<a href="https://www.app.com/story/news/politics/elections/2019/11/05/nj-election-day-2019-november-5-monmouth-ocean-county/4162522002/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">NJ election: Live updates from Monmouth, Ocean county and local races</a>  <font color="#6f6f6f">Asbury Park Press</font>
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Here are the top 5 reasons to go to the polls for Election Day 2019. Ryan Ross and Randy Bergmann, Asbury Park Press

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Election Night is here!

In addition to the New Jersey Assembly races, Shore voters today will elect mayors, council and committee members, school board representatives and approve or deny a number of ballot questions. 

The Asbury Park Press and USA TODAY NETWORK New Jersey will be covering local county, municipal and school board elections live throughout Monmouth and Ocean counties. 

Stay tuned to APP.com for the latest on these races and download our mobile app to have live election results at your fingertips. 

And subscribe to the Asbury Park Press to read our exclusive previews and endorsements in your local election. 

Here’s what’s happening in Monmouth and Ocean counties on Election Day 2019. Refresh this page to get live updates and insight from all the big races impacting the Jersey Shore, or check out direct results below. 

All results are unofficial until certified by the election board

Here are all your Monmouth County election 2019 results

And here are all your Ocean County election 2019 results

11:37 p.m. Assembly members Joann Downey and Eric Houghtaling, both Democrats, maintained their seats in the 11th Legislative District, besting Republican challengers Michael Amoroso and Matthew C. Woolley.

The unofficial results were:

  • Downey, 22,482 votes
  • Houghtaling, 22,415 votes
  • Amoroso, 20,171 votes
  • Woolley, 19,525 votes

11:34 p.m. Republican Monmouth County Sheriff Shaun Golden, incumbent Freeholder Tom Arnone and their running mate Nick DiRocco, a Wall township committeeman, appear to be headed to a victory, according to unofficial results. Each will serve three-year terms.

Golden garnered 73,454 votes compared to his Democratic challenger, Raymond Dothard, who received 48,687 votes, according to the unofficial results.

Arnone had 71,224 votes and DiRocco got 66,114 votes compared to Democratic challengers Michael Penna and Moira Nelson, who received 51,196 and 50,785 votes respectively.

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11:22 p.m. TINTON FALLS – With all districts reporting, Tracy Buckley, Risa Clay, and Mike Nesci, of the “Independent Advocates For Tinton Falls” team have swept the three full term Tinton Falls Borough Council seats.

They defeated the “Your Voice in Tinton Falls” ticket of Ronald Wollner, Donald Michaels and Kenneth Asmar and Lawrence A. Dobrin who’s running alone on his “Mayors Platform” ticket. 

These results are unofficial and from the Monmouth County Board of Elections.

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11:21 p.m. Voters in the Freehold Regional High School District narrowly defeated a $42 million three-part ballot measure for school improvements Tuesday night.

A year after seeing a $39 million referendum for school improvements fail at the ballot box, district officials took another chance, but this time broke it up into three separate questions. But it failed again.

Question 1, which required approval for questions 2 and 3 to be passed, sought $20.1 million for the vestibule and security improvements, as well as some tennis courts, roof repairs and other upgrades.

It lost with 16,557 voters opposing and 15,759 voting in favor.

Question 2 sought approval for $11.7 million to fund new “flexible STEM” labs and some athletic field upgrades, while Question 3 related to $10.2 million for different items at each school such as a media center for Colts Neck High School, expanded auditorium seating at Freehold Borough High School, and new artificial turf fields at Marlboro, Manalapan and Freehold Township high schools.

Question 2 went down to defeat 17,041 to 15,074, while Question 3 lost 17,235 to 14,576.

The district, which oversees six regional high schools serving eight communities, asked voters to approve a long list of improvements ranging from tennis court reconstruction to roof repairs.

11:18 p.m. RED BANK –Two Republican challengers fell short in their bid to break the Democrats’ stranglehold on the borough council.

Four candidates ran to fill two spots for 3-year terms.

With all nine districts reporting, Democrat Erik Yngstrom was the leading vote-getter with 1,278 votes, or 29.9%. Kathleen Horgan was re-elected for her fifth three-year term with 1,266 votes, or 29.7%.

Republican Allison Gregory had 901 votes, or 21.1% and Republican Johnathan Maciel Penney had 817 votes, or 19.1%.

Voters also approved a referendum for a $6.5 million bond that will pay for a roof replacement and HVAC upgrades at the primary school, and window replacements and masonry repairs at the middle school.

The results: Yes, 1,287, or 68%; No 607, or 32%.

The results are the unofficial results from the Monmouth County Board of Elections.

