7,602 people voted early in Bayonne, Union City, and Weehawken last week instead of on Election Day tomorrow, with 60 percent of those ballots cast in Union City despite there being no contested seats.

By John Heinis/Hudson County View

State Senator (D-33)/Union City Mayor Brian Stack is seeking his eighth term (his seventh four-year effort), also the public safety commissioner, running alongside Commissioners Lucio Fernandez, Maryury Martinetti, Celin Valdivia, and Wendy Grullon.

In the state Senate, Stack and Raj Mukherji (D-32) sponsored a bill to allow for one week of early voting in non-partisan May 12th municipal elections including Union City that Gov. Mikie Sherrill signed into law last month.

According to tallies from the Hudson County Board of Elections, Union City received 426 votes yesterday, which was Mother’s Day and the last day of early voting, with the biggest turnout coming last Monday, May 4th: 1,049.

In total, 4,556 Union City voters hit the polls in seven days last week. Four years ago, when the incumbents were also unopposed and there were only three days of early voting, 2,003 voters cast their ballots, the Hudson County Clerk’s Office reported.

While there is no question who will be stepping into the winner’s circle in Union City Tuesday evening, Sherrill is still participating in a get out the vote rally this evening.

In Weehawken, where Mayor Richard Turner, who is also a councilman at-large, is seeking his 10th term unopposed and only one of his runnings mates has a challenger.

Weehawken Councilman at-Large Robert Sosa, 1st Ward Councilwoman Carmela Silvestri-Ehret, and 3rd Ward Councilman David Curtis are facing no competition.

The only race is in the 2nd Ward, where former Board of Education Trustee Susan Morales-Jennings is running on Turner’s “Weehawken and You” slate against independent candidate Tina Iordamlis.

In seven days of early voting, 588 Weehawken residents cast ballots, the Hudson County Board of Elections noted. They only had one early voting location, compared to 10 for Union City.

Finally, the major race tomorrow is in the Peninsula City, where voters will elect a new mayor since interim pick Robert Kubert is not seeking a full-term.

Councilman at-Large Loyad Booker and former Council President Sharon Ashe-Nadrowski are running with full five-person slates, while city Business Administrator/Board of Education President Mary Jane Desmond has three running mates.

With two early voting sites, one at City Hall and the other at the local museum, Bayonne saw 2,458 ballots cast early between Friday, Saturday, and Sunday.

This is massive uptick from 2022, when only 725 people voted early, per the Hudson County Clerk’s Office.