Will You Vote Today?

The Primary Election will take place on Tuesday, June 5, with polls open from 6 a.m. to 8 p.m.

Several candidates are competing for the 10th Congressional District seat left vacant by the death of Democratic Rep. Donald Payne Sr.

These candidates include Payne's son, Donald Jr., who is currently Newark City Council president. They also include state Senator Nia Gill, Irvington Mayor Wayne Smith, Newark Councilor Ronald Rice, Cathy Wright, and Dennis Flynn.

The 10th District, which was reconfigured this year following redistricting occurring nationally every 10 years, will encompass parts of Bloomfield, much of Newark, Maplewood and South Orange, as well as parts of Hudson and Union counties.

Rice, who was , stated during a debate in Newark May 24 that his intention is to undermine the Republican Party as well as right-leaning Democrats. Rice vowed to assist the national Democratic  Party in unseating Tea Party and other conservative candidates, according to a .

“As long as Republicans, the party of ‘no,’ are in control, you’ll never have a jobs program...I will work to un-elect some Republicans and compromising Democrats,” Rice said.  

Over the weekend, the New Jersey chapter of the National Organization for Women (NOW-NJ) announced its endorsement of Gill.

"The PAC for NOW-NJ interviewed Senator Gill, and was so pleased with her positions on women's rights and economic justice that they recommended that the PAC for National NOW endorse Senator Gill," the group said in a statement.

Meanwhile, Republican U.S. Rep. Rodney Frelinghuysen is seeking election to the House in the newly drawn 11th Congressional District and is running unopposed in the Republican Primary.

According to The Montclair Times, that's not welcome news to people such as Brendan Gill, an Essex County Freeholder and chairman of the Montclair Democratic County Committee.

"Under the previous map, Montclair was almost evenly split between the 8th and the 10th Congressional Districts," Gill said in an email to The Montclair Times. "We had the benefit of being represented by both Congressman [Bill] Pascrell and Congressman Payne. Under the new map, 24 out of 35 districts are in the 10th while the remaining are now in the 11th Congressional District currently represented by Congressman Rodney Frelinghuysen, a Republican ... It's unfortunate that one of the bluest townships in the state now faces the prospect of being represented by a Republican."

Under recently revealed changes to the way districts are organized, Montclair will become part of not only the 10th Congressional District but also Frelinghysen's District 11, which will be redrawn. Right now, Montclair is in Congressional Districts 8 and 10.

The 11th District gained not only a section of Montclair but also various other Essex towns that had previously been part of Pascrell's 8th Congressional District.

For more on those running in the 10th District race, go here.

To find your polling place for Tuesday's primary: the New Jersey Division of Elections website lets you find your Ward, polling place, and voting district information by filling out an online form with your: Street Number, Street Name, City and County or Street Address, Street Name and Zip Code. If an exact match is found in the state's records, you will be provided with your Polling Place, Voting Area District and the County Election Official information.

If no match is found, please contact the Municipal Clerk’s Office for your polling place location: 973-509-4900.

Go to Polling Place Search.

What do you think? Will you vote tomorrow? Let us know in the comments section below.