11:14 p.m. LONG BRANCH — With 17 out of 17 districts reporting in the race for three full term seats to the Long Branch Board of Education, incumbent BOE members Donald Covin, Michelle Critelli and Avery Grant, defeated challengers Joseph M. Ferraina, Anthony Smith and Kristopher Soto. 

Ferraina was the longtime former school chief who retired amid a lurid sex-scandal that cost the school district a $600,000 settlement.

The results are the unofficial results from the Monmouth County Board of Elections.

11:12 p.m. MIDDLETOWN – Incumbent Republicans kept their seats on the township committee by a wide margin. Kevin Settembrino won 8,055 votes and Rick Hibell won 7,936. Democratic challengers were far behind – Sean F. Byrnes got 4,819 votes and Jeana Sager got 4,101.

11:07 p.m. FREEHOLD TOWNSHIP – With 26 of 26 precincts reporting, Freehold Township Republican Maureen Fasano won handily over Democrat Scott A. Berlin in the lone race for a township committee seat.

Fasano received 4,827 votes, with Berlin trailing at 2,931 votes.

Board of Education incumbents Jennifer Patten and Elena O’Sullivan won the race for three seats, along with challenger Debra A. Costanza.

Patten led with 4,307 votes, while Costanza took 4,005 and O’Sullivan received 3,486. Former board member Daniel DeBlasio lost with 2,862.

10:44 p.m. In District 13, the Republican candidates started out ahead early and stayed that way all night.

The top vote total goes to Gerry Scharfenberger, who is now a Monmouth County freeholder and former Middletown committeeman, followed closely behind by incumbent Assemblywoman Serena DiMaso.

They separate Democrats Barbara Singer and Allison Friedman by at least 7,000 votes.

The totals are:

  • Scharfenberger, 24,978 votes
  • DiMaso, 24,471 votes
  • Singer, 17,165 votes
  • Friedman, 17,108 votes

One district is still outstanding of the 167 districts.

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10:59 p.m. FREEHOLD — Monmouth County Clerk’s Office is manually updating elections results from 21 voting districts after a mix-up with voting cartridges at polling locations in several towns.

In at least Tinton Falls, Red Bank and Neptune, poll workers unknowingly loaded the wrong cartridges that record the votes into voting machines, Monmouth County Clerk Christine Hanlon said.

The issue occurred in polling districts that share one voting location. For example, voting data was missing for Tinton Falls districts 9 and 10, both of which are in Church of St. Anselm. The cartridge for district 9 would have been loaded into the voting machine of district 10.

The mix-up would not impact the overall vote count, however election staff need to update the information by hand so the records are correct for future reference, Hanlon said.

It’s not clear how the issues arose with the poll workers, which are overseen by the Monmouth County Board of Elections and has different election responsibilities than Hanlon’s.

The swapped cartridges weren’t the sole reason for delays. Municipal clerks in some towns, such as Middletown and Long Branch, had difficulty with the cartridges. Those results also had to be driven to Freehold to be manually entered.

10:30 p.m. In the 9th Legislative District, Republican incumbents Dianne Gove and Brian Rumpf held onto their Assembly seats over Democratic challengers Wayne Lewis and Sarah Collins.

Gove and Rump finished with 34 and 35 percent of the vote, respectively.

Collins finished with about 16 percent and Lewis about 15 percent.

10:33 p.m. TINTON FALLS – With 13 out of 15 districts reporting Tracy Buckley, Risa Clay, and Mike Nesci, of the “Independent Advocates For Tinton Falls” team are leading in the race for three full term Tinton Falls Borough Council seats.

 The are ahead of the “Your Voice in Tinton Falls” ticket of Ronald Wollner, Donald Michaels and Kenneth Asmar and Lawrence A. Dobrin who’s running alone on his “Mayors Platform” ticket.

10:24 p.m. FREEHOLD TOWNSHIP — With 24 of 26 precincts reporting, Freehold Township Republican Maureen Fasano holds a large lead over Democrat Scott A Berlin in the lone race for a township committee seat. Fasano has 4,570 votes, with Berlin trailing at 2,803 votes.

10:23 p.m. BERKELEY — Mayor Carmen F. Amato Jr., a Republican, won his third, four-year term, garnering nearly 80 percent of the the vote as he defeated Democrat Laura Shaw, 9,681 to 2,505.

 Amato’s running mates, Councilmen John A. Bacchione, L. Thomas Grosse Jr. and Keith A. Buscio, also won re-election, defeating Democrats Heather B. Walsh, Mario Ciasulli and Joshua Eckersley. 

10:21 p.m. TOMS RIVER — Ocean County Republicans won re-election to their county posts on Tuesday night.

