The special election in New Jersey’s 11th Congressional District is set for Thursday, when voters will choose who will represent the district in the U.S. House after Democratic Gov. Mikie Sherrill left the seat most recently held by Sherrill. The Associated Press is providing race timing and mechanics for what happens next as ballots are counted.
Mejia is the Democratic nominee, after she narrowly won the Feb. 5 Democratic special primary in a crowded field. Hathaway is the Republican nominee, after he ran unopposed for the Republican nomination, setting up a general-election matchup focused on both local politics and a major foreign-policy fault line.
In the run-up to Thursday’s vote, AP reported that the war in Gaza and U.S. support for Israel played a prominent role in the campaign. In a Democratic primary forum, AP said Mejia was the only candidate to indicate she believes Israel committed genocide in Gaza, and AP also reported that Mejia called Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu a war criminal. AP said Hathaway backed a position that the U.S. should stand “ in lockstep ” with Israel and opposed putting conditions on aid to an ally.
AP also said Democrats have held an advantage in general elections in the district. Sherrill won re-election in 2024 with about 57% of the vote, and AP reported that Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris carried the district with 53% at the top of the ballot. The district includes portions of Morris County, Essex County and Passaic County, with more than half of the district’s 588 precincts in Morris County and the Essex portion described as heavily Democratic; AP said Harris won the Essex area with 64% in 2024.
For the candidates’ election performance and campaign resources heading into the special election, AP reported that Mejia raised about $1.1 million for the special primary and special election and had about $374,000 in her campaign account as of March 27. AP said Hathaway raised about $525,000 for his campaign and had about $109,000 in the bank. AP’s decision notes also described how a super PAC affiliated with the American Israel Public Affairs Committee spent more than $2.3 million to defeat former Rep. Tom Malinowski in the Democratic special primary.
On the counting timetable, AP said polls close at 8 p.m. ET. For who can vote, AP said any voter registered in the 11th District may participate in the special election, including through early and absentee voting. AP reported that all counties in New Jersey release most or all results from early and absentee voting in the first vote update of the night, before any in-person Election Day results are released.
AP provided registration and turnout context as well. As of April 1, AP said there were about 603,000 registered voters in the 11th District, including about 230,000 Democrats, about 165,000 Republicans, and about 204,000 not affiliated with any party. AP also said more than 68,000 ballots were cast in the Feb. 5 Democratic special primary and about 16,000 in the Republican contest, and it estimated that about 58,000 votes had already been cast as of Tuesday, including about 36,000 from Democrats, about 15,000 from Republicans, and nearly 8,000 from unaffiliated voters.
AP also laid out how it reports and when it calls races. The AP said it does not make projections and will declare a winner only when it determines there is no scenario that would allow the trailing candidates to close the gap, adding that if a race has not been called it will continue covering newsworthy developments such as candidate concessions or declarations of victory while explaining that no winner has yet been declared.
New Jersey does not have automatic recounts, according to AP, but candidates and voters may request and pay for recounts, with the cost refunded if the outcome changes. AP said it may declare a winner in a race subject to a recount if it can determine the lead is too large for a recount or legal challenge to change the outcome.