Kerrie Joyce 
As summer comes to a close and autumn rapidly approaches, politically attuned Hobokenites should begin preparing their voting plan for the 2025 general election. In New Jersey, municipal elections are occasionally handled differently from other states. More specifically, the difference lies in the majority required to win an election, and what happens if that majority is not reached. For newcomers from out of state seeking to understand the electoral landscape of their new home, or for locals who need a refresher, The Hoboken Girl has the answers to your questions about runoff elections. Keep reading for more of what you need to know before and after Election Day.
What is a Runoff Election and What Would Trigger One in Hoboken?
Runoff elections occur in certain elections when no candidate reaches a sufficient majority, typically 50 percent plus one, in a given election. A runoff election is like a rematch or a tie-breaker in politics, since it is a second election held weeks afterwards to establish a clear winner with a sufficient majority. In Hoboken, runoff elections are not an infrequent practice for both mayoral elections and city council elections. According to New Jersey’s Election Statutes + Rules, runoffs are conducted for non-partisan municipal elections in municipalities throughout the state when no majority is met to elect a Mayor, Ward Councilman, or the required number of Councilmen-at-Large (or commissioners, or village trustees) for that municipality.
Citing the same statute, N.J.S.A. 40:45-19, the Hudson County Clerk’s Election Timeline lists December 2nd, 2025, as the assigned date for a municipal non-partisan runoff election should it be necessary. The Hudson County Board of Elections is responsible for administering elections and certifying results. The Board of Elections is a bipartisan group overseeing Hudson County elections, made up of three republicans and three democrats appointed by the Governor. The Board will certify the results of the General Election on November 19th, 2025, and at that time will determine whether a runoff election is needed.
Other states, including Georgia and Louisiana, use runoffs in their electoral systems at higher levels of office, such as U.S. Senate. Notably, Georgia had one high-profile run-off election in the 2022 midterm elections between Raphael Warnock and Herschel Walker. Texas and Florida both use runoffs at the municipal level, like New Jersey. According to Rock the Vote, Texas, South Carolina, South Dakota, Georgia, Oklahoma, North Carolina, Mississippi, Alabama, and Arkansas all use runoffs in their primary elections when a majority of 50 percent plus one is not reached by any candidate, and the two candidates with the largest portion of votes will compete against each other in a second election to establish a victor. Vermont uses runoff elections in its primary elections only in the instance of a tie vote.
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In New Jersey, runoff elections date back to 1981, when State Senator Walter N. Sheil and Councilman Gerald McCann faced off in a runoff election for Jersey City Mayor. The statute outlining the practice of runoff elections in the Garden State was first written in 1981, amended in 1982, and most recently updated in 2009. In December of 2020, the Mayor of Perth Amboy, Helmin Caba, was elected in a runoff election composed entirely of mail-in ballots due to the pandemic. Last year in Trenton, Jenna Figueroa Kettenburg was re-elected to her City Council seat in a runoff election that was decided by a single vote. In Hoboken, 1st Ward City Councilman Paul Presinzano won a runoff election on December 5th, 2023, against Rafi Cordova.
Outlook for 2025
Since current Hoboken Mayor Ravi Bhalla is not running for reelection and is instead running for State Assembly, and current Jersey City Mayor Steven Fulop launched a failed democratic primary bid for Governor rather than seeking reelection, the fields for both mayoral elections are wide open — with five declared candidates running in each race as of this writing.
A runoff is typically used in a mayoral race when there is a wide field of candidates with no clear frontrunner, and the vote share is split amongst a large number of candidates, resulting in no majority winner. Speculatively, Hoboken’s wide field this year may create the circumstances for a runoff if no one candidate reaches a majority of 50 plus one, while Jersey City’s mayoral race is projected to be closer based on polling. For the office of the Mayor, the two candidates with the greatest shares of votes will advance to the runoffs to compete against each other and declare an official winner.
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As the rules state, runoff elections are to be held on the fourth Tuesday following the inconclusive municipal election, which would land on December 2nd this year if necessary. Votes are scheduled to be certified on November 19th, the results of which can be contested until December 6th, and a runoff election date of December 2nd if necessary. The runoff is legally treated as a completely separate election; nearly all of the same regulations for filing and ballot printing still apply, and must be completed by eligible candidates prior to the runoff.
Given the many rules governing a runoff and the precise timing required for one, Hoboken Mayoral Candidate Mike Russo and Assemblywoman Barbara McAnn Stamato have publicly taken issue with the short timeline leading up to the runoff. Via a thread on X, Russo argued that legislation passed in Trenton altered the election calendar, creating “unintended consequences” for municipal elections like Hoboken’s with the potential for runoffs. One election official told the New Jersey Globe, “We do the best we can and hope we don’t get sued”. Raising concerns about voter turnout and election rule compliance, the mayoral candidate supported legislative efforts put forth by State Assemblywoman Barbara McAnn Stamato to alter the tight schedule for turnaround time.
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