Freeholders Virginia E. Haines and Jack Kelly, the Republican incumbents, defeated Democratic challengers Jean Czarkowski and David T. Wright, who had sought to become the first Democrats to win seats on the five-member, all-Republican board in 30 years, according to unofficial results from the Ocean County Clerk’s Office on Tuesday.

Kelly received 72,867 votes and Haines received 72,573 votes. Czarkowski received 36,809 votes and Wright received 36,200 votes, Daniel Valentine, an independent candidate, received 2,109 votes, according to the unofficial results.

Sheriff Michael G. Mastronardy, a Republican, was elected to a third, three-year-term on Tuesday night with nearly 70 percent of the vote. Mastronardy, a former Toms River chief of police, was being challenged by Democrat Gene Davis, a former Linden councilman who has lived in Ocean County for about the past eight years.

Mastronardy received 79,294 votes and Davis received 34,128 votes, according to the unofficial results.

10:19 p.m. Assemblymen Ronald Dancer and Rob Clifton, both Republicans, have won re-election in the 12th Legislative District. With all precincts reporting, they each had about 32 percent of the vote.

Democratic candidate David Lande had 18 percent of the vote while Malini Guha had 17 percent. 

The candidates identified property tax reform and addressing the school funding formula to ensure districts weren’t forced to cut programs or lay off teachers as the main issues in the race.

10:14 p.m. BRICK –Board Vice President Melita Gagliardi and board member Daisy Haffner were re-elected to three-year terms on the township board of education. They defeated the group of challengers who came in close but ultimately lost.

Gagliardi secured her seat with 3,913 votes (20.28 percent). She said keeping character education in schools and focusing on the state aid cut impacts are her two top priorities. 

Haffner who got 3,870 votes (20.06 percent) said during her campaign that she would work to balance the limited funds to cover district-wide needs, while providing safe and secure learning environments.

The challengers fared as follows: Joseph Aulisi Jr. 3,540 votes (18.35 percent), John Barton 3,485 (18.06 percent), Robert “Rob” Canfield 2,599 (13.47 percent) and Cassidy “Cas” Busa 1,813 (9.40 percent).

Write-in candidates got 73 votes (0.38 percent).

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10:08 p.m. TOMS RIVER — Kathleen Eagan won a three-year term representing Toms River on the Toms River Regional Board of Education, defeating five other challengers. Eagen, the former president of the Toms River Education Association, the district’s teachers union, received 5,728 votes, defeating Lisa Natale-Contessa, 4,905; Jeffrey Dingsor, 2,055; Sean F. Monahan, 1,892; Brian Quinn, 862 and Wendell J. Ferandos, 464. 

10:06 p.m. TOMS RIVER — Republican Maurice B. “Mo” Hill Jr. won a four-year mayor’s term, defeating Democrat Jonathan Petro following a contentious campaign that focused on overdevelopment and property taxes. Hill received 11,135 votes to 10,870 for Petro.

Hill’s GOP slate also won the three seats on the township council: Matthew Lotano was the top vote-getter with 12,112, followed by Kevin Geoghegan, 11,612. and Joshua Kopp 11,609.

Democratic council candidate Michele Williams received 9,187 votes,, Drew Boyle, 9,040, and Karin K. Sage, 9,039. Republicans will maintain a 5 to 2 on the township council.

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9:58 p.m. Monmouth County is still waiting on results from 21 voting districts. They include: two districts in Bradley Beach, two districts in Freehold Township, one district in Long Branch, six districts in Manalapan, one district in Middletown, six districts in Red Bank, two districts in Tinton Falls, one district in West Long Branch.

9:56 p.m. The Republican slate has held onto Assembly seats representing the 10th Legislative District.

Incumbent Assemblyman Gregory McGuckin and former Brick Councilman John Catalano each finished with about 31 percent of the vote.

Democratic candidates Eileen Della Volle and Erin Wheeler finished with 18 percent each.

Independent candidates Ian Holmes and Vincent Barrella, the former mayor of Point Pleasant Beach, finished with less than 1 percent.

9:50 p.m. ASBURY PARK — Three incumbents returned to the Asbury Park Board of Education Tuesday night. Connie Breech, Barbara Lesinski and Dominic Latorraca beat the challenging slate of Anthony Remy, Vincent Martino and Eddie Gonzales.

An independent candidate, Norman Robertson, also fell short of winning one of the three open seats on the board.

Breech received 873 votes, Lesinski received 822 and Latorraca received 771. Remy received 645, Gonzales received 620, and Martino received 617. Robertson received 425 votes.

9:48 p.m. Freehold Regional High School District ballot measure: Fewer than 700 votes out of more than 30,000 cast separate the victory and defeat for a three-part $42 million referendum for school improvements with 122 of 130 precincts reporting.

