State Senator Wants Fire District Elections Moved to November

After another year of “dismal voter turnout” for fire district elections, state Sen. Donald Norcross (D-5) plans to introduce a bill moving the elections to November.

Fire district elections are held on the third Saturday in February—the only New Jersey elections held on a weekend—and usually see extremely low turnout. Statewide, 2 percent of eligible voters on average participate, Norcross said.

Moorestown came out ahead of the average this year—just barely. Of the town’s roughly 14,000 registered voters, fewer than 500  to vote, representing just 3.5 percent turnout.

Moving the election, Norcross said, could increase voter turnout and save money by consolidating election costs.

School boards across New Jersey recently decided whether to move their elections from April to November for similar reasons. Norcross sponsored the bill in the state senate that allowed districts the option to move elections.

“As with the school board elections and the separate presidential primary, fire district elections are costly and inefficient,” Norcross said in statement. “Big-budget items that affect every taxpayer in town are decided in an election with the state’s lowest voter turnout.”

As of Feb. 26, 86 percent of school boards statewide opted to move their elections to November, according to the New Jersey School Boards Association. Moorestown's school board initially declined to move the election date, but the township committee , as allowed under state law.

“The undeniable success of the statewide effort to move the school board elections to November shows the public demand for a more streamlined, cost-efficient election process, and that is what we intend to give them,” Norcross said. “Keeping in line with my previous legislation, rescheduling the fire district election promises to boost voter participation while reducing unnecessary costs.”

Chris Chesner, the administrator for in Moorestown, said there are pros and cons to Norcross's proposed bill.

"If you look at the calendar ... 99 percent of the time (the election) falls on Presidents Day weekend," he said. "So that prevents people from getting to the polls."

But in Moorestown, the fire district line cuts through some voting districts, raising the question of where people would vote and possibly adding confusion to the voting process.

Norcross, who represents 19 towns in Camden and Gloucester counties, did not provide projected savings for moving fire district elections to November. He did, however, point to cost savings for consolidating other elections. Moving school board elections to November could save $4.5 million statewide, he said, while eliminating the separate presidential primary has a projected $12 million savings this year.

Chesner said the fire district election only cost the district $873 last year—although the newsletter announcing the election and details on the budget cost about $3,700.

New Jersey has 185 fire districts. The annual election seeks voter approval for the budget and special referendum questions, plus elects candidates as fire commissioners. Not every town statewide has a fire district. Some budgets are folded into the larger municipal budget instead.