| MIDDLESEX COUNTY GOP UPDATE Written and distributed since 2003 by Donald Katz, Esq., Republican State Committeeman for Middlesex County and Counsel, Middlesex County Republican Organization WHERE ARE THE VOTER REGISTRATION FORMS? WHERE ARE THE VOTE BY MAIL BALLOT APPLICATIONS? I have recently attended a number of, otherwise fine, Republican events and there were no voter registration forms, vote by mail ballot applications or forms of “get me off the permanent vote by mail ballot list” letters. I have always been guided by the policy that if you want someone to do something, you make it as easy as possible for them to do it. On an ongoing basis, we need to have as many registered voters who are Republican or Republican leaning voters and we need to get as many of them to vote as possible, (and the voters who receive vote by mail ballots vote at a much greater frequency than those voters who do not get vote by mail ballots). Therefore, it is important that at ever Republican meeting, fundraiser or other event, you should always have a supply of voter registration forms, vote by mail ballot applications and “get me off the permanent vote by mail ballot list” letters prominently displayed with their availability mentioned at the event. Whenever I speak at an event and these forms are present there is almost always someone who takes one or more of these forms. Therefore, I urge you to do this at every Republican event – even if it is a regular GOP Committee or Club meeting or even a campaign committee meeting, where you believe, or know, the people there are registered. Someone may have run into someone else who is not registered or who is only an occasional voter who would likely vote more often if they were on the permanent vote by mail ballot list and each of you should have some of each of these forms at your home or in your car at all times, so you don’t miss any opportunity to get more Republicans registered and voting. Even if this only results in a single additional Republican vote in the next election, it is definitely worth it – and important. I know of at least 2 instances in Middlesex County where the local Republican candidate either won or lost by a single vote, and many instances of races in our county which were decided by only a handful of votes. It is not just local races where this happens. We clearly need to get Jack Ciattarelli elected governor in November and you should know a single vote – even in a governor’s race – can be the difference between victory and defeat. In the 1981 NJ governor’s race, Republican Tom Kean, after a statewide recount, won over Democrat Jim Florio by only 1,797 votes out of 2,317,239 votes cast – a margin of less than 1 vote per election district! I was involved in that statewide recount and led the Middlesex County part of the recount myself ,so I know we fought to make sure every Republican vote was properly counted. As an aside, during that week that the statewide recount was going on, drivers could speed as fast as they dared, since all the state troopers were guarding the voting machines and the paper ballots. By the way, people can also register online and print off voter registration forms and vote by mail ballot applications on the New Jersey Division of Elections website at NJElections.org. POLITICAL TRIVIA: Here are some political trivia questions. I hope you enjoy them. The answers are below, immediately above the calendar: 1. Andrew Johnson was one of two U.S. Presidents born in a state capital. True or False? 2. What First Lady co-founded a namesake addiction treatment center? 3. Who are the only two U.S. Presidents buried in Arlington National Cemetery? 4. Which Cabinet member won a Nobel Peace Prize while in office? 5. FDR called December 7, 1941, “a date which will live in” what? 6. On August 8, 1974, Richard Nixon gave a speech announcing what? 7. Which U.S. President declared that “we shall overcome” poverty, disease and ignorance? DO YOU WANT TO HELP THE CIATTARELLI FOR GOVERNOR CAMPAIGN? HERE IS THE INFORMATION YOU NEED TO KNOW We have many campaigns going on this year that can use your help, but some of you have asked how you can get involved directly in the Ciattarelli for Governor campaign. You can go directly to the campaign website: jackfornj.com or you call or e-mail the Middlesex County Field Director for the Ciattarelli Campaign: Philip Halecki 732-938-0372 or philip@jack4NJ.com. DON’T FORGET TO VISIT AND HELP OUT AT THE GOP BOOTH AT THE COUNTY FAIR (AND MAYBE HELP TO REGISTER MORE REPUBLICAN VOTERS) As previously reported, the Middlesex County Republican Women’s Club and the Middlesex County Republican Organization, on behalf of our state, county, and local candidates, will have a double booth at the Middlesex County Fair, which is being held this year from Monday, August 4th through Sunday, August 10th, at the fairgrounds on Cranbury Road in East Brunswick. Volunteers are needed to staff the booth during the fair. For several years, different municipal GOP organizations and GOP clubs have taken the responsibility for staffing the booth for an entire evening/day. It doesn’t take that many people to adequately cover an evening or a day, and if any local chair or local GOP club would like to cover a day as a project, they should contact Tonia Kulberda at 973-885-1930 or tonia@kulberda.com, who is coordinating the booth. Interested individuals are also definitely invited and encouraged to come and help. (Fair hours: Monday-Friday 5-11 pm, Saturday 11 am–11 pm, Sunday 11 am–10 pm). ANSWERS TO POLITICAL TRIVIA: 1. True. Andrew Johnson, the 17th U.S. President, was born in 1808 in Raleigh, the capital of North Carolina.. Johnson is one of only two U.S. Presidents who were born in a state capital, the other being Barack Obama — who was born in Honolulu, Hawaii. 