Question 1, which would fund more than $20.1 million of the work, is losing slightly with 15,803 on no and 15,132 on yes.

Question 2, a $10.1 million referendum, has 16,277 voting no and 14,457 saying yes, and question 3, which would fund $11.6 million of the projects, sits at 16,465 no and 13,977 yes. If question 1 is defeated, the other two questions would automatically lose.

9:46 p.m. BRICK — Brick remains the lone Democratic stronghold in Ocean County.

The three Democratic incumbents got re-elected: Council President Andrea Zapcic with 8,332 (14.18 percent), Council Vice President Lisa Crate got 7,994 (13.60 percent) and Councilman Arthur Halloran 7,948 (13.52 percent). 

Newcomer Vincent Minichino was also able to win a council spot with 7,812 votes (13.29 percent).

Incumbent Republican James Fozman failed in his bid to get reelected and was the candidate with less votes, getting 6,310 (10.74 percent). His Republican running mates fared as follows: Victoria Chadwick 6,976 (11.87 percent), Max Flores 6,718 (11.43 percent) and Neil Napolitano 6,646 (11.31 percent).

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9:43 p.m. ABERDEEN — Democrats appear to have maintained their seats on Aberdeen council, according to unofficial results. With all 13 districts reporting, the vote totals are:

  • Arthur S. Hirsch (D), 1,852
  • Concetta B. Kelley (D), 1,831
  • Gregory J. Cannon (D), 1,830
  • Robert L. Swindle (D), 1,824
  • Alicia Botticelli (R), 1,481
  • Theresa Furmato Velardi (R), 1,476
  • James E. Ecles III (R), 1,466
  • William Sullivan (R), 1,451

9:40 p.m. OCEANPORT – Mayor John F. Coffey, Jr. has won re-election defeating Councilman Rob Proto’s bid to unseat him.

Coffey’s ticket of Thomas J. Tvrdik and Meghan Walker also upended incumbent Councilmen Joseph A. Irace and Stephen Solan for a pair of full-term council seats.

The results are unofficial from the Monmouth County Board of Elections. 

9:39 p.m. Assemblymen Ronald Dancer and Rob Clifton, both Republicans, are cruising to re-election in the 12th Legislative District. With 56 percent of precincts reporting, they each had about 32 percent of the vote.

Democratic candidate David Lande had 18 percent of the vote while Malini Guha had 17 percent. 

9:34 p.m. FAIR HAVEN — The borough has long been controlled by Republicans and only elected its first Democrat last year, but now has two more Democrats on its council.

Democrats Meghan Chrisner-Keefe with 998 votes and Mike McCue with 927 votes topped incumbent Republican council members Jonathan Peters with 595 votes and Jacqueline Rice with 537 votes.

The election results split the council 3-3 with Republican Mayor Ben Lucarelli edging the power slightly to the GOP. 

9:33 p.m. JACKSON — Incumbent school board members Michael Walsh and Thomas Colucci have won re-election to three-year terms on the Jackson school board. Walsh finished with just under 40 percent, while Colucci finished with over 32 percent.

Selene Haskins, a former school board member in Rockland County and other parts of New Jersey, finished with 26 percent of the race.

The candidates all listed the search for a superintendent to replace the retiring Stephen Genco as their top priority, as well as dealing with rising transportation costs and cuts to state aid. 

9:29 p.m. HOWELL — Second-time challenger Joseph Tate has maintained his edge over incumbent Laurence Gurman in the Howell Board of Education election, coming in third for three open seats, according to unofficial results.

Incumbent Cristy Mangano was in first place with all 32 districts reporting and current board President Mark Bonjavanni was in second. Here are the numbers as of 9:20 p.m., according to the Monmouth County Clerk’s Office.

They remain unofficial and do not necessarily include some or all election-night or late mail-in ballots or provisional ballots:

  • Joseph Tate: 4,046 (23.76%)
  • Mark Bonjavanni: 4,917 (28.87%)
  • Cristy Mangano: 4,993 (29.32%)
  • Laurence Gurman: 2,933 (17.22%)
  • Write-in: 143 (0.84%)

The Board of Education comprises nine seats, three of which are up for election each year. Tate was the only non-incumbent candidate this year, though he has campaigned for a seat in the past.

All four candidates agreed that school funding will be a priority for the board, especially given reduced funding for Howell under the state’s new school funding formula.

The district had 5,761 students in its 12 schools as of the federal government’s most recent data, from the 2017-2018 school year.

District students attend through grade 8, after which they move on to the Freehold Regional High School District.

9:28 p.m. MARLBORO — Incumbent Democratic township council members Randi Marder and Michael Scalea have won re-election over Republican challenger Alan Ginsburg with all precincts reporting.

