corruption!) and Joanne Kuniansky (Socialist Workers Party). In the 4th Congressional District, Republican Christopher H. Smith is running against Democrat Rachel Peace. For one three-year seat on the Ocean County Board of Commissioners, Republican Frank Sadeghi faces Democrat Kia C. Phua.

Voters will also decide County Question No. 1, which asks whether to raise the rate of the Ocean County Natural Lands Trust Fund from 1.2 cents to 2.2 cents per $100 of total county equalized property value. According to the ballot, the owner of a property assessed at $100,000 would contribute a maximum of $22 a year at the higher rate.

Lakewood: Two seats on the Township Committee are up for three-year terms. Republicans Deborah Fuentes and Moshe B. Raitzik are running against Democrats Raymond Coles and Samantha L. Stokes. For the Board of Education, Samuel Melnik and Harriet Goldberg appear on the ballot under the slogan Common Sense Leadership for three seats, with the third line marked “No Petition Filed.” The annual fire election lists Dovid Bender, Larry S. “Levi” Loigman and Harrison Pfeffer for two seats on the Board of Fire Commissioners.

Lakewood voters will also see a public question on the size of the school board. It asks whether to reduce the Board of Education from nine members to seven by filling only one of the three seats that expire on December 31, 2026, creating a seven-member board effective January 1, 2027. The ballot’s interpretive statement says no current board member would be removed before his or her term ends, and that a “No” vote keeps the nine-member board.

Toms River: There is no township election this year. The only local contest is for three seats on the Toms River Regional Board of Education, where seven candidates are running: Ashley Lamb, Gerard Nappi and James Capone (Protect What Matters); Anthony L. Colucci, Laura Picurro and Elizabeth Huber (Finance, Education, Accountability); and Kristen Hanson (Educating Students Responsibly).

Jackson: Jackson has the busiest local ballot of the five. Three candidates are running for mayor: Jennifer Kuhn (Longtime Residents Standing Up For Jackson), Elliott Shem-Tov (Fight For Jackson) and Brandon A. Rose (Jackson United). Six candidates are running for two Township Council seats: Brian McCarron and John “Pojo” Pejoski with Kuhn’s slate; Christopher Pollak and Amanda Trombetta with Shem-Tov’s slate; and Paul G. Sarti and Casey V. Jackson with Rose’s slate. Two school board seats are on the ballot, and Tara Rivera and Corrine Lucas are the only candidates.

Brick: Brick has no township election, but four candidates are running for two seats on the Board of Education: Nicole Orozco and Stephanie Murano (Champions For Education), Alison Kennedy (Children First, Always) and Robert (Bob) Sabo.

Manchester: Three candidates are running for mayor in the township’s non-partisan municipal election: Kenneth Seda (Independent Leadership Accountable to You), Mariah L. Prokop (Transparent, Straightforward Leadership) and Joseph T. Hankins (The Right Choice For Manchester). For two four-year Township Council seats, Sandra L. Gravatt-Drake (The Right Choice For Manchester) and Judith L. Noonan (Proven, Present, For Manchester) are the only candidates. Six candidates are running for three seats on the Board of Education: Laura Wingler, Gloria Adkinson and PaulaAnn Fazio (Putting Kids First); and Timothy Poss, Paula Nowakowski and Steven Giordano (Manchester Kids First).