When will you know who wins the elections? Who will win NJ?

South Jersey voters will soon make their final mark on the 2024 general election.

After a mail-in and early voting period, Garden stands residents should end the campaign season by casting ballots on Election Day. The fate of several referendums affecting residents of Atlantic, Burlington, Camden, Cape May, Cumberland and Gloucester counties will be decided, along with high-profile races for president, Congress and others.

Visit this live blog day and night for election-related updates and anecdotes in the South Jersey region.

At approximately 8:30 p.m., Vice President Kamala Harris was declared the winner of New Jersey’s electoral votes.

According to the Associated Press, New Jersey has gone to the Democratic candidate in every election since 1988, and the state’s Democratic Party has nearly 1 million more registered voters than their Republican counterparts.

This victory gives Harris 14 electoral votes.

-Kaitlyn McCormick

Voting hours in Burlington County were extended to 9 p.m. after New Jersey Attorney General Matt Platkin filed a lawsuit Tuesday evening. The extension came into effect following an order from a Supreme Court judge.

“Voters should remain patient and not leave – the lines have been long, but all votes matter,” Platkin said via X.

-Kaitlyn McCormick

U.S. Rep. Andy Kim (D-NJ) will represent New Jersey in the United States Senate, becoming the first Korean-American elected to the U.S. Senate.

The race Tuesday evening just after 8 p.m.

Kim, the Democratic candidate and third-term congressman from Burlington County, defeated Republican Curtis Bashaw, a real estate developer from Cape May. The seat was once occupied by former U.S. Senator Bob Menendez (D-NJ), who was convicted of federal bribery charges.

-Celeste Whittaker

Polls are now closed across New Jersey — though the state’s attorney general has pushed for an exception.

New Jersey Attorney General Matt Platkin filed a lawsuit against Burlington County less than 30 minutes before polls were set to close Tuesday evening, following multiple reports of long lines and wait times.

Announced via X, Platkin said he had filed a lawsuit to extend voting hours by one hour to 9 p.m. He also called for paper ballots to be made available to voters in the county.

“We will continue to fight to ensure that all voters can participate in this election,” he said.

Burlington County Public Information Officer Dave Levinsky had already made it clear that all voters in line before the polls close at 8 p.m. will have the opportunity to vote.

-Kaitlyn McCormick

Complaints about hours-long wait times are coming tonight from some Burlington County counties, including Lumberton and Westampton.

County spokesman David Levinsky said officials are anticipating “potentially record turnout” as voters continue to wait in line for their turn to vote.

“We remind all voters that the polls will remain open until the last voter in line at 8 p.m.,” Levinsky said.

Anyone still in line after 8 p.m. will not be allowed to leave the polling station, he added, and anyone who has not yet voted still has time to get in line.

–Kaitlyn McCormick

As the final few hours of voting begin, here’s a refresher on what to do if you’re having trouble at the polls, New Jersey Attorney General Matt Platkin said via X.

If you believe you have been a victim of intimidation or discrimination while voting, you can file a report at bias.njcvivilrights.gov.

Voters with evidence of election crime, public corruption and voter fraud can call the state Office of Public Integrity & Accountability at 1-844-OPIA-TIPS

Voters with questions and concerns can contact the New Jersey Secretary of State’s toll-free line at 1-877-NJ-VOTER.

-Kaitlyn McCormick

Accessible voting machines are available at polling places and poll workers may be asked to make reasonable accommodations, according to Burlington County’s website.

Voters who need assistance may bring a friend or family member to assist them. However, union representatives and employers are not allowed to provide assistance.

Those who have questions or difficulty obtaining accommodation are asked to call the County Council Elections Office.

-Celeste Whittaker

Because presidential elections traditionally attract higher turnout, longer lines and wait times can be expected in New Jersey and beyond. However, voters who remain in line are entitled to cast their ballot as long as they are in line before 8:00 PM on Election Day.

-Celeste Whittaker

By mid-morning, voters were still slowly trickling in and out of the Donald E. Wilson Community Center in Magnolia, where residents from all four of the borough’s precincts would cast their ballots.

Karl Tricomi, 79, said he “feels good” about the election, although he knows there could be consequences.

“The stakes are high… we are preserving our democracy,” he said.

Tricomi said that from watching the news and listening to podcasts, he thinks the election will “go in the right direction.”

As they left the polls, two older women made comments about the elections.

Catarina Auletto said that after the ballots are submitted, all we have to do is “put it in God’s hands.”

Jessica Flynn added: “May the best person win… actions speak louder than words.”

