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Municipal elections in Essex County, New Jersey (2020)
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2021 →
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| 2020 Essex County elections |
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| Election dates |
| Filing deadline: March 30, 2020 (partisan candidates); July 7, 2020 (independent candidates) |
| Primary election: July 7, 2020 General election: November 3, 2020 |
| Election stats |
| Offices up: County clerk, board of chosen freeholders |
| Total seats up: 10 |
| Election type: Partisan |
| Other municipal elections |
| U.S. municipal elections, 2020 |
Essex County, New Jersey, held general elections for county clerk and all nine seats on the board of chosen freeholders on November 3, 2020. A primary was scheduled for July 7, 2020. The filing deadline for partisan candidates in this election was March 30, 2020, and the filing deadline for independent candidates was July 7, 2020.
New Jersey's primary election was postponed from June 2 to July 7, 2020, in response to the coronavirus pandemic.
Election procedure changes in 2020
Ballotpedia provided comprehensive coverage of how election dates and procedures changed in 2020. While the majority of changes occurred as a result of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, some changes occurred for other reasons.
New Jersey modified its absentee/mail-in voting and candidate filing procedures for the November 3, 2020, general election as follows:
- Absentee/mail-in voting: Mail-in were ballots sent to all registered voters in the general election.
- Candidate filing procedures: Candidates were allowed to collect and submit petition signatures via electronic means. The petition deadline for unaffiliated candidates for non-presidential office was postponed to July 7, 2020.
For a full timeline about election modifications made in response to the COVID-19 outbreak, click here.
Elections
Click on the tabs below to show more information about those topics.
County clerk
General election
General election for Essex County Clerk
Incumbent Christopher Durkin defeated Kristina Christoforou in the general election for Essex County Clerk on November 3, 2020.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | Christopher Durkin (D) | 78.8 | 257,059 | |
| Kristina Christoforou (R) | 21.2 | 69,038 | ||
| Total votes: 326,097 | |||
 = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
Democratic primary election
Democratic primary for Essex County Clerk
Incumbent Christopher Durkin advanced from the Democratic primary for Essex County Clerk on July 7, 2020.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | Christopher Durkin | 100.0 | 89,011 | |
| Total votes: 89,011 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
Republican primary election
Republican primary for Essex County Clerk
Kristina Christoforou advanced from the Republican primary for Essex County Clerk on July 7, 2020.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | Kristina Christoforou | 100.0 | 9,772 | |
| Total votes: 9,772 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
Board of Chosen Freeholders
Essex County Board of Chosen Freeholders general (November 3, 2020) |
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| Office |  Democratic |
 Republican |
Other |
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Alexandra Campisi |
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| District 1 |
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| District 2 |
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| District 3 |
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| District 4 |
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| District 5 |
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Essex County Board of Chosen Freeholders primary (July 7, 2020) |
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| Office | Democratic |
Republican |
Other |
| at-large (4 seats) |
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| District 1 |
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The Republican primary was canceled. |
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| District 2 |
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The Republican primary was canceled. |
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| District 3 |
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The Republican primary was canceled. |
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| District 4 |
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| District 5 |
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The Republican primary was canceled. |
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Endorsements
Do you know of an official or organization that endorsed a candidate in this race? Let Ballotpedia know by email at editor@ballotpedia.org.
Additional elections on the ballot
- See also: New Jersey elections, 2020
What was at stake?
Report a story for this election
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Candidate survey
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About the county
Demographics
The following table displays demographic data provided by the United States Census Bureau.
| Demographic Data for Essex County, New Jersey | ||
|---|---|---|
| Essex County | New Jersey | |
| Population | 863,728 | 9,288,994 |
| Land area (sq mi) | 126 | 7,354 |
| Race and ethnicity** | ||
| White | 41.1% | 65.5% |
| Black/African American | 39.3% | 13.4% |
| Asian | 5.5% | 9.7% |
| Native American | 0.3% | 0.3% |
| Pacific Islander | 0% | 0% |
| Other (single race) | 8.4% | 6.4% |
| Multiple | 5.4% | 4.8% |
| Hispanic/Latino | 23.3% | 20.4% |
| Education | ||
| High school graduation rate | 86.7% | 90.3% |
| College graduation rate | 36.3% | 40.7% |
| Income | ||
| Median household income | $63,959 | $85,245 |
| Persons below poverty level | 15.3% | 9.7% |
| Source: population provided by U.S. Census Bureau, "Decennial Census" (2020). Other figures provided by U.S. Census Bureau, "American Community Survey" (5-year estimates 2015-2020). | ||
| **Note: Percentages for race and ethnicity may add up to more than 100 percent because respondents may report more than one race and the Hispanic/Latino ethnicity may be selected in conjunction with any race. Read more about race and ethnicity in the census here. | ||
Pivot Counties
- See also: Pivot Counties by state
Two of 21 New Jersey counties—9.5 percent—are Pivot Counties. Pivot Counties are counties that voted for Barack Obama (D) in 2008 and 2012 and for Donald Trump (R) in 2016. Altogether, the nation had 206 Pivot Counties, with most being concentrated in upper midwestern and northeastern states.
| Counties won by Trump in 2016 and Obama in 2012 and 2008 | |||||||
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| County | Trump margin of victory in 2016 | Obama margin of victory in 2012 | Obama margin of victory in 2008 | ||||
| Gloucester County, New Jersey | 0.48% | 10.77% | 12.16% | ||||
| Salem County, New Jersey | 15.00% | 1.31% | 3.92% | ||||
In the 2016 presidential election, Hillary Clinton (D) won New Jersey with 55.5 percent of the vote. Donald Trump (R) received 41.4 percent. In presidential elections between 1900 and 2016, New Jersey voted Democratic 46.67 percent of the time and Republican 53.33 percent of the time. In the five presidential elections between 2000 and 2016, New Jersey voted Democratic all five times.
See also
| Essex County, New Jersey | New Jersey | Municipal government | Other local coverage |
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External links
Footnotes
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