Election Day 2012 presents a major test to Sandy-ravaged N.J.
Some people will vote in National Guard trucks. Others will write on paper ballots in buildings powered by gas-fed generators. An unprecedented number will pick candidates by email or fax.
As it slowly recovers from Hurricane Sandy, New Jersey today faces a major test: maintaining the integrity of a presidential election in a storm-ravaged state.
Exactly one week after Sandy made landfall, wrecking homes, vital infrastructure and the rhythms of modern life, state and county officials scrambled Monday to ensure the election goes as smoothly as possible with a jury-rigged voting system.
Hundreds of damaged or blacked-out polling places have been moved. County clerks will be tested by an onslaught of paper ballots. And election experts raised concerns about the security and legality of the email voting initiative, previously open to U.S. citizens living abroad. It is now open to every New Jerseyan displaced by Sandy.
Gov. Chris Christie, during a press briefing in storm-damaged Keansburg, brushed aside worries about legal challenges and urged residents to cast ballots any way they can.
"I hope people remain calm," Christie said. "We’re not making it harder to vote. We’re making it easier to vote."
The election comes at a time of immense difficulty for New Jersey, which is contending with widespread power outages, a disrupted transportation network and a wave of storm refugees whose homes have been heavily damaged or destroyed.
Monday night, more than 703,000 utility customers remained without power or heat as temperatures dipped into the 30s. Some 2.7 million homes and businesses lost power at the height of the storm.
The restoration effort, involving utility crews from around the country, could be hampered by the arrival of an approaching nor’easter, now forecast to strike New Jersey Wednesday with heavy rain and tropical storm-force winds.
"When it rains, it certainly does pour," said Ralph LaRossa, president of Public Service Electric & Gas.
Sixty percent of the state’s school districts remained closed Monday, Christie said, and officials in some districts said it could be another week before students return to the classroom. Superintendents cited the outages, manpower shortages and damage to buildings.
It’s not something we ever expected to be dealing with, yet we have to," Red Bank Superintendent Laura Morana said.
The Swimming River, swollen with storm surge, spilled into the community’s primary school, ruining floors in classrooms, the gym and the media center. When classes resume Monday, students from the primary school will find space at the middle school, Morana said.
Sandy’s perils, even a week later, remain in place. The latest casualty came Monday morning, when the emergency management coordinator for Bethlehem Township, in Hunterdon County, was struck by a car and killed as he removed storm debris from the street.
William Hardenburg, 67, was working as a private contractor at the time of the accident, police said. He was the 24th New Jerseyan killed in a storm-related incident. Scores of others died across the East Coast and in the Caribbean.
Safe drinking water continues to be a concern. During his press briefing Monday, Christie said the number of boil-water advisories across the state stood at four, down from six over the weekend. But that figure jumped again Monday afternoon when power failed at an intake station run by Middlesex Water Company.
Monday night, the company said customers in Carteret, Edison, Highland Park, Metuchen, South Amboy, South Plainfield and Woodbridge should bring water to rolling boil before it can be considered safe to drink.
Christie, who has toured devastated communities every day since the storm, visited Middletown in addition to Keansburg on Monday. He said he was especially moved after meeting a crying 9-year-old girl whose home had been destroyed.
"I’ve hugged a lot of crying adults over the last week, and I’m OK with that," Christie said. "I just have a harder time dealing with crying children. So it reminded me that for kids across New Jersey, I want to promise you there’s nothing to be scared of. The adults are here, and we’re in charge, and we’re going to make sure, first and foremost, that we keep you safe."
Flashing his trademark bravado, the governor also said residents will emerge from the trials of Sandy tougher than they were before.
"Man, America couldn’t take New Jersey’s toughness before this," Christie said. "After this? We’re gonna be hell on wheels."
There were some signs of improvement and normalcy across the state.
Hours-long lines for gasoline all but disappeared Monday as utility crews restored power to more service stations and as more fuel flowed into the state.
All 12 casinos in Atlantic City are once more collecting cash. The last to open — the Atlantic Club Casino Hotel — resumed business in the morning.
PATH service, suspended because of flooded tubes, was set to begin running at 5 a.m. today between Journal Square in Jersey City and 33rd Street in Manhattan.
Even along the state’s most devastated barrier island, hopeful signs emerged. Route 35, the main thoroughfare in Ortley Beach, Seaside Heights and other communities, is now open to work crews through the southern part of Mantoloking. Residents are still not permitted in Mantoloking to assess the damage to their homes until most of the cleanup is complete. Police said that could be by today or tomorrow.
In addition, crews have filled in the new inlets created when the ocean roared through, washing away homes and possessions.
To the south on Long Beach Island, authorities allowed residents brief access to their homes to retrieve possessions. More will be permitted onto the island today. State officials have given no timetable for residents to return for good.
The Federal Emergency Management Agency has approved $193 million in funding for temporary housing, including hotels and apartments, FEMA Administrator Craig Fugate said. In total, the agency has pledged $210 million to New Jersey by Monday.
More than 217,000 individuals have registered with the federal agency, Fugate said, and he expects that number to increase dramatically as power is restored in many communities.
Those who have not registered with FEMA were urged to do so by calling (800) 621-3362.
"We can’t help you until you register," Christie said.
Help continued to flow into New Jersey in other areas.
To assist with peace-keeping in hard-hit areas, state Attorney General Jeffrey Chiesa swore in 280 state troopers on loan from Pennsylvania, Mississippi, Louisiana and other states. The Red Cross, too, has been a steady presence.
The agency’s entire fleet of emergency response vehicles has been deployed to regions impacted by Sandy, and more than 5,300 workers are on the scene, said Charley Shimanski, the Red Cross’ senior vice president of disaster services. On Sunday night, more than 9,000 people stayed in 113 shelters, he said.
"The focus on recovery is important, but I want to remind folks that the response is not over," Shimanski said. "We are still in the sprint."
Star-Ledger staff writers Dan Goldberg, Sue Epstein, Tom Haydon, Eunice Lee, Eric Sagara, Peggy McGlone, Mike Frassinelli, Jeanette Rundquist, Christopher Baxter, Ben Horowitz, MaryAnn Spoto and Stacy Jones contributed to this report.