Lavette White left the polling place with two young women and said she was “excited” to vote, especially after having trouble casting her ballot.

When asked if they were worried, one of the women said with a smile, “No, just go to Kamala.”

People went out to vote all morning, some with their children and families.

Some said they had come to vote on appointments or meetings later in the day.

-Kaitlyn McCormick

David Levinsky, a spokesman for Burlington County, said all problems with voting machines were resolved earlier this morning.

“All our polling stations are working normally. We are aware of long lines, but that is not due to the previous issues,” Levinsky said.

-Nick Butler

For this year’s election in Pitman, Gloucester County, the borough’s polling places were consolidated at Pitman United Methodist Church on North Broadway. The church is on the outskirts of the city, but has a large parking lot, and cars were pulling in even before the polls opened at 6 a.m.

Father and son John and Jack Kelly of Pitman were among the earlier arrivals. In the presidential elections, the two supported Republican candidate Donald Trump.

“The world obviously has to change, and Trump especially,” said John Kelly. “That’s it.”

John Kelly said he had already voted by mail since he was away from home recently, but wanted to see what happened, and that his son would still go to the location to vote.

“And I saw a bunch of friends there,” John Kelly said. “Everyone laughs. It’s a good day, a beautiful day, and I feel the momentum building.”

His son agreed.

“I’m glad everything is now completed,” said Jack Kelly. “And we can move our country in the right direction.”

Salvatore Nuccio, 74, of Pitman proudly displayed his “America” T-shirt and said he voted for Trump because he wants to “make America great again” and Democrats are doing the opposite.

Nuccio, who emigrated from Italy as a child, said other countries are laughing at President Joe Biden.

“He’s following an ice cream truck down the street,” he said. “We have to show other countries again what we say we are. We must stick to it. Donald Trump is a great guy. Whether you like it or not, he’s telling you the truth.

Jim Skiba wasn’t the only one who said he was glad the campaign ads were finally done. The campaign season had otherwise not been stressful, he said.

Looking ahead, Skiba said, he expects the media to create tensions if Trump is elected.

“Unfortunately, they’re going to be incited by a lot of people who work for ABC, NBC, CBS, CNN, MSNBC and the like,” Skiba said. “Because they are not reporters, unfortunately they are activists. They don’t tell the truth. That’s why I watch things on YouTube now. I don’t even watch the news.”

On a local issue, Skiba said that “if people vote wrong,” New Jersey will run a light passenger rail line through Pitman. He believes this would destroy the business district and downtown neighborhoods.

“They’re going to take down all the parking lots and people could lose their homes,” Skiba said.

-Joe Smith

In Gloucester County, Superintendent of Elections Stephanie Salvatore said she noticed a younger and lower than normal turnout on Election Day.

“We are not experiencing long (lines) or large groups and I believe a lot of that comes from residents using mail-in ballots and voting early. We’ve noticed a lot of 18-year-olds coming out today and other people who are voting for the first time. but it seems like early voting has really taken the pressure off today,” Salvatore said.

“We saw busy lines on all nine days of early voting and some wait times for the vote during those days were around an hour and it probably didn’t hurt that the weather was nice. I am fully confident that we will have the election in a starting to see things going in a new direction.”

-Nick Butler

In Burlington County, spokesman David Levinsky said some machines were unavailable when polls opened.

“There were some technical issues starting up some polling locations in Burlington County. Those locations are receiving additional technical support and should be operating normally soon,” Levinsky said.

-Nick Butler

Polls in New Jersey open at 6 a.m. Garden State polls close at 8 p.m

For more information about voting in New Jersey, including polling places and drop box locations, visit New Jersey’s voter information portal at https://www.nj.gov/state/elections/vote.shtml.

-Nick Butler

If you don’t know where to vote, you can call your county’s municipal clerk’s office or election board office for specific information about your polling place. You can also go online to find your polling place at https://voter.svrs.nj.gov/polling-place-search. Simply enter your address and zip code.

In addition, sample ballots were sent out about a week before the election. On these ballot papers you can see where your polling station is located.

-Celeste Whittaker

The deadline to request a mail-in ballot in New Jersey was October 29.

If you haven’t returned that ballot, there’s still time. Ballots postmarked before 8:00 PM on Election Day and received by your county board of elections on or before the sixth day after the polls close must still be counted.

You can also place your ballot in one of your county’s secure ballot boxes before 8 p.m. on Election Day.

-Celeste Whittaker

You can check it the nj.gov website to find your nearest polling place in a New Jersey county.

If you have voting questions, please call 1-877-658-6837 or your county government office.

-Celeste Whittaker