Scalea topped the vote with 3,699, while Marder has 3,567. Ginsburg followed a close third with 3,064 in the race for the two seats up for grabs.

Mayor Jonathan Hornik, meanwhile, won unopposed for a fourth term and has 4,666 votes.

9:27 p.m. With all 59 districts reporting, the two Republican incumbents kept their seats in the General Assembly representing the 30th Legislative District.

Sean T. Kean is headed to a fifth term representing the district with 38.57 percent of the vote while his running mate, Edward “Ned” Thomson, got 37.12 percent.

  • Sean Kean: 8,197 (38.57%)
  • Edward “Ned” Thomson: 7,889 (37.12%)
  • Steven Farkas: 2,568 (12.08%)
  • Yasin “Jason” Celik: 2,354 (11.08%)
  • Hank Schroeder: 215 (1.01%)
  • Write-in: 31 (.15%)

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9:25 p.m. LAKEWOOD – With all 43 districts reporting, Republican Albert Akerman has kept his seat in the Township Committee getting 5,539 votes (77.76 percent) while Democrat Moshe Raitzik received 1,555 (21.83 percent). 

Write-in candidates received 29 votes (0.41 percent).

9:23 p.m. In District 13, the Republican candidates started out ahead early and stayed that way all night. The top vote total goes to Gerry Scharfenberger, who is now a Monmouth County freeholder and former Middletown committeeman, followed closely behind by incumbent Assemblywoman Serena DiMaso.

They separate Democrats Barbara Singer and Allison Friedman by at least 7,000 votes.

The totals are:

  • Scharfenberger, 24,978 votes
  • DiMaso, 24,471 votes
  • Singer, 17,165 votes
  • Friedman, 17,108 votes.

One district is still outstanding of the 167 districts.

9:22 p.m. MIDDLETOWN – Incumbent Republicans have nearly won. With 45 of 46 districts reporting, they have a wide lead to keep their seats on the township committee. Kevin Settembrino has 7,884 votes and Rick Hibell has 7,765.

Democratic challengers still trail behind – Sean F. Byrnes has 4,726 votes and Jeana Sager has 4,031.

9:20 p.m. OCEAN TOWNSHIP – With 22 out of 22 districts reporting in the race for three full-term seats on the Ocean Township Board of Education incumbent Vice President Amy McGovern has won re-election along with incumbent board member Jeffrey Weinstein.

The third seat was picked up by newcomer Grace Ann Talarico.

Losing her bid for re-election was incumbent board member Natalie Tortorello.

Newcomer Cyndi White was also defeated at the polls.

The results are unofficial from the Monmouth County Board of Elections.

9:19 p.m. LAKEWOOD – Republican Albert Akerman commands the race for Township Committee with 77.16 percent of the vote while Democrat Moshe Raitzik lags with 22.37 percent, with 37 out of 43 districts reporting so far.

9:18 p.m. MARLBORO —Board of Education incumbents Randy Heller and Tricia Branch won re-election Tuesday night along with challenger Jennifer Silacci with all precincts reporting. Newcomer Silacci took the most votes at 2,912, while Branch followed with 2,861 and Heller received 2,621.

Incumbent Dara A. Enny lost her bid for another term with 2,034 votes.

In the lone race for an unexpired one-year term, Incumbent Robert Daniel, running unopposed, won with 3,158 votes.

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9:15 p.m. BEACHWOOD – Alex Mizenko has won a three-year term as the Beachwood representative on the Toms River Regional Board of Education by a slim margin, defeating rival Melissa Morrison, 734 to 721.

Mizenko will replace Daniel P. Leonard, who announced that he would not seek re-election in late July, not long after he drew the ire of the New Jersey Chapter of the Council on Islamic-American Relations (CAIR), along with residents, activists, parents and some former students after anti-Muslim posts he made on his personal Facebook page in April were publicly condemned by CAIR.

9:14 p.m. Monmouth County Republicans appear to continue their lock down on county offices with 398 of 458 districts reporting. Republican Shaun Golden is more than 21,000 votes ahead of Democrat Raymond Dothard for the sheriff’s seat with vote of 57,031 votes to 36,036 votes.

Republicans Thomas Arnone and Nick DiRocco are at least 13,000 votes ahead of Democrats Penna and Nelson in the freeholder race. The votes are:

  • Arnone, 55,323 votes
  • DiRocco, 51,297 votes
  • Penna, 37,957 votes
  • Nelson, 37,479 votes.

9:13 p.m. With 337 out of 413 districts reporting, Ocean County incumbent Freeholders Virginia E. Haines and Jack Kelly, both Republicans, were poised for an easy re-election with 60,796 and 60,941 votes, against Democratic challengers Jean Czarkowski and David T. Wright with 30,818 and 30,326 votes respectively.

