Some Monmouth County voters getting unwanted mail-in ballot applications. Here's why.

FREEHOLD – Are you a Monmouth County voter who has received an unsolicited application for a vote-by-mail application?

You are not alone. Monmouth County Clerk Christine Giordano Hanlon has been getting calls and inquiries about it from residents. The applications are pre-printed with voter information, including the name and address of the voter. This has led many voters to question why they received these applications, how their information was obtained and by who, Hanlon said.

Hanlon wants voters to know these applications are not coming from her office nor any other election office in Monmouth County. Nevertheless, there’s nothing illegal about them and voters are not required to take any action if they receive or have received one in the mail.

“This is not a new concept, I just think it’s prevalent this year,” Hanlon said.

She explained that most such applications appear to be coming from a non-profit political organization called the Voter Participation Center, which describes itself on its website as “a non-partisan organization dedicated to increasing voter registration in the United States among young people, people of color and unmarried women.”

The VPC and its partner organization, the Center for Voter Information, are mailing 88,651 voter registration applications and 54,150 vote-by-mail applications to eligible citizens in New Jersey this fall, according to the group.

Tom Lopach, president and chief executive officer of the Voter Participation Center and Center for Voter Information said the organizations are bringing democracy directly to New Jersey voters “by providing residents with the very same voter registration and vote-by-mail applications that are provided by New Jersey election administrators.”

“There are a number of convenient ways you can register to vote and sign up to vote by mail — whether by mail or online — and we are here to provide eligible voters with everything they need to vote,” Lopach said.

Jim Popkin, a spokesman for the Voter Participation Center, said a total of 54,150 mail-in ballot applications were sent to potential voters in New Jersey last month.

• Atlantic County: 702

• Bergen County: 14,280

• Camden County: 9,354

• Gloucester County: 7,342

• Hunterdon County: 2,775

• Mercer County: 1,661

• Monmouth County: 13,095

• Somerset County: 4,941

In Ocean County, County Clerk Scott M. Colabella confirmed that his office had not received any indication from voters that they were receiving any applications from third parties.

Hanlon said any local campaign or political committee may mail these pre-filled applications to voters. Moreover, some people may be surprised to know that their voter registration information — such as their name, age, home address, party affiliation and how many times they voted — is actually public information, she said.

Campaigns and special interest groups — on both sides — routinely harvest this data from the Statewide Voter Registration System, which is under the domain of the New Jersey Division of Elections. The data is then used to target specific voters during campaign cycles, Hanlon said.

The practice by some political campaign committees to send unsolicited mail-in ballot applications to voters started during the administration of Gov. Jon Corzine, Hanlon said.

Some voters have come to appreciate the ease of getting the applications being sent to them, while others voters are wary of the source, she said.

Voters who receive pre-filled applications but are already on the list to receive mail-in ballots for the Nov. 7 election (and/or all future elections), may disregard and discard the applications, Hanlon said.

Voters with questions or concerns should call the county clerk’s election office at 732-431-7790 or email ClerkOfElections@co.monmouth.nj.us during normal business hours to confirm that they are on the list to receive mail-in ballots for Election Day.

Voters who are not on the list to receive mail-in ballots and who receive a pre-filled vote-by-mail application from a third party can choose to either discard it or sign the application and then submit it to the county clerk’s election offfice in order to obtain a mail-in ballot for the election.

The applications must be properly completed and the signature on the application must match the voter signature on file in the Statewide Voter Registration System. When completing the application, a voter has the option of checking a box at the top of the application to receive mail-in ballots for one election or for all future elections.

For more information, visit MonmouthCountyVotes.com or download the Monmouth Votes mobile app.

Contact Asbury Park Press reporter Erik Larsen at elarsen@gannettnj.com.

This article originally appeared on Asbury Park Press: Did you get a mail-in ballot application you didn’t ask for? Here's why.