2. Betty Ford 3. William Howard Taft and John F. Kennedy 4. Henry Kissinger. As a high-ranking Cabinet member for nearly a decade under two Presidents, Henry Kissinger shaped many U.S. foreign policy decisions in the 1970s. He became well-known for his negotiations — often in secret — with global powers of the time, including the Soviet Union, China, Egypt, and Israel. Kissinger won the Nobel Peace Prize jointly with Vietnamese diplomat Le Duc Tho in 1973 for helping negotiate an end to the Vietnam War. 5. Infamy 6. His resignation 7 Lyndon B. Johnson. One week after the events of Selma, Alabama’s “Bloody Sunday” in 1965, President Lyndon B. Johnson gave an address in the chamber of the House of Representatives that was officially titled “The American Promise” but became better known for its most famous line “we shall overcome.” In the speech, Johnson declares, “These enemies — poverty, disease, and ignorance: we shall overcome.” UPDATED CALENDAR What follows is an updated calendar. If you have any municipal or countywide fundraisers or functions you would like me to include in my e-mail calendar from time to time, please contact me at dkatzlaw@aol.com. Please note that organizations and campaigns sometimes provide added information, change dates, or cancel events, which I include in this calendar if I receive the information in time. Therefore, if you plan to attend an event, please make sure you review the calendar listing in my latest e-mail and, to the extent you may not have pre-registered for the particular event so the sponsoring group will be able to contact you about any changes, you may want to check with the sponsoring group before you go to make sure the information has not changed. Also, please be aware that these e-mails are not official MCRO notices or mailings; they are just something I do, voluntarily, to help our Republican Party. August 1 (Friday 5:00 pm – 9:00 pm) – David Tingle & People’s Choice 2025 HQ Grand Opening. 1043 Amboy Avenue, Edison. (it is my understanding that this is the team being supported by the Edison Republicans.) August 3 (Sunday 3:00 pm – 5:00 pm) – Ciattarelli Woodbridge GOP Campaign Headquarters Kickoff & BBQ. 530 Amboy Avenue, Woodbridge. RSVP 732-440-9320. August 4-10 (Monday through Sunday) – Middlesex County Fair at the Middlesex County Fair Grounds, Cranbury Road, East Brunswick. Volunteer at the Republican booth. The Middlesex County Republican Women’s Club (“MCRWC”) and the Middlesex County Republican Organization co-host the booth. If a GOP Municipal Committee or GOP Club would like to take a night, please contact MCRWC President and MCRO 2nd Vice Chair Tonia Kulberda at 973-885-1030 or tonia@kulberda.com for more info and to sign up for a night. August 11 (Monday 3:00 pm) – Drawing of Ballot Positions for General Election Candidates by the County Clerk.August 12 (Tuesday 7:00 pm – 9:00 pm) – Middlesex County Republican Women’s Club Meeting, East Brunswick Library, 2 Civic Center Drive, (off Ryder’s Lane), East Brunswick. Speaker: Kate Gibbs, the new Executive Director of the New Jersey Republican State Committee. August 26 (Tuesday) – Last day for a candidate to withdraw from the ballot for the General Election. (The last day to replace a withdrawn candidate is 2 days later – Thursday, August 28.) September 1 (Monday 8:30 am – ) – South Plainfield Labor Day Parade. Walkers and other volunteers are needed to participate in the parade along with Jack Ciattarelli and the other Republican candidates, If you want to participate, contact April Bengivenga at aprilnbob@aol.com or call 908-251-4066. September 20 (Saturday) – Statutory date by which the County Clerk is supposed to mail out the first vote-by-mail ballots. October 5 (Sunday 2:00 pm – 4:00 pm) – GOP Rally hosted by the Piscataway GOP. October 14 (Tuesday) – Last day to register to vote in the General Election. October 14 (Tuesday) – Deadline for filing your list of Election Day challengers for the General Election with the Board of Elections. (Middlesex County Board of Elections, 26-B Kennedy Boulevard, East Brunswick, New Jersey 08816) (Note, this date is one week earlier than last year, since a recently adopted law moved the challenger filing deadline earlier by one week.) October 25 (Saturday) – November 2 (Sunday) – Early Voting Period (Any voter registered in Middlesex County can vote at any of the 10 Early Voting Sites in Middlesex County.) October 28 (Tuesday) – Last day for vote-by-mail ballot applications to be received by the County Clerk by mail in order to vote in the General Election. (Middlesex County Clerk, P.O. Box 1110, New Brunswick, New Jersey 08901-1110). November 3 (Monday 3:00 pm) – Last day to apply for a mail-in ballot in person (or by authorized messenger) at the County Clerk’s office (26-C Kennedy Boulevard, East Brunswick, New Jersey), in order to vote in the General Election. November 4 (Tuesday 6:00 am – 8:00 pm) – General Election Please forward this information to any Middlesex County Republican, or other individuals, who you think might be interested in seeing it, but, before you forward it, make sure you delete the “unsubscribe” link at the bottom of this e-mail, otherwise one of the people you forward it to may unsubscribe you and the program will not let me add you back to my mailing list. Further, if you know of any Middlesex County Republicans who would like to receive periodic reports about Republican-related information I believe might be interesting or useful, please have them send me, Donald Katz, an e-mail to dkatzlaw@aol.com, and I will add them to my e-mail list. By the same token, if you ever wish to be removed from my e-mail list, click “unsubscribe” at the foot of this e-mail. Donald Katz, Esq. Republican State Committeeman – Middlesex County and Counsel, Middlesex County Republican Organization dkatzlaw@aol.com 119 Leeds Lane Monroe Township, NJ 08831 (C) 908-227-9239 Copyright © 2025 Donald Katz, All rights reserved, except forwarding of entire newsletter to Republicans is permitted and encouraged and excerpts may be used for non-commercial purposes provided the excerpts are attributed to Donald Katz |
MIDDLESEX COUNTY GOP UPDATE
