New Jersey polls close at 8 p.m. for congressional races

New Jersey voters will choose leaders for U.S. Senate and U.S. House offices on Tuesday, Nov. 3. Polls across the state, including Bergen County, close at 8 p.m. ET. The Associated Press will provide vote results and declare winners in these races once it determines no scenario allows a trailing candidate to close the gap.

Residents can expect early mail and in-person voting results to appear before Election Day in-person votes are tallied. Almost every New Jersey county is expected to release most or all of these advance votes in the first report of the night. In the 2024 general election, the state reported its first results at 8:01 p.m. ET, one minute after polls closed.

Data from the 2024 race offers a timeline for what to expect tonight. New Jersey reached the 50 percent reporting threshold at 9:06 p.m. ET. By 11:54 p.m. ET, 90 percent of votes had been reported. The AP Decision Team will monitor these milestones as the 2026 votes are tallied.

Advance voting was heavy in the last statewide race. About 3.3 million votes were cast in the 2025 gubernatorial election. The AP maintains a tracker for the latest advance vote totals, which provides a baseline for Tuesday's final count.

The AP will not make projections but will declare a winner only when the lead is too large for a recount or legal challenge to change the outcome. If a race remains un-called, the AP will cover developments like candidate concessions while clarifying that a formal winner has not yet been declared.

Recounts in New Jersey are rare because the state does not use automatic recounts. Candidates and voters may request one and pay the cost upfront. If the recount changes the outcome, the cost is refunded. The AP may declare a winner in a race subject to a recount if the lead is decisive enough to withstand such a challenge.