Hudson County Democratic Organization Chair Amy DeGise says she’s “feeling good” about Election Day, indicating that voter enthusiasm and turnout has been high in Hudson County and is also optimistic of former Vice President Joe Biden’s chances.
“It’s been going great: we’ve been having so much fun in all the different cities we’ve been in … but the whole vote-by-mail and vote early has felt a little different and we wanted to make it a celebration again,” DeGise said near the dropbox location at Hoboken City Hall yesterday.
“Voting is so, so important: Election Day is usually the big firework finale so instead of having that this year, we decided to come to all these different cities – see the communities the people – encourage you to get out the vote, handing out ‘I voted’ masks, stickers, t-shirts, candy, and all of that.”
This afternoon, Jersey City Mayor Steven Fulop tweeted that 223,222 people voted in Hudson County in 2016 and that 166,327 vote-by-mail ballots have been received by the Hudson County Board of Elections as of earlier today.
While Biden is heavily favored against President Donald Trump (R) in navy blue states like New Jersey, the election will more than likely be decided by swing states like Michigan, Florida, and Pennsylvania.
Despite that fact, DeGise expressed some optimism when asked if she had any bold predictions for Tuesday.
“I don’t want to make a big bold prediction – I’m feeling good, I’m feeling good. I don’t think people want to do another four years of this. No matter what your ideology is, you want some sense of normalcy. You want to go back to feeling good again,” she explained.
“I don’t think we’ve felt good in a long time, again, no matter what your affiliation is. I’m feeling good, I definitely think we have the popular vote in the bag and I think Hudson County’s a huge part of that … how we do in the [electoral] college is another story: I’m keeping my fingers crossed.”
DeGise also thanked community leaders like Hoboken Democratic Party Chair Rachel Hodes for sending postcards throughout the country to try and get the vote out for Biden.
While Hillary Clinton won the popular vote four years ago, but Trump still bested her in the electoral vote.
DeGise and other members of the HCDO stopped by dropbox locations in East Newark and North Bergen earlier today, concluding their 12 stops in each Hudson County municipality.
Last month, New Jersey Attorney General Gurbir Grewal told county election officials across the state that electioneering near ballot boxes is legal since they are not polling places, as The New Jersey Globe reported.
