The Ocean County Clerk will offer extended hours to accommodate voters who wish to apply in person for an absentee ballot for the upcoming general election next Tuesday. The County Clerk will expand its business hours beginning Wednesday. The office normally closes at 4:30 p.m. weekdays. From Wednesday through Friday, the office will be open from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m., said Ocean County Clerk Carl W. Block. The office also will be open from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, Block said. The election office is located in the Ocean County Courthouse, Room 107, 118 Washington St., in Toms River.

The last day to apply for an absentee ballot, which are now called Mail-In ballots, through the mail is today. After today, registered voters in Ocean County must apply in person at the County Clerk’s Election Office to vote absentee.

Voters do not need a reason to vote absentee in New Jersey. The deadline to obtain such a ballot in person is 3 p.m. Monday, on the eve of the election. After 3 p.m. Monday, voters must obtain a court order from a judge in order to allow them to apply for an absentee ballot.

As of today, the County Clerk’s Election Office has issued a total of 15,240 absentee allots for the upcoming election.

 All voters who wish to apply in person for an absentee ballot need to present proper identification to prove their identity and sign their name as it appears in the voter registry book.

For additional information on obtaining a Mail-In Ballot, voters can contact the County Clerk at 732-929-2153. APP