9:12 p.m. NEPTUNE TOWNSHIP — Democrats Carol Rizzo and Robert Lane cruised to re-election on the Neptune Township Committee Tuesday night. Rizzo and Lane, the incumbents, defeated Republican challengers Gary Moll and Kendra Hogan. Rizzo had 3,411 votes and Lane secured 3,343 votes, according to unofficial results from the Monmouth County Clerk.

Hogan received 1,864 votes and Moll received 1,744 votes.

9:11 p.m. HOWELL — Votes are in from 22 of 32 districts in their four-person race for three Board of Education seats. Here are the numbers as of 9:09 p.m.:

  • Joseph Tate: 2,560 (23.97%)
  • Mark Bonjavanni: 3,120 (29.21%)
  • Cristy Mangano: 3,123 (29.24%)
  • Laurence Gurman: 1,796 (16.81%)
  • Write-in: 83 (0.78%)

9:10 p.m. Voters are leaning slightly toward not passing a three-part $42 million referendum for school improvements in the Freehold Regional High School District ballot measure, with 105 of 130 precincts reporting. But it’s still a tight race.

Question 1, which would fund more than $20.1 million of the work, is losing slightly with 11,679 on no and 11,124 on yes.

Question 2, a $10.1 million referendum, has 12,015 voting no and 10,636 saying yes, and question 3, which would fund $11.6 million of the projects, sits at 12,077 no and 10,314 yes.

If question 1 is defeated, the other two questions would automatically lose.

9:09 p.m. In District 11, Democrats Downey and Houghtaling have a little more breathing room in their race to hold onto their Assembly seats.  

The vote totals are:

  • Downey, 16,540 votes
  • Houghtaling, 16,523 votes
  • Amoroso, 15,836 votes
  • Woolley, 15,306 votes.

So far, 139 of 160 districts are reporting with votes still out in parts of Tinton Falls, Asbury Park, Long Brach and Ocean Township. 

9:08 p.m. JACKSON — With 22 of 34 districts reporting, incumbent school board members Michael Walsh and Thomas Colucci appear poised to hold onto their seats. Walsh has about 40 percent of the vote, while Colucci has 32 percent and newcomer Selene Haskins has 26 percent.

9:06 p.m. With 285 out of 413 districts reporting, Ocean County Sheriff Michael G. Mastronardy appeared headed for re-election with 58,438 votes to 25,439 against Democrat Gene Davis.

In the 30th Legislative District, the two Republican incumbents are commanding the race with 44 of 59 districts reporting.

Sean T. Kean is headed to a fifth term representing the district with 38.28 percent of the vote while his running mate, Edward “Ned” Thomson, has gotten 36.75 percent.

  • Sean Kean: 6,432 (38.28%)
  • Edward “Ned” Thomson: 6,175 (36.75%)
  • Steven Farkas: 2,080 (12.38%)
  • Yasin “Jason” Celik: 1,908 (11.36%)
  • Hank Schroeder: 181 (1.08%)
  • Write-in: 26 (.15%)

9:05 p.m. MIDDLETOWN – With 39 of 46 districts reporting, incumbent Republicans extend their lead to keep their seats on the township committee.

Kevin Settembrino has 6,033 votes and Rick HIbell has 5,944. Democratic challengers trail behind – Sean F. Byrnes has 3,355 votes and Jeana Sager has 2,902.

9:04 p.m. RUMSON – Voters overwhelmingly approved passage of a $25 million referendum for school improvements with 801 voting yes and 482 voting no with all precincts reporting.

TOMS RIVER — Democrat Jonathan Petro holds a slim lead over Republican Maurice B. “Mo” Hill Jr. in the mayor’s race, with 27 of 63 election districts reporting. Petro has 5,936 votes, to 5,816, for Hill. 

9:04 p.m. LAKEWOOD — With 30 out of 43 districts reporting, Republican Albert Akerman continues to lead the race for a seat in the Lakewood Township Committee with 78.05 percent of the vote while Democrat Moshe Raitzik increased his share to 21.43 percent.

9:03 p.m. — With 285 out of 413 districts reporting, approval of Ocean County’s public question to permit the Board of Freeholders to use the open space tax to also preserve historic properties was ahead 41,860 votes to 32,303 votes.

9:02 p.m. FREEHOLD TOWNSHIP — Board of Education incumbents Jennifer Patten and Elena O’Sullivan are leading in the race for three seats on the board, along with challenger Debra A. Costanza with 15 of 26 precincts reporting.

Patten has 2,148 votes, with Costanza at 2,009 and O’Sullivan receiving 1,714.

Former board member Daniel DeBlasio sits fourth with 1,433.

9:01 p.m. NEPTUNE CITY — Republicans swept the races with Andrew Wardell moving to the mayor’s seat and Brian Thomas and Danielle Pappas joining the borough council. Wardell had 743 votes to Democrat Pamela Renee’s 558 votes.

Pappas had 715 votes and Thomas had 697 votes while Democrats Michelle Lewis got 590 votes and Meghan Huryk had 549 votes.

9 p.m. RED BANK — With two out of nine precincts reporting, Democratic incumbents Kathleen Horgan has 224 votes, or 33%, and Erik Yngstrom has 223 votes apiece, also 33%. Republican Allison Gregory has 124 votes, or 18.3% and Republican Johnathan Maciel Penney has 106, or 15.6%.

Red Bank Republicans were trying to gain seats on a previously all-Democratic board in a campaign that brought attention to the impact of redevelopment: improving parking, making it safer for pedestrians and ensuring all residents benefited from the prosperity.

The challengers in particular took aim at what they said was a dysfunctional government, spelled out in a 2018 audit.

8:58 p.m. EATONTOWN — With all districts reporting in the race for two full term borough council seats, Republicans Kevin Gonzalez and Maria Grazia Escalante have defeated incumbent council members Albert Baginsky and Tonya Rivera, both Democrats.

In the race for the two-year unexpired seat, Republican Joseph Olsavsky has defeated Democratic candidate James David.

In the race for a pair of unexpired one-year council seats, Republicans Edwin Palenzuela and Mark Regan, Jr. have defeated Democratic candidate Renata Bodner.

The results are unofficial from the Monmouth County Board of Elections.

8:56 p.m. With the latest update — 105 of 160 districts reporting — Democrats Downey and Houghtaling are ahead again with 12,272 and 12,251 votes respectively.

Republicans Amoroso, with 12,169 votes, and Woolley, with 11,782 votes, are trailing.

We’re still waiting on results from parts of Tinton Falls, Ocean Township, Long Branch and West Long Branch. 

8:55 p.m. MIDDLETOWN — Republicans are leading the race to keep their seats on the township committee, with 25 of 46 districts reporting. Kevin Settembrino has 4,131 votes and Rick HIbell has 4,059.

Democratic challengers trail behind – Sean F. Byrnes has 2,267 votes and Jeana Sager has 1,933.

FREEHOLD TOWNSHIP — With 15 of 26 precincts reporting, Freehold Township Republican Maureen Fasano is leading Democrat Scott A. Berlin in the lone race for a township committee seat.

Fasano has 2,482 votes, with Berlin trailing at 1,360 votes.

8:54 p.m. BERKELEY — Mayor Carmen F. Amato Jr., a Republican, has a commanding lead in the mayor’s race there, leading his rival, Democrat Laura Shaw, by a margin 4,624 to 1,322, with 15 of the township’s 40 election districts reporting.

Amato is seeking his third, four-year term as mayor. 

8:53 p.m. LONG BRANCH — With 12 out of 17 districts reporting in the race for three full term seats to the Long Branch Board of Education, incumbent school board members Donald Covin, Michelle Critelli and Avery Grant, are leading in the polls over challengers Joseph M. Ferraina, Anthony Smith and Kristopher Soto.

OCEAN TOWNSHIP — In the race for three full term Board of Education seats, newcomer Grace Ann Talarico is leading at the polls followed by incumbent Jeffrey Weinstein and newcomer Cyndi White.

Incumbent board Vice President Amy McGovern and incumbent board member Natalie Totorello are trailing.  Fourteen out 22 districts have reported. 

8:52 p.m. With 25 out of 59 districts reporting, the two Republican incumbents are cruising in the General Assembly 30th Legislative District.

Sean T. Kean is headed to a fifth term representing the district with 38.91 percent of the vote while his running mate, Edward “Ned” Thomson, has gotten 35.57 percent.

  • Sean Kean: 4,379 (38.91%)
  • Edward “Ned” Thomson: 4,212 (37.42%)
  • Steven Farkas: 1,326 (11.78%)
  • Yasin “Jason” Celik: 1,210 (10.75%)
  • Hank Schroeder: 106 (0.94%)
  • Write-in: 22 (.20%)

8:52 p.m. MARLBORO — Incumbent Democratic council members Randi Marder and Michael Scalea have a slight lead over Republican challenger Alan Ginsburg with 15 of 28 precincts reporting. Scalea tops the vote with 1,685, while Marder has 1,632. Ginsburg follows a close third with 1,435 in the race for the two seats up for grabs.

Mayor Jonathan Hornik, meanwhile, is running unopposed for a fourth term and has 2,134 votes.

8:51 p.m. With 73 of 160 districts reporting, Republican Michael Amoroso, with 8,370, and Democratic incumbent, Eric Houghtaling, with 8,185, are leading in District 11. Democratic incumbent Joann Downey, with 8,179, and Republican Matthew C. Woolley, with 8,118, are trailing.

If this holds, it would split the Democratic lock on District 11, which has been in place since 2017.

8:50 p.m. TOMS RIVER — Kevin Kidney has edged out rival Anthony J. Trump, by a margin of 269 to 267, in the race for one three-year term representing Pine Beach on the Toms River Regional Board of Education.  The results don’t include provisional ballots, which could impact such a close race.

If the results hold, Kidney would replace Board Vice President Russell K. Corby as the Pine Beach representative, after Corby chose not to seek re-election.

8:49 p.m. With roughly half of the vote in — 219 of 458 districts — Monmouth County Republican freeholder and sheriff candidates are well ahead.

Sheriff Shaun Golden leads Democratic challenger Raymond Dothard 31,675 votes to 19,272 votes. Freeholder Tom Arnone and his running mate Nick DiRocco have 30,810 and 28,557 votes, respectively to Democratic challengers Michael Penna, with 20,317 votes and Moira Nelson, with 20,032 votes. 

8:48 p.m. HOWELL — With four out of 32 districts reporting, challenger Joseph Tate is in third place among four candidates for three seats on the Howell Board of Education. The other three candidates are all incumbents.

  • Joseph Tate: 407 (21.81%)
  • Mark Bonjavonni: 552 (29.58%)
  • Cristy Mangano: 535 (28.67%)
  • Laurence Gurman: 361 (19.35%)
  • Write-in: 11 (0.59%)

8:47 p.m. MIDDLETOWN — Middletown Republicans are leading the race to keep their seats on the township committee, with 16 of 46 districts reporting. Kevin Settembrino has 33.1 percent of the vote and Rick HIbell has 32.63%.

8:46 p.m. LONG BRANCH — With seven out of 17 districts reporting in the race for three full term seats to the school board, incumbent BOE members Donald Covin, Michelle Critelli and Avery Grant are leading in the polls over challengers Joseph M. Ferraina (a former superintendent), Anthony Smith and Kristopher Soto.

8:45 p.m. JACKSON — With about 30 percent of districts reporting, incumbent Jackson school board members Michael Walsh and Thomas Colucci are leading newcomer Selene Haskins, who is about 400 votes behind. 

8:43 p.m. EATONTOWN — With three of nine districts reporting in the race for two full term council seats, Republicans Kevin Gonzalez and Maria Grazia Escalante are leading incumbent council members Albert Baginsky and Tonya Rivera, both Democrats.

8:42 p.m. LAKEWOOD — With 12 of 43 districts reporting, Albert Akerman is poised to keep his seat on the Township Committee, getting over 80% of the vote while Democratic candidate Moshe Raitzik has garnered over 19%.

8:41 p.m. Republican District 11 candidates Michael Amoroso and Matthew C. Woolley are ahead of incumbent Democrats Eric Houghtaling and Joann Downey.

But there’s still a lot of votes to be counted — so far only 31 of 160 districts are reported.

8:40 p.m. RUMSON — Voters are leaning toward passage of a $25 million referendum for school improvements with 59.78% voting yes and 40.22% voting no with 30% of the vote in.

8:30 p.m. Monmouth County election results are starting to come in. With 26 of 458 districts reported, incumbents look to be ahead in the county and Assembly races. 

8 p.m. Polls are closed in New Jersey. Refresh this page to get live updates and insight on the big races in Monmouth and Ocean counties!

4 p.m. Despite this being an off-year election, die-hard voters still made their way to the polls across the Shore.

“Any time we have a right to vote, it’s important to exercise our right,” said Karoline Brilliante, who brought her 15-year-old son Brian to the polls with her in Freehold Borough. “Even though it’s not a presidential election, there are a lot of things that affect us as homeowners, as parents, as students. There are things on the ballot today that are very important.”

CLOSE

APP reporter Jerry Carino asks voters what’s motivating them today Brian Johnston and Jerry Carino, Asbury Park Press

Voter turnout is usually at its lowest in years with the Legislature — especially the Assembly — at the top of the ticket. According to state election data, between 22% and 32% of registered voters have cast ballots in Assembly-topped elections since 2007.

During presidential elections, about 67% to 73% of New Jersey voters head to the polls. In gubernatorial races, 39% to 47% of voters cast ballots. 

12 p.m. MANCHESTER – Backup generators were used to power voting machines at the Cedar Glen West District No. 5 polling place until about 10 a.m., Ocean County elections board supervisor Jason Varano said. 

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